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##  Outdoor Experiences for Young Children. ERIC Digest.                         

Much professional thought and long-standing tradition emphasize the             value of outdoor experiences for young children (e.g. Bredekamp &               Copple, 1997; Moore & Wong, 1997; Cobb, 1977/1993, Wilson, 1996a;               Rivkin, 1995). Despite the conventional wisdom, however, many                   children today spend very little time outdoors. This Digest                     considers the rationale for outdoor experience among young children             and the reasons for its decline in popularity. It also presents                 arguments for enhancing school and center playspaces and provides               guidelines for developmentally appropriate outdoor design. THE                VALUE OF OUTDOOR EXPERIENCESMost children appear to benefit from            being outdoors. They like to see what is going on (traffic,                     construction, water flowing, clouds moving, animals), go someplace,             meet and greet other people and animals, experience the infinite and            diverse sensory qualities of the world (the smells, the feels, the              sounds), and experiment with the "big behaviors," such as shouting,             running, climbing, and jumping (which are seldom accommodated well              indoors). Not only is being outdoors pleasant, its richness and                 novelty stimulate brain development and function. Cognition is                  rooted in perception (e.g.,Gleitman & Liberman, 1995)-- the outdoors            is a prime source of perceptions. 
Young children especially need              the broad experiential base provided by being outdoors. The                     knowledge they gain there is foundational to literacy and science               learning (Dewey, 1938/1963). Generations of kindergarteners have                been taken on farm visits so they could read, write, draw, converse,            and know about pumpkins, cows, and cornstalks. Furthermore, unlike              some childhood pleasures, that of being outdoors seems lasting--any             casual survey of adults will find a high quotient of happy outdoor              memories, some of which have been formative (Cobb,1977/1994; Chawla,            1994, Sebba, 1991, Wilson, 1996a). Another lasting benefit is that              children can learn to care for the environment, if provided with                numerous positive outdoor experiences under the tutelage of suitable            role models (Carson, 1956/1998; Wilson, 1996b). ENDANGERED                    ACTIVITY?Despite the benefits of outdoor experiences, and in                contrast to earlier agrarian, pre-automotive times, children now                spend most of their time inside buildings or vehicles. As most adult            activities are indoors, so now are most children's, perhaps in large            part from the need for supervision. Children five and under seldom              experience unsupervised outdoor play; now, even the 5-10's tend to              be supervised. 
Adult fears regarding traffic, firearms,                       kidnapping, injury, ultraviolet rays, insect-borne diseases, and                pollution of various sorts lead them to keep children indoors.                  Additionally, especially in many urban areas, few places remain for             children to play. Before cars took over, streets were places that               connected dwellings and shops, providing a common space for                     activities, including children's play. Public playgrounds, even                 though meant for children, are frequently poorly designed,                      maintained, or supervised (National Program for Playground Safety,              2000). School playgrounds are typically limited to combinations of              asphalt, turf, and some large-motor structures. 
The attractions of            staying inside when not in school--amusement, comfort, and                      homework--are strong. For instance, 98% of U.S. homes have                      television, 42% have computers (National Science Foundation, 2000),             and over 70% have air conditioning (U.S. Census Bureau, 1996, p.                17). During the school day, the demands of academic learning                    increasingly encroaches on outdoor time. Many schools have                      eliminated recess above the primary level. ENHANCING SCHOOL AND               CENTER PLAYSPACESRecognizing the benefits of outdoor experiences            and acknowledging that they can strengthen academic learning,                   national movements in Europe and Canada, as well as some local U.S.             efforts, have recently focused on improving school grounds (Rivkin,             1997). Titman's (1994) seminal research has helped fuel these                   efforts because it indicates that poorly designed and maintained                school yards actually lower children's self-esteem. Thus, as                    children spend increasing amounts of time in                                    institutions--year-round schools and child care centers--the urgency            to provide decent play spaces should logically intensify. School                ground improvers emphasize several benefits. 
First, the curriculum            of the school can be enhanced by a good outdoor environment.                    Individual schools and school districts can align their curriculum              and physical environments. Recent national research indicates that              when the outdoor environment is used to integrate a school's                    curriculum, achievement is higher (Lieberman, 1999). 
Second,                  environmental degradation such as erosion and run-off can be eased              with planting and storm-water pond projects, which also teach                   children the value of stewardship and activism. Young children can              participate in such projects, particularly with older children as               partners, creating service-learning opportunities for both. 
