School Readiness- How the Outdoors Can Help

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School Readiness- How the Outdoors Can Help

School Readiness - How the Outdoors Can Help Over the last few years we have seen an increased emphasis on the importance of ensuring children are ready for school.

But what does it mean to be school-ready? And what can be done to help them reach this stage?

In order for children to take benefit from lessons they need to be able to pay attention, sit still when required and be able to focus. Children also need to be confident, comfortable in a sociable environment, like a classroom and be able to interact well with other children.

How can the outdoors help?
1. Activities that take place outside often incorporate various social skills naturally. Playing in the outdoors, such as in parks or playing fields, or even the school playgrounds often allows children to mix with a wider range of age groups in a much more informal and unstructured way to indoor play.

2. The outdoors often presents more obstacles which children need to overcome, and often this can mean children work together in a collaborative manner, to build a den for example, helping them learn about team work and how to integrate into a community.

3. Outdoor play also encourages curiosity in the world around us, encouraging children to explore a setting and discover the animals and plants in the area through touch, sight and sound.

4. This multi-sensory and interesting environment engages children in a way that stimulates the desire to talk and express feelings and surprise at the sights and sounds presented in this environment. This can help develop their language, problem solving and reasoning skills.

It is also beneficial for outdoor play and learning to continue into primary and secondary learning; a research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) found that children who have experienced a longer transition of play based outdoor learning had an enhanced readiness to learn (view more about the findings >).

To help encourage staff to use the outdoor setting, a playground shelter or canopy can be a valuable addition, which can allow for outdoor learning even in heavy rain or snow. It can also keep equipment under it dry and ready to use whatever the weather.

To find out more about our range of canopies download our brochure by clicking the button below:

Able Canopies Ltd. design, manufacture and install canopies and shade structures
at schools, nurseries and educational settings to enable year-round
Free Flow Outdoor Play and Outdoor Learning.
For more information please contact us

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School Readiness- How the Outdoors Can Help

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