YOU, YOUR KIDS & SCHOOL: The benefits of outdoor play

Outdoor play is crucial to a child’s healthy brain and body development. Now that the weather looks like it has finally turned the corner and warmer temperatures and sunshine are on the way, it’s exciting to think about children and adults enjoying more of the outdoors once again. Play is important for a child’s healthy brain and body development, and it’s through play that children engage and interact with the world around them. Children explore, take risks, experiment, develop fine and gross motor muscle memory, problem solve, discover and use imagination all through play. Anne Broderius Outdoor play takes children away from excessive TV and computer or video games, which have become all too common a form of play. Outdoor play provides an opportunity for important physical activity and children moving their bodies in a fun way that supports many areas of development. It’s important to encourage different kinds of play. Physical play such as walking, running, climbing, skipping, rolling, jumping and biking should be encouraged. These types of play help children develop gross motor skills, balance and coordination. Do you remember being a kid and rolling down a hill, playing on a swing set or riding bike all day long? Another type of play is constructive play. See how creative children are when given some random materials such as wood blocks, PVC pipe, balls, string, boxes and canisters. Do you remember how much fun it was to play with an old cardboard box as a kid? Sometimes children have more fun with the empty box than with the item that came inside of it. Children need lots of opportunities for social play. Providing children a chance to play with other children similar in age is important for development. Through social play, children learn how to share, cooperate, take […]

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