Third,            habitats for small creatures such as birds and insects restore to               children a chance to acquire firsthand, multi-sensory knowledge of              the natural world, now too often unavailable to them. Butterfly and             other gardens are increasingly popular school yard additions. The               National Gardening Association and the National Wildlife Federation,            among others, offer many resources to support school gardens and                habitats. 
Fourth, safer school yards are more likely to be used by            teachers and children. Well-designed structures with resilient                  surfacing under them are critical to safety (Consumer Product Safety            Commission, 1997); other considerations are supervision and                     maintenance. Increasingly, too, there is evidence that richly                   provisioned school yards reduce aggressive play (Moore & Wong, 1997;            Humphries & Rivkin, 1998). Finally, a good school ground and the                process of improving and maintaining it can be the center of a                  community, helping to restore for children the links between school             and home. DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE OUTDOOR                                 ENVIRONMENTSDesign of outdoor play areas begins with the young              child's needs and directions of growth. A developmentally                       appropriate space is a major element of the curriculum--where there             is sand, there can be exploration of sand. Designs for infants,                 toddlers, preschoolers, and primary children differ. The design                 guide for federal agency child care centers offers a good                       overview (U.S. General Services Administration Public Building                  Services, 1998), as does Frost (1992) and Greenman (1988). "Play for            All Guidelines" (Moore, Goltsman, & Iacofano, 1992) contains many               suggestions for Universal Design, a developing concept that helps               meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirement for                        non-discriminating public facilities. 
Infants need modulated                  sensory stimulation and increasing physical opportunities. This                 includes interesting things to look at from a horizontal as well as             vertical position, protection from excess wind and sun, pleasant                colors and sounds, places to crawl and things to pull up on as they             develop these skills, and the ability to watch but not be knocked               over by older children. Elements to consider include waving grasses             and leaves, mobiles stirred by the breeze, high vines that attract              birds and butterflies, and soft wind chimes. Porches with                       translucent roofs, smooth floors for creeping, and vertical                     railings (spaced to avoid entrapment) for pulling up on, provide an             outdoor experience without rain or excess sun. Ramps instead of                 stairs allow for safe creeping, as well as gravity experiments ("How            did that ball get down there?" "Will it do it again?"). 
Toddlers              require places and spaces for acting out prepositions--over, under,             on top of, inside, outside, behind, in front of, up, and                        down--because their physical development is paramount and fuels                 their cognitive development. In addition to safe, appropriately                 sized playground structures, toddlers like low hills to clamber up              and down. A slide imbedded in the hill provides another way down. A             large sand area, arranged to be covered when not in use, is a place             for socializing. Experiencing water is vital--water table, hose,                sprinkler. Trees that change colors or offer pinecones, shade, and              possibly fruit are enjoyable for adults as well as children. Behind             a low fence, gardens give color and fragrance but minimize contact              with bees and wasps. Poured rubber walkways provide even, soft areas            for practicing walking and then running, as well as for push-toys               and wheeled toys. As with infants, porches extend the use of the                outdoors and serve as a transitional zone between the classroom and             the yard. 
Preschoolers continue rapid physical development, and               with increasing social and language skills, require a yard with many            opportunities. Running, climbing, hopping, jumping, sliding,                    dancing, and spinning require large-motor structures, trikes,                   wagons, wheelbarrows, hills, and paths. Sociodramatic and individual            imaginative play is fundamental to preschoolers' development, and               such play is supported by playhouses equipped to become homes,                  convenience stores, forts, or restaurants as youngsters' interests              require. Outdoor storage holds play props and art supplies,                     encouraging teachers to make art available where messes don't matter            much and creation is inspired--"Can you paint the wind?" Sand and               water play are also required for preschoolers' knowledge of the                 physical world, an entry point into play with others, and for                   creative expression. Gardening, especially in trike-resistant raised            beds, teaches preschoolers about growing and caring for plants.                 Preschoolers are intrigued by the insects gardens attract, including            butterflies. Outdoor storage for tools and hoses helps here;                    children play at gardening, teachers do the gritty maintenance                  work. 
Primary children need much of what preschoolers need but                also require places to sit, read, talk, draw, and do homework.                  Provision for group activities such as a basketball hoop, ground                graphics such as hundred-squares and hopscotch, and an amphitheater             are desirable. Materials for projects--wood, paint, cardboard, clay,            tools--allow initiative and industry. In some centers, primary                  children enjoy being with the younger children, developing skills as            mentors and play leaders. Children also benefit physically from                 freely playing in wooded areas (Fjortoft, in press). A CRITICAL               PERIOD FOR YOUNG CHILDRENAlthough we evolved largely in the                 outdoors, of late children have been increasingly indoors.                      Respecting our history, and knowing the benefits of outdoor                     experiences, educators may wish to provide young children both                  richer environments and extended time in them. 
