Get Inspired - Empty Classroom Day

Get Inspired - Empty Classroom Day


The full article can be read through the hyperlinks above

"Learning goes WILD on Friday 17th June as part of Empty Classroom Day – a GLOBAL campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play!

This is the perfect antidote to the testing culture – anyone that has seen the effect of taking children outdoors to learn and play in the real world around them knows how powerful such experiences can be.

Our aim is to get as many children as possible outside for at least one lesson in the school day and for playtimes to be celebrated too.  Sign up to be part of Empty Classroom Day today!"

Outdoor learning 'boosts children's development' - BBC News

Outdoor learning 'boosts children's development' - BBC News

The full article can be read through the hyperlinks above

"Ms Waite added that the report showed that although there was a significant body of research that supports outdoor learning in both formal and informal contexts, it was likely to remain on the margins of education until the benefits were recognised by policymakers and reflected in policies."

Report identifies ways to boost children's quality of life through outdoor learning | EurekAlert! Science News

Report identifies ways to boost children's quality of life through outdoor learning | EurekAlert! Science News

The full article can be read through the hyperlinks above

"This report maps the evidence to encourage researchers and policy makers to meet at the interface of research and policy in order to shape a positive future for our children. While the report was funded and supported by agencies in the UK, the lessons learnt resonate for most high income nations around the world, particularly in Australia, where the political landscape and its impact on funding for programs in schools for outdoor learning are comparable. The report should be taken up and read widely by researchers, educators and policy makers connected to the field of outdoor education, health and physical education and sustainability and environmental education."

Click on the links below to read the report

Student outcomes and natural schooling pathways to impact 2016

Playgrounds and the Importance of Play | Iowa Public Radio

Playgrounds and the Importance of Play | Iowa Public Radio

The full article can be read through the hyperlink above

"Kids are 71 percent less involved in outdoor activities now than they were ten years ago," says Dr. Stuart Brown, founding director of the National Institute for Play. "To me it's a public health issue. The benefits of play need to be understood both for personal health, brain development, and social competency. We don't somehow see play as being connected to that and yet it is."




Listen to the full radio interview from the link below

Click here for the Radio Iowa Interview  

Nature Play launched in Canberra, encouraging more children to play outside

Nature Play launched in Canberra, encouraging more children to play outside

The full article can be read through the hyperlinks above

Image is the property of Canberra Times

"Play is the ultimate brain food and kids thrive on play. What's happening, sadly, is that play being replaced by entertainment and the key difference is entertainment is created by someone else and it's largely a passive activity..... Play is when kids are active, they're imagining, they're working together".

Brazil’s Instituto Alana Releases Children and Nature Project to Reconnect Kids with the Natural Environment | Children & Nature Network

Brazil’s Instituto Alana Releases Children and Nature Project to Reconnect Kids with the Natural Environment | Children & Nature Network

http://criancaenatureza.org.br/

The full article can be read through the hyperlinks above

“The reconnecting of children with nature is still a diffuse and unstructured debate. We want to communicate society the importance and positive impacts that direct experience and contact of children with nature brings, explains Lais Fleury, director of the Project Children and Nature. Today there is scientific evidence that prove these benefits. For Lais it’s important to highlight the admiration for the natural universe, expressed in their dreams, drawings, and love for animals. The liberty that the outdoor environment offers satisfies the genuine desire that a child has to run, jump and get dirty, creating possibilities of experimentation with nature and giving incentive to his/her creativity and imagination through contact with the natural elements."

Learning for Life: Creating quiet spaces.

Learning for Life: Creating quiet spaces.

The full article can be read through the hyperlink above
It is really lovely to read a piece where an experienced educator observes the purpose and effect that quiet areas have within a playground. The idea that all children want to engage in active activity all the time is often touted by to me by people who haven't actually spent time with children and are unaware of childrens developmental needs.

Image is the property of Kierna Corr

" In a noisy and busy playground I think it is very important to provide areas within the space where children can retreat to when they need to be quieter or more reflective. Sometimes the children will create their own spaces within areas too - we have a pallet den at the back of the slide and some days it is used as space to just sit and read books whilst on other days it is a busy hub of climbing children. Our willow dens have really bloomed in the last few dry weeks and the children are enjoying going into them to have conversations and be away from the business of the wider playground. It is lovely to hear snatches of conversation from within them or singing etc. as two or three children gather inside them.