Outdoor fun in the Southern Hemisphere

Outdoor play link-up - Guest post from Australia, Niki Buchan.

I was delighted to be asked to contribute a guest blog post for Kierna who I met in person while I was Head of the Claire Warden outdoor Nature Kindergartens in Scotland. I am now based in Australia as an Educational Consultant promoting consultation with children and the concept of children also having access to wilder spaces such as bush, beach and forest. Kierna and I still share our passion for naturalistic learning through Facebook and our blogs as I am the author of the blog Precious childhood and who knows...maybe one day we can do a shared blog when we meet up again in person.

 I am delighted to have someone with such an amazing background as Niki, guest post this week whilst I still enjoy my summer break. I feel privileged to call her a friend & colleague.

Children outdoors in Australia - any different to UK & Ireland?

Are children different the world over? As the children in the northern hemisphere celebrated the summer solstice, children in the southern hemisphere celebrated the winter solstice! Children benefit from being able to revisit the same space over time where they can shape their environment, build on past experiences and really notice seasonal changes.

Last week I was a visitor in this centre in Newcastle, NSW, Australia where children from the age of 2 years have access to a range of naturalistic opportunities. They engage in a variety of self selected opportunities that offer developmentally appropriate challenge and risk. Climbing trees, caring for the chickens, digging in the sand, using the woodwork shed, having a conversation in the garden and looking for frogs in the trickle creek are all experiences within the outdoor space valued by the educators and of course the children.

Our journey into the bush offered different learning opportunities - it was the unexpected surprises wild nature offers us that most engaged them. Muddy puddles, uneven tracks, birds and bugs, seasonal changes are all opportunities that invite closer exploration and the appreciation of the wonder of being in wild nature. 

Some of the children moved through this space at a fast pace while others wanted to explore in greater depth - some children were unable to follow through on their own interests with some being held back and others being rushed to keep up. I felt that this is a disadvantage of a journey to a specific site while having a time restraint...the temptation is to rush the journey. Nature time is children’s time and as adults we need to slow down and put in place strategies to support all children.

Once the group reached their destination some children were able to continue running and scrambling around a large circular track where they were at times not visible to the adults while others started to explore the space and soon discovered a slope resulting in happy children with muddy bottoms!

To support children not really engaging in the environment, I moved to a space that interested me and started to create a small basic structure on a log. I was soon joined by a number of curious children who took over the construction of what became a fairy house complete with roof, beds, lights, flower garden and, as we were in Australia........ sunshine and pet snakes! 

After having modelled this opportunity I withdrew to observe the play and of course identify the learning that was happening - all totally unplanned but so motivating to me and the children. While searching for loose bits for their creation some children noticed interesting features on some of the trees as well as a burnt tree trunk with holes - a perfect tunnel to go through. 

It was time to leave the bush but we noticed a ‘moving’ log - perfect for a future investigation, maybe leading to a natural see-saw or a teetering bridge .....more scientific explorations for children! 

 I have come to the conclusion that children the world over are motivated by similar experiences and learn in a similar way and that it is irrelevant what curriculum the adults create ....... children choose to keep playing and learning the way children always have! Thank goodness!

PS. I hope the Educators remembered that the children were expecting a miniature thank you letter from the fairies?

My favourite post from the last link up was from Kaisa over at Living Life and Loving It

I love to see children being allowed to enjoy being outside in all weathers & her photos of her family in the rain are gorgeous. 

 

 

How did your kids play outdoors this week?

• Any kind of children's outdoor play-related posts are welcome!

We'd appreciate it if you included a link back to this post (either in your post or sidebar) to help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play! In return, we'll gladly further share your post on Facebook/ Twitter/ Pinterest. Please feel free to grab the Outdoor Play Party button from the sidebar and/or include a text link back.

Please note that by contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished if featured. (If you have been featured, please feel free to grab the 'featured' button from the sidebar.) Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us every other week! The linky goes live every second Friday at 12:01 GMT+1. 

Outdoor Play Link-up - developing an outdoor area - Guest Post

It is my privilege and honour to be asked to write a guest post for Kierna on her wonderful blog. For those of you who don’t know me I am Greg Harvey, an early childhood teacher from Australia and author of the blog Males in Early Childhood.

