Bring The Outside – Inside

Posted on 20/12/2018 by David Lowbridge

There are many benefits for playing outside, whatever the weather. But that doesn’t mean that you can be outside all the time. December, January and February can sometimes be challenging times for outside play, not least because the rain can make outside areas slippery. Yet that doesn’t mean your outside area is completely redundant. In fact, you can take items from the outside and bring them into you classroom to continue outside learning even during these wet, cold winter months. … Continue reading →

Five Outdoor Group Games To Help Them Learn

Posted on 30/11/2018 by David Lowbridge

Outdoor games are great fun and excellent for learning key skills. Children that play regularly outside are developing their fine motor skills, learning about the environment, improving their confidence and building social skills. That’s why it is always great to offer games outside. Sometimes, you might want to suggest games to offer particular skill development. Here are some suggestions for you. Hide And Seek Every child knows hide and seek, and they all love the game. Children relish the challenge … Continue reading →

Playing Out In The Rain

Posted on 02/11/2018 by David Lowbridge

With the weather becoming wetter throughout the country, outside time is becoming less attractive to small children. It’s cold, wet, and at times we put less toys outside to play with because of the risk. However, there are reasons why you should encourage more outside play. Different Textures Playing outside during wet, rainy weather is completely different to play when it’s hot and sunny. These different experiences can help with learning co-ordination and sensory development. Different textures can also be … Continue reading →

Five Steps To Make Risky Play A Success

Posted on 27/04/2018 by David Lowbridge

Risky play offers lots of benefits for your children. It helps them gain awareness of their physical and emotional limits and allows them to develop coordination and self-esteem. However, many don’t like risky play because of the perceived dangers. Yet with some proactive precautions, risky play shouldn’t be dangerous. To help you with risky play, here are five steps to make it more successful. Share Concerns Among Staff All members of staff in your setting need to be involved in … Continue reading →

Outside Play Still Important For Older Children

Posted on 26/09/2017 by David Lowbridge

With the rise in screen time, many older children are spending less time playing outside. While this is generally accepted, some suggest that outside play is still important to children over 11. For one thing, children over this age could benefit from the increase in activity for health reasons. There are many news reports on the growth of obesity in children. Secondary school teachers can also find that children in their care don’t have basic skills like catching, running, etc. … Continue reading →

Five Top Simple Outdoor Activities

Posted on 18/09/2017 by Christine

Playing outside has many benefits; it encourages activities that help physical development and hand-eye coordination, and when children play in groups, it helps improve social skills. So, it’s helpful to have a few ideas for easy outdoor activities that are relatively quick to set up. Here’s a selection of simple outdoor activities you can offer your children. Balloons Balloons are always attractive to children. Some will kick them around, while others will play catch with them or try to keep … Continue reading →

Emotional Literacy Is Improved With Outdoor Play

Posted on 12/04/2017 by David Lowbridge

Previously, we’ve spoken about Dandelion and how its outdoor environment helps their children to grow and develop. Part of their success has been the emotional literacy development they’ve seen. Emotional literacy is the ability to understand and express feelings. During the younger years, this is a skill to learn like any other, as children not only need to learn about their feelings, but also how they can manage and control negative emotions. At Dandelions, staff encourage children to explore their … Continue reading →

Time Outside For Everyone

Posted on 09/02/2017 by David Lowbridge

We all know the importance of an outside space for children. Children who regularly play outside can see improvements in their vision, social skills, and attention span. It can also help them relax. Many childcare facilities provide great outside play spaces to support child development. However, others believe that we should be going one step further by developing a nature area where children can play and learn. Nature Lessons The same advantages of exploring a playground can be obtained within … Continue reading →

Active Behaviour

Posted on 09/11/2016 by David Lowbridge

The number of children who are obese by the time they start secondary school is rising. Now one-in-four children can be classified as obese, and this is bad news for their health. Often as children get older, they lose their interest in sporting competitions and begin to spend more time behind screens. Yet, when they are younger, it is hard to get children to stop moving. So, what happens and how can we keep children active? Changing Behaviours As parents … Continue reading →

Let’s Go Outside Because We Can

Posted on 09/06/2016 by David Lowbridge

Being outside is great for kids and can have such a positive impact on the lives of youngsters. A report written by The Children’s Society found that children are generally unhappy, and many issues are affecting them. One of them is the freedom to play outside. A major problem with this is that children lose contact with the outside world. A survey by the Guardian found that 64% of children only play outside once a week and 28% haven’t been … Continue reading →