Unstructured, free play is play that is not formally organized. Studies have shown that adding more unstructured play to play time can have positive effects on a child’s physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. “Unstructured active play with others, including with parents, siblings, and peers, is a major opportunity to cultivate social skills. This is because all play with others requires solving some form of a social problem, [which] encourages children to compromise and to cooperate. This process can cultivate a range of social and emotional capabilities… sometimes referred to together as ‘emotional intelligence’.”

Unstructured play in the outdoors has even more widespread benefits. “While playing outdoors a child is likely to encounter opportunities for decision making that stimulate problem solving and creative thinking because outdoor spaces are often more varied and less structured than indoor spaces. In addition, there are usually fewer constraints outdoors on children’s gross motor movement and less restriction on their range of visual and gross motor exploration. Together these factors that do not prescribe or limit activity induce curiosity and the use of imagination.” 1

Unstructured play is unguided; there are no set rules. This type of unstructured, free play can take place almost anywhere. Use your imagination while outdoors. Take your child to the park and let them decide what they want to do. Let your child guide the play time. Gather some natural materials from your backyard and have your child decide what they are and their uses. For example, a branch can be a drumstick and a tree stump can be the drum.

Let your child’s imagination run wild and go explore the outdoors.

References
1 Burdette, H. L. & Whitaker, R. C. (2005). Resurrecting free play in young children. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 46-50.

Play with others, including parents, siblings, and peers, is a major opportunity for children to cultivate social skills because it requires solving some form of a social problem.1 Specifically, undirected (free) play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, and to resolve conflicts. When play is allowed to be childdriven, they practice decisionmaking skills, move at their own pace, discover their own areas of interest, and ultimately engage fully in the passions they wish to pursue.2

In natural play spaces, such as parks, forests, and meadows children are not limited by fixed playground equipment or organized games, instead they spend a great deal of time building their own structures and creating their own games and rules together with others.

It has been observed that children in unstructured, outdoor play spaces tend to converse more with each other than when on conventional playgrounds.3

One way to accomplish this in urban, inner-city neighborhoods without a city park or forest is with adventure playgrounds. Adventure playgrounds were first established in Europe after World War II3 on the premise that “kids are more interested in playing with what they find lying around than with what we think they should be playing.”4 Adventure playgrounds are places where children can create and modify their own environment. In these designated places, children can build dens or huts using the tools and scrap materials provided. These playgrounds also have equipment to play on including forts, rope swings, and slides.

Find an adventure playground or park near you to explore!

References
1Burdette, H.L., & Whitaker, R.C. (2005). Resurrecting free play in you children. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 46-50
2Ginsburg, K. (2006, May 24). Testimony given at Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands and Subcommittee on Public Lands and Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, Washington, DC. Retrieved April 18, 2008 from www.aap.org/advocacy/washing/05-24-07-Ginsburg-Play-Testimony.pdf
3Staempfli, M. (2009). Reintroducing adventure into children’s outdoor play environments. Environment and Behavior, 41(2), 269-280.
4Clendaniel, M. (2008). Adventure Playgrounds. Retrieved May 12, 2009 from http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Features/adventure_playgrounds

When Common Loons migrate south for winter they lose their black and white feathers. Because they spend most of the winter hanging out on the ocean looking for fish their new feathers are grey!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) measure trends in childhood obesity. According to their 2006 statistics, 12.4% of 2-5 year olds in the U.S. are obese, and this number is on the rise. In addition, the CDC and the American Heart Association state that obesity is a major risk factor for: coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, high levels of triglycerides, liver and
gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, and respiratory problems.12

In order to combat obesity and weight gain, the USDA recommends that children and adolescents “engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week”3.

Outdoor nature play is a great way to get children involved in physical activity that can help lower their risk for obesity. “Play in nature provides children with opportunities for self-directed physical activity that can help promote physical health and reduce obesity… The great outdoors can move children away from the passive entertainment of computers and TV and into an interactive forum that engages both mind and body.”4

Physical activities in the outdoors can take many forms: a brisk walk through the woods, a bike ride on a local nature trail, a game of tag in your backyard, swimming at a local pool or pond, or just exploring your local park together.

Get started today and take your kids for a walk outside. To find a recreational area near you, go to GreenHour.com and click on NatureFind.

References
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity Prevalence: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/childhood/prevalence.htm
2American Heart Association & American Stroke Association. A Nation at Risk: Obesity in the United States Statistical Sourcebook: http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1114880987205NationAtRisk.pdf
3 United States Department of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005: http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter4.htm.
4 Ginsburg, K. (2006, May 24). Testimony given at Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and Subcommittee on Public Lands and Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, Washington, DC. Retrieved on April 18, 2008 from www.aap.org/advocacy/washing/05-24-07-Ginsburg-Play-Testimony.pdf

Sense of place is often used to refer to the value and meaning a person gives to a specific place or the character of that place. Most often it is a combination of the two: character and personal meaning. A sense of the natural environment around them can help develop a sense of wonder in children. This, in turn, can lead to environmental actions and knowledge that will help them protect and explore their natural environment.

