Outdoor Learning through the Seasons

An Essential Guide for the Early Years

Ann Watts

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780367218973
• eBook ISBN: 9781000050073
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Early Childhood Education

Outdoor learning and play experiences are an essential part of young children's development. The importance of offering children first-hand experience of the natural world becomes more urgent as research evidence demonstrates the benefits of becoming physically and emotionally involved with the natural world. Outdoor Learning through the Seasons shows how we can encourage young children to engage with nature on a daily basis throughout the year.

Using the four seasons as a framework, it supports adults to develop their own awareness of the world around them and feel confident about taking children outside every day. There are suggestions for caring for gardens and wildlife through the year, and ideas to brighten grey winter days, enjoy the summer sunshine or explore in the snow. Now featuring full-colour photographs throughout, this new edition has been updated to include references to recent research, new material on Forest Schools, discussion questions for practitioners and in-depth case studies of learning in action.

Features include:

• Ideas for all seasons, weather conditions and working with the four elements: earth, air, water and fire
• Guidance on fulfilling the learning requirements of EYFS and the Characteristics of Effective Learning
• Advice on working with parents and the role of adults
• Practical tips and suggestions of how to make the most of a small space or how to re-plan an existing space
• Useful reference lists of further resources including stories, poems and websites

This practical book is essential reading for all those looking to provide rich and stimulating outdoor learning and play provision for children in early years settings on a daily basis and for parents and carers wishing to get the most of time outdoors with their children.

Part I The early years foundation stage

This part of the book refers directly to the revised Early Years Foundation Stage. In the United Kingdom all early years providers are required to work within the statutory framework known as the Early Years Foundation Stage (referred to hereafter as EYFS). This document can be found online in a number of places. A search for EYFS framework will give several ways of accessing this. The most recent update at the time of writing was published in March 2017.

As well as giving the statutory requirements for all aspects of health and safety it outlines the seven areas of learning, the early learning goals and the characteristics of effective learning.

It is important when working within the EYFS to remember that the early learning goals are the expectations for children who are at the end of the Foundation Stage. Most children will transfer from a nursery preschool or childminder into a reception class in a primary school before the end of the Foundation Stage. We need to ensure that all children, whether at home or in early years settings, are working towards these goals, but it is even more important to ensure that they are establishing the patterns and styles of learning which will remain with them for life. Effective practice will enable children to develop attitudes and dispositions to manage their own feelings, behaviours and learning.

The early years framework discusses the need to create an “enabling environment”. This comes under the heading “Overarching principles” on page 6. This means that the environment itself can offer and stimulate creativity and learning through its layout, resourcing and design, but it also refers to the need for strong partnerships between practitioners and carers. The next four chapters show how close collaboration and an understanding of the way in which children learn will ensure that high-quality outdoor provision becomes a fully integrated part of children’s early learning experience.

Practitioners need firstly to understand how children learn effectively and then work together with colleagues, parents and children to plan and implement changes in the outdoor environment. These need to take into account the specific needs of your children as well as differing weather conditions and seasonal change.

How children learn

Through play and discovery, young children are able to manage their own learning, thus developing lifelong skills. From the moment they are born, babies begin the learning process. Their behaviour is reinforced by experiences. A tiny baby only a few days old is able to copy the lip and mouth movements of adults. This usually sparks an emotional response in the adult, which is communicated back, and so the baby engages in social and emotional interaction. The learning process in a young baby is a complex interaction of instinctive, intuitive and learnt behaviours.

As parents, grandparents and practitioners, we all want the children in our care to become effective learners. In particular, children with additional needs may need more specific support and guidance so they too can learn effectively. Learning is not a passive process of knowledge acquisition with measurable and predictable outcomes. It is a process which draws on past experiences so the learner can understand and evaluate the present before taking action to shape the future and thereby acquire new knowledge. Adults play an important part in this learning process and need to understand how the learning process can best be developed. Vygotsky (1978) used the term ‘scaffolding of learning’ and explained how new learning takes place when supported by what has happened previously. He also introduced the term ‘zone of proximal development’ and this is where adult interaction can be most successful. It represents the gap between what the child already knows and what he or she is capable of learning with assistance from an adult or a more knowledgeable and skilled peer.

Child-initiated learning is becoming more widespread as practitioners feel enabled to observe children’s interests and encourage them to develop their own ideas. Planning for the moment expresses the idea that adults and children work together to plan what will happen that day and maybe there is discussion about what may be needed to enable this. Practitioners need to be confident as they let go of their own ideas sometimes and follow the lead of a child or a group of children.

The role of the outdoor space

Being outdoors will enable children and adults to have more freedom. Adults should be able to find time to observe the ways in which children are interacting with the environment and how their learning is being extended in different ways according to the situation and also the different times of the year and the elements available. A skilled adult will be able to adapt and extend the natural environment to offer a wide range of learning experiences throughout the year.

Babies listen closely to sounds, and the development of internal language starts at a very young age. Sensory experiences are particularly important for very young children and babies respond immediately to the outdoor environment, watching movements, discovering textures, and hearing new sounds. The focus of all provision should be the process of learning which is taking place in each child. Good outdoor provision does not necessarily rely on expensive equipment. It entails making the most of the natural spaces and resources you have, and combining this with positive, engaged and enthusiastic adults. Children’s learning is a result of complex interactions between the child’s experiences of relationships and environments.

1 Creating an enabling environment outdoors

EYFS: The seven areas of learning

This chapter focuses in turn on each of the seven areas of learning and gives a brief outline of experiences that can be offered to children outside throughout different times of the year. There are three prime areas focusing on all-round holistic development. These are personal, social and emotional development, communication and language and physical development. Following this come the four specific areas which focus on more structured learning – literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design.

It is crucial, however, to remember that the best learning and play opportunities will cover many areas of the curriculum at the same time. These areas are closely interwoven and children benefit from holistic learning experiences which encompass these. In particular, the three prime areas of learning are interdependent and their strands are like the threads of a textured woven pattern which come together to create a whole. These areas are of particular importance when working with the youngest children. Each area of learning has a main heading and several subheadings as seen in the following sections.

Three prime areas of learning

Personal, social and emotional development

Moore and Wong (1997) believed that the natural world provided the major stimulus and most significant context for emotional experiences. They realised that the ever changing and diverse scenes within this world offered the widest range of possible interactions.

If we are to introduce children to these experiences it is imperative that we are able to acquaint ourselves in some way with the world of nature. It may mean going back to our own childhood and thinking about experiences we still recall with pleasure. We may need to become more familiar with the animals and plants around us and, for some, this may mean taking on a healthier lifestyle as we spend more time in the open air and imbibe something of the world around us.

Making relationships and understanding others

Establishing close relationships with the children in our care means that there is mutual trust, and shared outdoor experiences will help to build and consolidate these relationships.

Holding an adult’s hand enables confidence to develop at an early age.

Adults need to be able to share a child’s excitement at seeing a butterfly, or finding a frog, as well as encouraging a child who may be afraid of small insects. Children, too, will help each other as in the case of four-year-old Harry who carefully explained to his two-year-old sister who was nervous of flying insects, “A butterfly is very pretty, it just flies around and it would never hurt you”.

Resources and experiences

Opportunities to join in group gardening activities, care for plants and wildlife at different times of the year.

Provision of crates, gutter...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I The Early Years Foundation Stage
• Part II The four seasons
• Part III The four elements
• Bibliography