The Ideal Outdoor Area for Early Years

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The Ideal Outdoor Area for Early Years

Here’s some ideas of features to include in your Early Years outdoor area to make it outstanding:

Messy Play

Many areas can be created to incorporate messy play and bring out children’s imaginations and experimental sides. Here’s a few of the most loved messy play areas…

• A water play section which is popular with all ages
• A gravelled construction pit allows children to learn to balance and build structures safely
• A mud kitchen is needed in every outdoor play areas! Children love to get messy with mud

Messy Play outside makes cleaning and tidying much easier and a canopy enables it to be enjoyed all year round!

Nature Play

I love natural play and there are so many benefits that it can bring to children, they can learn at the same time as being creative…
• Create a jungle garden with tunnels that the children can crawl through
• A bug hotel allows children to help nature out by creating homes and teaches them about different insects
• Growing vegetables is very interesting for young children gives them a great sense of pride
• Living willow structures can harbour wildlife and is great for children to investigate

Risk and Personality Play

• Balance beams allow children to practice their balancing skills and feel like they are taking a risk
• Music and tactile panels enables children to find what they enjoy, their talents and their personalities
• A designated cycle track allows them to ride small bicycles safely without riding into play areas
• A performance zone equipped with seating and a stage allows children to create their own little performances
• Jungle areas enable children to climb and take risks in a safe manor

Wall Mounted Canopies allow for free-flow play and fences create safe boundaries

Baby Area

Don’t forget the babies! A covered baby area that caters for under two’s is essential, they need somewhere that they can feel safe and that doesn’t have older toddlers running around, bumping into them. If your baby area is covered with a canopy that is connected to the building, you will find that you have created a safe free—flow play area where babies can crawl from the inside to the outside without any risks.

By incorporating some, or all of the above ideas, you will find that you will not be restricting children or babies from experimenting and playing outside and health and safety will not stop outdoor play as each garden area is separate from the next, keeping babies and older children separate.

You will find that it will have a positive impact on your business and the children’s physical and mental learning development and not only will parents be begging you to take their children in, practitioners will be begging to work for you!

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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The Ideal Outdoor Area for Early Years

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