I am taking full advantage of the summer break to take a rest from the outdoor play link up & am so delighted to have so many great guest bloggers that I could call upon to help me out. Once again, I have to say that the honour is all mine, to have Greg, a great cyber friend & colleague contribute to the blog this week.

It’s not very often you have the opportunity to revitalise an entire outdoor environment, yet recently that’s exactly what occurred at my centre. What was once very sterile and artificial surroundings have been transformed into a place full of natural materials presenting challenging and interesting locales amidst a serene and welcoming atmosphere.

As the work progresses you can see how the bland, flat and unfeatured playground begins to take shape as logs, stumps, rocks, balance beams, a creek bed, bridges and a stage all slowly form in front of your eyes.

You may also notice that here are convex mirrors, a reading circle containing sandstone seats, timber benches, a digging patch and a huge, kidney-shaped sandpit 3 times as deep as our previous one and more than twice the size all being added to this environment.

And if that wasn’t enough, there are some hidden treasures such as a fairy statue and a frog statue lurking in the gardens, a lizard lounging somewhere watching the children play, and a dragonfly keeping an eye on everything from its vantage point.

You probably won’t see some of these unless you visit in person, but to know that they are there paints a picture of a place full of imagination, wonder and adventure. You also cannot see the herb and vegie gardens that have been added to the once lone garden that existed before.

Now I can’t speak on behalf of the children, although if I was to make an educated guess I would say that they love their new outdoor environment. However, for me I have to say it’s at least as good as anything I’ve encountered during my relatively brief early childhood career.

Now I realise it’s difficult to make judgements about something you haven’t seen for yourself, but I think you would agree that the new look playground beats the old one hands down in every aspect of what an outdoor environment should offer.

A huge transformation like this is beyond most services, but there are some wonderful ideas that could be introduced to any play area with a little creativity and not too much of a shock to the budget. Some mirrors strategically placed, or a few creature statues located in out-of-the-way places, or the placement of logs, cut tree trunks and large rocks, or some timber balance beams and benches, or even the creek bed.

Some of these items would undoubtedly cost more than others, but much of it could be acquired reasonably cheaply through targeted campaigning for donations, discounts and volunteers to save labour costs. Actually, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination and determination.

So let’s get to it and provide all children with the outdoor environments they, their families and you deserve.

There were many brilliant outdoor fun ideas linked up again but the one that appealed to me the most was from  Making Boys Men . I've pounded pumpkins with golf tees but hadn't thought of doing it with melons! And to then use the melon shell as a container for the vinegar & baking soda fun - genius! There were plenty of ideas of what to do in types of weather in this post.

How did your kids play outdoors this week?

• Any kind of children's outdoor play-related posts are welcome!

We'd appreciate it if you included a link back to this post (either in your post or sidebar) to help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play! In return, we'll gladly further share your post on Facebook/ Twitter/ Pinterest. Please feel free to grab the Outdoor Play Party button from the sidebar and/or include a text link back.

Please note that by contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished if featured. (If you have been featured, please feel free to grab the 'featured' button from the sidebar.) Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us every other week! The linky goes live every second Friday at 12:01 GMT+1. 

Happiness is.....

Lying in a soft, deep pile of leaves.

 Exploring with your friends in a river - hunting for trolls & crocodiles.

Making it safely across the river to the other side

Making it to the top

 Embracing all weathers

Outdoor Play Link up - Guest post - from USA

Once again, as I am on summer break I have turned to another fellow educator that I have begun to know & respect through the wonderful world wide web, the lovely Andrea McDougall, teaches the Bugs (2s/3s) class at Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School, in Maryland, DC, USA. I was fascinated by the wonderful cardboard adventures she had with her 'students'  during the 2nd week of their Tink 2012 on Dens. Thanks Andrea for taking the time to write up a great post on how the cardboard adventure developed.

 

It takes a village to build a village!

It all begins with a challenge and many different solutions.  How to build a den with the materials provided.  The previous week during Tink 2012 World Tour, Dens at The Cooperative School  the students were given scrap wood, used moving pallets and a lot of bamboo.  The challenge was to build a water, wind and animal proof den (as determined by the students).  We had success as far as water and wind were concerned but we didn’t allow any bears in to test the wild animal factor.  This week the challenge was to build a strong and comfortable cardboard den (again, criteria determined by the children). 