“One of the few empirical studies that indicate what children are learning during exploration and play comes from a comparison of the differing ability of two groups to understand biodiversity. Immigrant children who foraged for berries and mushrooms were better able to understand concepts related to biodiversity than their middle-class suburban counterparts (Chipeniuk, 1995). Incidental learning that occurred through encountering the
large numbers of different insects, plants, and animals during exploring for berries may have made the concept of biodiversity both easier to comprehend and personally relevant.”1

Exploring the natural areas around your home or apartment is a great way to help children develop their own sense of place. Take your children to a local nature center and have them explore. Go to a local lake or pond and go fishing or catch critters and use a field guide to identify them. Explore your backyard and the trees and animals there. Go hiking on a local nature trail or mountain.

Explore the areas around you. Discover the vast number of species found right around your home. Start close to home and slowly move to places further away. Your child will develop a sense of wonder and a sense of place. Have fun.

References
1 Bixler, R. D., Floyd, M. F., & Hammitt, W. E. (2002). Environmental socialization: quantitative tests of the childhood play hypothesis. Environment and Behavior, 34, 795-818.

Psychologists agree that emotion is essential on both the personal and social level. Affect in children involves the development of emotional responses and attitudes. It involves feeling, not action. In the last decade, scientists have demonstrated that particular parts of the brain are associated with different aspects of emotion.1 The term “emotional intelligence” has been coined to describe attributes and skills related to this concept.2 Positive experiences in nature can have correlating positive effects on a child’s emotional and social wellbeing.

Erik Erikson was a psychologist who came up with a Theory of Socioemotional Development. According to Erikson’s theory, the toddler years are when children are learning autonomy over shame and doubt. This is when a “child learns what he/she can control and develops a sense of free will and corresponding sense of regret and sorrow for inappropriate use of selfcontrol”.3

Likewise, during the early childhood years, children are in the initiative versus guilt stage. Here, a “child learns to begin action, to explore, to imagine as well as feeling remorse for actions.” 4

Being in nature and playing outdoors can help develop a child’s affect. Free play in nature can allow a child to develop their own sense of independence and autonomy. They can choose what they want to do and how they want to play with the resources around them. By exploring the outdoors, a child learns the implications of their actions as well as the sense of wonder about the outdoors. 5

Go explore the outdoors!

References
1Reiman, E., Lane, R., Ahern, G., Schwartz, G. and others. (1997). Neuroanatomical correlates of externally and internally generated human emotion. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(7), 918-925.

2Koonce, R. (1996). Emotional IQ, a new secret of success? Training & Development, 50(2), 19.

3Huitt, W. (2008). Socioemotional development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved February, 2009, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/affsys/erikson.html.

4Huitt, W. (2008). Socioemotional development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved February, 2009, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/affsys/erikson.html.

5Huitt, W. (2003). The affective system. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved February, 2009, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/affsys/affsys.html.

What your preschooler learned!
In today’s lesson we discussed how the month of January can be a cold and snowy time of the year.

We discussed some of the weather patterns in January and the types of activities that are compatible to cold and snowy weather. We read a story about a snowman and
finished by learning a fun song about melting snowmen.

[Read More]

Cognitive development focuses on developing functions of the brain such as thinking, learning, awareness, judgment, and processing information…

Nature play has been shown to increase cognitive development in children of all ages.

While playing outdoors, a child is likely to encounter opportunities for decision making that stimulate problem solving and creative thinking because outdoor spaces are often more varied and less structured than indoor spaces. In addition, there are fewer constraints outdoors on children’s gross motor movement and less restriction on their range of visual and gross motor exploration. Together these factors that do not proscribe or limit activity induce curiosity and the use of imagination.” Outdoor exploration has also been shown to increase a child’s sense of autonomy and self-reliance.

By investigating nature and using their own problem solving skills, children come to rely on themselves and their own ability. When outside, have your child practice some cognitive skills.

Have them make their own path and negotiate how to get around trees and rocks. Have them brainstorm their own solutions to some of the questions they may ask. Have fun and explore the outdoors!

References:
Snuggs, Carla. Cognitive Learning through
Play: Preschool Play Leads to Real Life Cognitive
Development: http://daycare.suite101.com/article.cfm/cognitive_learning_through_play

Burdette, H. L. & Whitaker, R. C. (2005).
Resurrecting free play in young children.
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine,
159, 46-50.