Playspaces for                 children of all ages need to be more than playgrounds. They should              be "habitats"--places where children can                                        live. REFERENCESBredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (1997 ).                      Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs,               2nd ed. Washington, DC: National Association of the Education of                Young Children. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 403                  023) 
Carson, R. (1998). The sense of wonder. New York: Harper &               Row, Haper/Collins. (Original work published 1956) 
Chawla,                    L. (1994). In the first country of places: Nature, poetry, and                  childhood memory. Albany: SUNY Press. (ERIC Document Reproduction               Service No. ED 396 317) 
Cobb, E. (1977/1993). The ecology of                  imagination in childhood, 2nd ed. Dallas, TX: Spring Publications,              2nd edition. 
Dewey, J. (1938/1963). Experience and education. New             York: Collier. 
Fjortoft, I. (in press). The natural environment as            a playground for children. Early Childhood Education                            Journal. 
Frost, J. (1992). Play and playscapes. New York:                     Delmar. 
     Greenman, J.T. (1988). Caring spaces, learning                   places. Redmond, WA: Exchange Press. 
Gleitman, L. & Liberman,                 M. (1995). An invitation to cognitive science: Language (vol. 1, 2nd            ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 
Humphries, S., & Rivkin,                      M. (1998). Creating a great place to learn--and play. Principal.                77(3), 28-30. 
Lieberman, G. (1999). Closing the achievement gap:              Using the environment as an integrating context for learning. San               Diego, CA: State Education and the Environment Roundtable. (ERIC                Document Reproduction Service No. ED 428 943) 
Moore, R., Goltsman,            S, & Iacofano, D. (1992). Play for all guidelines: Planning, design             and management of outdoor play settings for all children. Berkeley,             CA: MIG Communications. 
Moore, R., & Wong, H. (1997). Natural                 learning: The life history of an environmental schoolyard. Berkeley,            CA: MIG Communications. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED              432 122) 
National Program for Playground Safety. (2000). How safe             are America's playgrounds? A national profile of childcare, school,             and park playgrounds. Cedar Falls, IA: University of Northern                   Iowa. 
National Science Foundation. (2000). Science and engineering            indicators 2000. Washington, DC: Author, Ch. 9. May be downloaded at            http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind00/access/toc.htm. 
Rivkin,                    M. (1995). The great outdoors: Restoring children's right to play               outside. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of              Young Children. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 388                  414) 
Rivkin, M. (1997). The schoolyard habitat movement: What it              is and why children need it. Early Childhood Education Journal,                 25(1), 61-66. 
Sebba, R. (1991). The landscapes of childhood.                  Environment and Behavior, 23(4), 395-422. 
Titman, W. (1994).                  Special places, special people: The hidden curriculum of the school             grounds. Goldaming, Surrey, UK: World Wide Fund for Nature/Learning             Through Landscapes. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 430              384) 
U.S. Census Bureau. (1996). The American housing survey for              the U.S. in 1995. Washington, DC: Author. 
U.S. Consumer Product               Safety Commission. (1997). Handbook for public playground safety.               Washington, DC: Author. May be downloaded from                                  http://www.cpsc.gov. 
U.S. General Services Administration Public              Buildings Service (1998). Child care center design guide (PBS                   3425-13). Washington, DC; Author. May be downloaded from                        http://www.gsa.gov. 
Wilson, R. (1996a). The Earth--a "vale of soul            making." Early Childhood Education Journal, 22(3),                              169-171. 
Wilson, R. (1996b). Starting early: Environmental                    education during the early childhood years (ERIC Digest). Columbus,             OH: ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental              Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 402                       147) ----- 
Mary S. Rivkin is an associate professor of education              at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 
This publication             was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research               and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no.               ED-99-CO-0027. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily                 reflect the positions or policies of OERI, the Department, or AEL.           **Title:** Outdoor Experiences for Young Children. ERIC Digest.                         **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC/CRESS, P.O. Box 1348, Charleston, WV 25325-1348; Tel:                      800-624-9120 (Toll Free). Full text at Web site:                                http://www.ael.org/eric/digests/edorc007.htm.                                **Descriptors:** Child Development, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Early                 Childhood Education,  Experiential Learning, Facility Requirements,              Outdoor Activities,  Play,  Playgrounds, Primary Education,  Young             Children                                                                     **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests,  School Yards                                                  
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