Outdoor learning

Outdoor play is an important part of the playgroup day, providing the children with fresh air, physical exercise, and endless opportunities for learning and creativity as they explore the ever-changing natural environment through the seasons.

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We tend to visit the beautiful Common on our doorstep a couple of times a term, we have regular walks along the shaded woody lanes that surround the setting, and we have access to two outdoor play spaces.

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We aim to go outdoors in all weather conditions, welcoming the chance to explore how things smell, feel, sound, and look on different days.

 

Our outdoor-learning sessions have less focus on adult-led activities and allow for more open-ended play time to explore the environment: from bugs and plants, to experimenting with water, soil, sand, and clay.

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Outside activities include leaf threading, blackberry painting, and making bird feeders. In our ever-popular mud kitchen, the children love mixing concoctions from ingredients such as lavender, blackberries, rose petals, sycamore leaves, fir cones and chalks.

 

This type of play supports the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum by improving fine and gross motor skills, helping to build relationships with peers and adults through role-play, and also builds on language skills by introducing and using a range of new and different vocabulary.