Children love being outdoors, and for good reason!

There are many studies that demonstrate how beneficial outdoor play is for children – and we think for adults too!  A simple google search will produce articles and lists of reasons, but we would just like to share some of our favourites with you.

1. Sensory Skills
   • Digital devices help to develop our children’s sense of hearing and sight, but what about their other senses? The great outdoors allow our children to not only develop their sense of hearing and sight, but also their sense of smell, touch, and even sometimes taste! Using all senses when exploring outside increases our ability to process and respond to a variety of sensory stimuli as we learn and grow.
2. Appreciation of Nature
   • We talk about the importance of being eco-friendly, and encourage our children to reduce, reuse, and recycle to save the earth. However, if our children never explore the great outdoors and experience its beauty for themselves, they might not really understand why we need to save the earth.
3. New Words and Concepts
   • Children have more opportunities to observe and perform a variety of skills when they are outdoors. These include exercising creativity to problem-solve and construct play scenarios, as well as learning and practicing more complex movements and life skills. This allows us to introduce new words and concepts while our children experience them, allowing them to retain the information better.
4. Encourage Risk-taking
   • Risk-taking might seem like a gamble, especially with our children in the equation. However, risks are inevitable in life and what better way to train our children to handle these risks by encouraging them to do so in a safe environment! Allowing our children to take risks allows them to develop bravery and become more confident. Examples of risk-taking can be something as simple as asking for permission to share equipment or facilities. When children are encouraged to take safe risks, they also develop independence.

We have been having a bout of rainy weather the past few weeks, but we are always keeping an eye out for good weather to head out for a bit of sun! What about you?