28.4: When Availability of Outdoor Play Space Is an Issue
- Page ID
- 142491
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Finding Space
Outdoor play and exploration experiences may take place in different spaces and areas. However, some programs face challenges with limited or lack of outdoor play space or few safe places to go. In these situations, it is especially important to provide infants and toddlers with experiences connecting them with nature and opportunities for active outdoor play and exploration.
Although there may be no easy answers, it is still important to determine what outdoor accommodations might be reasonable and appropriate for programs and families with less-than-ideal circumstances. Here are some possible options: Greenman and Lindstrom, Caring Spaces, Learning Places, 299; Greenman et al., Prime Times, 298, 322
- Use sidewalks as paths for wheeled toys and equipment.
- Use sides of buildings as art walls.
- Provide "loose parts" to transform the space.
- Add logs, tree stumps, and smooth boulders to create new spaces and encourage large motor experiences.
- Use neighborhood resources such as recreation centers, parks, open fields, and school or public playgrounds. Create a "playground-in-a-box" (e.g., a wheeled utility cart filled with blankets, a parachute, milk crates, balls, and other toys and equipment to take to more open space).
- Take children on short outings using wagons, buggies, and strollers. Allow children who can walk to do so for at least part of the time, so they get the benefit of physical exercise.
- Locate and use community gardens.
- Plant nonpoisonous flowers in boxes or create small gardens in washtubs that are safely accessible to children and adults (American Academy of Pediatrics; American Public Health Association; National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education; and Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services, Caring for Our Children (CFOC), "Even Plants Can Be Poisonous.").
- Hang bird feeders, wind chimes, and banners where children can see them.
- Bring nature inside. Consider putting buckets or other containers outside when it rains or snows, and then bring them in to see how much was collected. When possible, open windows (no more than 4 inches and use safety guards) to allow fresh air to come in. Provide safe, age and developmentally appropriate natural objects and materials for infants and toddlers to explore. These can include pinecones, small tree cookies (i.e., cross-sections of branches that show growth rings), twigs, leaves, snow, dirt, acorns, rocks, and shells. Closely supervise these explorations: it is developmentally appropriate for very young children to put objects in their mouths. Things considered safe for older toddlers to explore are not safe for younger children.
- Draw children's attention to natural events they can see through the window, such as rain, snow, lightning, or wind blowing trees or leaves. Invite children to touch windowpanes to see if they are warm or cold. Point out and describe changes in outdoor conditions (e.g., how the amount of shady or sunny places changes depending on the time of day or how the light changes when clouds cover the sun).