Outdoor Exploration

Outdoor Exploration

Children gain a wealth of inspiration and develop numerous skills through supervised outdoor exploration activities and play. From organized activities such as leaf and rock hunts, observing birds or gardening to free time to simply play, our preschool students benefit greatly from time spent outdoors.

Outdoor exploration allows children to expand their vocabularies as they use new words to describe the flowers, plants, trees, weather conditions and creatures they may encounter. Through group activities such as gardening, children enhance their ability to work with others and gain confidence through successfully completing tasks. Outdoor exploration activities and play also provide children with ample opportunities to use their imaginations, play freely and enjoy valuable exercise time.

Observing nature :Children closely observe their environment and are given an opportunity to share what they have seen through discussions, drawings, paintings and presentations. They are encouraged to ask questions and begin to use new words and terms to describe the natural world.

Learning about weather and other outdoor conditions : Children note and learn about different weather conditions, seasons and temperatures. They are also encouraged to play with shadows and note how different times of day and sunlight levels affect the appearance of shadows. They actively experience these concepts and are able to describe weather and outdoor conditions using a range of mediums.

Gardening :Outdoor gardening activities give children the chance to work as a team with their classmates and teacher to plant and care for various plants. Through being involved with the garden planting and nurturing process, they become aware of important scientific concepts and develop an understanding of and respect for the environment.

Play : Children are able to enjoy the freedom of supervised independent play outdoors. They improve their coordination, develop their social skills by playing with one another and flex their creative capabilities by inventing various games and methods of play.

Outdoor exploration activities and play provide preschoolers with a fun, exciting and inspiring backdrop that teaches them a great deal about the world they live in and are a part of. Children are given room to make use of the greater freedom that outdoor play offers. They run, skip, hop and fully express themselves through supervised but independent play.