Your Early Learning Centre shares the developmental benefits of outdoor play for young children.
Outdoor play gives your child the chance to explore the natural environment around them. Not only does this provide new, exciting learning environments to discover, but it also offers a number of developmental benefits. Here’s our top 5!
1. Fosters an Active Lifestyle
Children participating in outdoor play now are much more likely to continue to enjoy outdoor activities and exercise as they get older. From birth to age five, children’s brains are at their highest level of development, so it is extremely important to create a balance between screen time and outdoor play during these early years.
2. Builds Self Confidence
Self-confidence and imaginative play go hand in hand. As a child uses their imagination to explore and try new things their sense of accomplishment develops which then builds their confidence.
3. Builds Sensory Skills
The natural, exciting outdoor play areas stimulate children’s senses through what they hear, touch, see and feel. Simple activities such as seeing leaves change and fall, watching flowers sprout during spring and feel wet sand/grass as it rains, can make such a difference. It also encourages children to develop their fine motor skills, such as hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills, such as balance and strength.
4. Improves Cognitive, Social and Emotional Development
Outdoor play is a great facilitator to develop children’s ability to think critically and take calculated risks. For example, whether to jump from the play equipment or to climb down. The extra space offered by being outdoors will give children more time to play freely with one another, developing both their communication and social skills.
5. Develops Sense of Independence
Playing outdoors also assists in the development of a child’s confidence and sense of independence in a safe and well-equipped environment, monitored by educators. Children are free to explore the outdoor space and use their own imagination to create games and activities on their own, building that sense of independence.
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