A huge range of ideas for outdoor games and activities.

This essential resource is designed to help busy early years practitioners to support the mental health of young children through outdoor play. Promoting social and emotional wellbeing in childhood has never been more important, and outdoor play is a crucial tool to build resilience, develop healthy relationships, and boost self-esteem. Using relatable case studies that demonstrate achievable change, the book is full of practical advice and strategies for exploring nature in both natural and man-made landscapes, and includes guidance on how to co-create inviting play spheres with children. Each chapter provides: Adaptable and cost-effective activities designed to help children feel more confident and connected to the world around them. Case studies and reflective opportunities to prompt practitioners to consider and develop their own practice. An accessible and engaging format with links to theorists, risk assessment, and individual schemas. Outdoor play allows young children to explore who they are and what they can do. It supports them as they learn to think critically, take risks, and form a true sense of belonging with their peers and with the wider community. This is an indispensable resource for practising and trainee early years practitioners, Reception teachers, and childminders as they facilitate outdoor play in their early years setting.

There has been a growing academic interest in the role of outdoor spaces for play in a child′s development. This text represents a coordinated and comprehensive volume of international research on this subject edited by members of the well-established European Early Childhood Education Research Association Outdoor Play and Learning SIG (OPAL). Chapters written by authors from Europe, North and South America, Australasia and Asia Pacific countries are organised into six sections: Theoretical Frameworks and Conceptual Approaches for Understanding Outdoor Play & Learning Critical Reflections on Policy and Regulation in Outdoor Play & Learning Children′s Engagement with Nature, Sustainability and Children′s Geographies Diverse Contexts and Inclusion in Children′s Outdoor Play Environments Methodologies for Researching Outdoor Play and Learning Links Between Research and Practice

Engage your child in outdoor play, nature outings, and environmental explorations. Chase and be chased in a game of capture the flag. Use the power of the sun to craft your own shadow prints. Explore the stars on a late night walk. Create a field guide to your neighborhood. Through 52 ideas—some classic and some new—Let's Go Outside! offers a range of activities perfect for children ages 8 to 12. Whether you're in the country, the city, or anywhere in between, this book is sure to help you get outside—and run, dance, hike, or camp—with your preteen. Sections of the book include: • Back to Basics: Reconnecting with twists on traditional games and activities such as Capture the Flag • Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: Picnics, doing homework outdoors, and socializing opportunities outdoors • Outdoor Adventures: Canoeing, biking, and camping • Environmental Experiments: Ways to explore how nature works

"Angela Hanscom is a powerful voice for balance." —Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods In this important book, a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of TimberNook shows how outdoor play and unstructured freedom of movement are vital for children’s cognitive development and growth, and offers tons of fun, engaging ways to help ensure that kids grow into healthy, balanced, and resilient adults. Today’s kids have adopted sedentary lifestyles filled with television, video games, and computer screens. But more and more, studies show that children need “rough and tumble” outdoor play in order to develop their sensory, motor, and executive functions. Disturbingly, a lack of movement has been shown to lead to a number of health and cognitive difficulties, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), emotion regulation and sensory processing issues, and aggressiveness at school recess break. So, how can you ensure your child is fully engaging their body, mind, and all of their senses? Using the same philosophy that lies at the heart of her popular TimberNook program—that nature is the ultimate sensory experience, and that psychological and physical health improves for children when they spend time outside on a regular basis—author Angela Hanscom offers several strategies to help your child thrive, even if you live in an urban environment. Today it is rare to find children rolling down hills, climbing trees, or spinning in circles just for fun. We’ve taken away merry-go-rounds, shortened the length of swings, and done away with teeter-totters to keep children safe. Children have fewer opportunities for unstructured outdoor play than ever before, and recess times at school are shrinking due to demanding educational environments. With this book, you’ll discover little things you can do anytime, anywhere to help your kids achieve the movement they need to be happy and healthy in mind, body, and spirit.