Day one: with only 2 pieces of cardboard per student design a model of what you want to build outside.  We learned that a lot of tape was needed and if you worked in a team you had access to a lot more cardboard.

Day 2: take it outside and go big!  Again, given only 2, this time large sheets of cardboard, replicate your model.  What we learned is that changing the scale is hard to do and taping large sheets of cardboard is nearly impossible! It was a very frustrating day for many. It was also an opportunity to problem solve and come together as a group.

 Day 3:  get a lot more cardboard, start lashing and try a different kind of tape.  Success, except the structures were not dens.  The children had turned them into a village of stores, tea shops and yogurt shops with only one outlying homes/dens.  There was cooperation, bartering, selling and many thriving businesses. So what happened to the dens that were so successful the week before?  Maybe the proximity of the shelters took hold, maybe the lack of a water proofing test stretched their imaginations, maybe playing house/city in cardboard boxes is something more familiar and natural for children to do, or maybe the introduction of markers to draw the location where doors and windows should be cut allowed the children to decorate and label in a way that was not possible the week before.  Either way, just like in the book Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, a whole world of imagination came together as a community.

 Day 4: let’s decorate!  Out came the paint and up went menus, hours of operation, and open and closed signs.  We also learned that paint weakens the cardboard making it sag and bend.  

This made the idea of dismantling much more palatable for Day 5.  Cardboard is only temporary after all!

My favourite post from the last link up was from my fellow co-host, Mama Pea Pod, I love lying on the ground just staring up at the clouds or trees etc. and every year love introducing this simple activity to a whole new generation of children. So I was delighted to see Sweet Pea enjoying this activity at the tender of age of 2, just relaxing on the grass with no particular agenda. Sometimes we just need to allow children to 'be' in the moment without hurrying them from activity to activity.

How did your kids play outdoors this week?

• Any kind of children's outdoor play-related posts are welcome!

We'd appreciate it if you included a link back to this post (either in your post or sidebar) to help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play! In return, we'll gladly further share your post on Facebook/ Twitter/ Pinterest. Please feel free to grab the Outdoor Play Party button from the sidebar and/or include a text link back.

Please note that by contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished if featured. (If you have been featured, please feel free to grab the 'featured' button from the sidebar.) Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us every other week! The linky goes live every second Friday at 12:01 GMT+1.

Top 10 books I love sharing with my class.

First off I have to confess that I am a reader, always have been, hope I always will be. So it is no surprise that I love to introduce a whole new class each year to the joy of books. Some years are easier than others, the class who have just left nursery were the biggest bookworms I'd ever come across, I hope they maintain this love of books. They read everywhere!

I love hearing parents say that their child has suddenly become interested in books since starting nursery, I like to think that it's because of our daily shared 20-30 minute story time. I hope during this time they begin to see the magic of getting lost in a story & how to make books come alive. I am always sad when you get a child of 3 or 4 who doesn't want to look at a book because they feel they can't as they can't 'read' it. This is why picture books are so important. I feel sorry for older children & adults who are denied the chance to enjoy picture books - I love that because of my job I can spend an hour in the children's section of a book shop exploring new books & enjoying old favourites.
I do not stick 100% to the words written in most books, adding my own parts to either enhance or lengthen the story.
So here are my top 10 I shared with my class, some old ones, some new ones. But there are actually 11 books because I had such trouble whittling it down to 10 & could go on for days listing my favourite books & have stuck in an extra one to start off with

I read this as an 8/9 year old & it had a deep impact on me & actually awakened a life long love of history in me. I read a lot of books & often forget who writes them so was so surprised that this one was written by an author that I admire so much & find timeless - Judith Kerr, so that leads me onto my first one I read every year with my class, it is so old-fashioned looking now but I have yet to meet a class who don't love it.

What child wouldn't love a big furry tiger to ring the doorbell some evening?

A classic tale & I love this version for the illustrations, I give the kids names - the days of the week! And we sing a song at the end 'Ding dong the wolf is gone'

An old favourite - we do this as part of our graduation ceremony every year.

A new book for me & the class this year - a lovely tale & beautifully illustrated - and of course I'm not biased just because it is written by an Irish man.

One of the most gorgeous books ever, we had such fun looking for Bog Babies in the forest!

One that children 'get' immediately.

What can I say - I love this one, never mind the children!

