Why is Outdoor Play Important for Preschoolers?
As authors Jo Schofield and Fiona Danks wisely advise, “Let children become completely immersed in nature. Allow them to get soaked to the skin in a summer rainstorm or plastered from head to foot in mud; let them stain their hands and arms with blackberry juice. Give them the freedom to muck about, get dirty, and generally have fun.”
At the HABA Learning Hub, we couldn’t agree more. Having fun in the great outdoors is a recipe for a childhood filled with learning and growth. From sparking imagination to promoting physical activity, outdoor play offers countless benefits for children of all ages. With this in mind, many preschools are embracing an outdoor preschool model, where students spend the majority of their day immersed in nature and learning directly from their environment.
Today, we’re speaking with an outdoor preschool director, parent, and educator Sessa Salas to learn more about what it takes to run an outdoor preschool and how she supports children and families in embracing the outdoor classroom model all year long at Peopleplace Cooperative Preschool in camden, Maine.
How do you actually keep the kids outside through all the seasons without too much complaint?
First of all, it’s about educating families on how to dress children to be outside and be comfortable. But it’s also about buying into the idea of the importance of being outside and how valuable it is for children’s well-being and growth. So having the right gear is the number one priority, and it’s about maintaining this commitment that we are going to get kids outside in all kinds of weather. We do have back up gear and we also have an account at the local consignment store to help support families in outfitting their child.
Can you tell us more about these outdoor preschool spaces and how they relate to the type of teaching practice you use at Peopleplace?
We are very fortunate to have such amazing outdoor spaces and a variety of spaces to bring kids into. Each one of our outdoor spaces lends itself to different types of learning and play and joy and wonder and exploration, all of the things that we want children to be exposed to in our program. Teachers do a great job of setting up the environments because in Reggio Emilia, the environment is the third teacher. We want children to be engaged and inspired, and whatever materials are in that environment, whatever the children are interacting with and manipulating, they are developing all kinds of skills through play.
At Peopleplace, we follow the Reggio Emilia educational model. In Reggio, the classroom and environment are considered the “third teacher.” This philosophy emphasizes child-led, inquiry-based learning, where educators observe children’s interests and build curriculum around those natural curiosities. With this in mind, our teachers thoughtfully prepare outdoor environments that invite exploration, creativity, and deep engagement.
Do you ever have a child who refuses to go outside, and how do you handle that?
We are patient but also strongly encourage them to go outside. We do have a rule around supervision and ratios, and if there is a large enough group that is not ready to be outside, then one teacher can stay inside with them until they are ready. But most of the time, they just have to be outside. Even if it is cold, even if it is raining or snowing, we are outside in the elements despite the season.
And actually, each season provides a unique environment to learn. So much learning happens through the weather and the changing of the seasons in the preschool curriculum anyway, but here they get to see directly how weather and seasons change the landscape. In winter, they learn how snow and ice behave, and that becomes part of our learning curriculum because we use an emergent curriculum. It is really inspired by what the children are inspired by. Teachers develop curriculum around the interests of the children, and when they are outside in the snow, the interests will undoubtedly be about making snow creatures, building structures, creating tracks, and exploring what happens when ice melts or snow compacts.
What are the number one Reggio Emilia–inspired toys for emergent curriculums, for both indoor and outdoor spaces?
Blocks are probably the number one but anything for the pretend play area; scarves, a farmers market, a vet clinic, anything that will give children a chance to play different roles. Play is their language so anything that helps to open their ability to explore and imagine is wonderful.
Tools for the sandbox, especially when you add water and pipes. It is just amazing to watch what kids create. They create aqueducts! It’s all pre-engineering and they get so absorbed by it and learn so much about physics and movement.
Reggio uses a lot of loose parts play and we are known for our beautiful studio spaces, the atelier. Art materials and natural materials mix and allow works of art to be created. Reggio also talks about the one hundred languages of a child and creating art is one of the many languages that children speak.
The Many Benefits of an Outdoor Preschool
Thank you, Sessa for speaking with us and sharing some of the wonder of the outdoor classroom. From watching the magic of this method, we can see that at its heart, outdoor preschool is about trusting children to explore, to get messy, to ask questions, and to follow their curiosity. It's very enriching to see how with some thoughtful preparation, strong family partnership, and a deep respect for children’s capabilities, outdoor learning becomes not just a seasonal activity, but a year-round way of life that will continue to encourage a connection with nature throughout their entire lives.
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