Loose Parts in Outdoor Play

We know that playing outdoors provides numerous benefits for children including physical and mental health benefits. With good planning, outdoor play experiences through winter can provide opportunities for children to be free to explore through rich, multisensory experiences in the natural environment.

Playing outdoors, children experience independence and agency as they utilise nature’s loose parts to engage in imaginative, co-operative and creative social play. Contact with nature is associated with self-regulation, and physical activity in natural settings greatly improves positive emotions, self-esteem and behaviours. Other physical and mental health benefits include vitamin D production from sunlight, better concentration, less impulsivity, less stress, and a reduction in anxiety and depressive symptoms.  

Importantly, play outdoors provides opportunities for children to learn about the world and their place within it. Natural outdoor environments provide endless opportunities to learn about the world in a meaningful way as they are constantly changing in response to the weather, seasons, time of day and the interaction between humans and the environment. Through these experiences, children develop environmental awareness and a sense of connection to nature.

Together, children and adults, develop an appreciation of the natural environment and the world around them. Teaching and learning outdoors allows kaiako to recognise the relationship mokopuna have with the environment and support tamariki in fulfilling their responsibilities as kaitiaki of the environment.

Here’s some ideas for learning outdoors:

• Visit a local park and identify/name native trees.
• Create a scavenger hunt on a local walk and find natural items that have fallen to the ground such as leaves, pinecones, harakeke (flax), bark, etc.
• Visit a local community garden and identify different fruits and vegetables growing there. Discuss how they are cooked and what they taste like.
• Build an outdoor hut using a mix of recyclable and natural loose parts.
• Create a garden in your backyard, and involve children in the planning, preparation, planting and nurturing process.
• Create a ‘bug hotel’ with loose parts.

Also, check out the Kiwi Conservation Club – Hakuturi Toa https://kcc.org.nz/activities/ for a range of outdoor activities, games, and information suitable for children.

Safety first: check the weather forecast for any weather warnings, and ensure it is safe to be outdoors exposed to the elements. Take sufficient warm and waterproof clothing, shoes and hats so that if children get wet or cold they have changes of clothing.

https://theeducationhub.org.nz/outdoor-learning-environments-in-ece/