Another old classic - a different twist on the tradtional story.

A great one at the start of the school year to get children involved in story time - they can join in this one so easily - we also do this as part of our Graduation ceremony.

This one is up here to introduce the brilliant Nick Sharratt to readers, he has re-written all the classic tales in a brilliant rhyming style. I love all his books - the sillier he better!

I have so many others that I could I believe do a top 100 & maybe that is another post for a later date.

Outdoor Play link-up - guest post from Down Under.

Well here we are, bloggers from opposite sides of the globe coming together to share our early childhood experiences. While Kierna takes a 8 week summer vacation, down here in Australia, I’m rugging up at home on a 2 week winter term break. So, perhaps at this point I should introduce myself.  I am Karen, and I blog about my experiences in the early childhood field at Flights of Whimsy  I have known Kierna for over a year now through social media and several early childhood blogger networks. Kierna is passionate about her vocation and I have tremendous respect for the wonderful work she does with her nursery class at Windmill Integrated Primary School.  I am also a big fan of her blog and visit frequently for updates on the early learning journey of the children within her care.  So what a surprise, and such an honour to be asked by Kierna to do a guest post on her Learning for Life site. Wow... and Thank-you!

Actually it's me who should be saying Thank-you , to Karen, an inspirational blogger & someone I now consider a colleague & friend.

SHADOW PLAY

We have a beautiful large natural playground at our preschool and the arrival of every season brings different sensory delights and changes to the environments ambience. Partially surrounding our preschool building, we have a large covered concrete pathway which is totally shaded through the summer months.  But, as time moves on, and temperatures gradually decrease, the sun progressively descends lower and lower in the sky and its light advances further and further in under the pergola.

Recently, on a particularly glorious sunny winter day, I noticed Jack jiggling about and observing his shadow as it danced about on the concrete below his feet.  I joined in with his game by attempting to jump onto his shadow. A chasing game then followed whereby I was madly running about trying to catch his shadow as he giggled whole-heartedly. 

Eventually this became exhausting (for me!) and I suggested to him that perhaps we could trace around his shadow.  At first he was a little unsure about my meaning, but quickly caught on, standing as still as a statue while I began to trace.  Pretty soon we had an audience gathering, all marvelling at the idea and keen to have a try themselves.
As the children drew we began to discuss the nature of shadows.  We talked about how shadows occur when light is blocked by an object, in this case, our bodies. 

We practiced making our shadows taller by stretching up, and smaller by crouching down. We made funny shaped shadows by twisting and contorting our bodies.

We turned two shadows into one by hugging our bodies tight, and we gave them four arms, four legs and two heads!

After lunch, we came out and discovered that our shadows no longer fitted into our pavement sketches! They had moved, and grown taller! What a surprise!  A few children pondered on this interesting observation for quite some time and were clearly grappling with the question, ‘Why is it so?’  Others lost interest and moved on. The small group that remained were all at different levels of understanding, but a couple of children were eventually able to recognize the correlation between the suns movement through the sky and the changes they observed in their shadows in response to this movement. Jack, was one of them.

Now that is emergent curriculum! In allowing children ownership of their own learning, we can trust that they will take us down paths that we may have never imagined at the commencement of the day. Just wonderful!

 

To follow up on this interest, the following provocations could be provided:

·         A ‘search for shadows’ game

·         Exploration of shadows with an OHP or projector

·         A box shadow theatre project

·         Introduce the children to Indonesian shadow puppets

·         Build a sundial project

It is getting harder & harder to choose one post from them all each week, but given that it was International Mud Day last week I thought that the one from Having Fun At Chelle's House on building a mud pit from scratch with the help of 2 small children was appropriate. I hope her children come to appreciate this great play space over time & know from my own experience that even the most reluctant children can't resist the allure of mud after a while.

How did your kids play outdoors this week?

• Any kind of children's outdoor play-related posts are welcome!

We'd appreciate it if you included a link back to this post (either in your post or sidebar) to help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play! In return, we'll gladly further share your post on Facebook/ Twitter/ Pinterest. Please feel free to grab the Outdoor Play Party button from the sidebar and/or include a text link back.






Please note that by contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished if featured. (If you have been featured, please feel free to grab the 'featured' button from the sidebar.) Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us every other week! The linky goes live every second Friday at 12:01 GMT+1.