Components of an Ideal Outdoor Play Environment

Observation- Study 1
It was observed that the outdoor play session of the children started with teacher explaining
them what were the different equipments and kits they were going to carry outside for various
activities. During the interaction session it was seen that the children participated spontaneously
and shared their ideas about how they could make use of the different objects in the kits.
Different kits were given to the children for different activities like painting, gardening and
camping. The teacher provided every detail about the kits and also instructed the children about
where the different kits will be placed for individual activity so that cleanliness and discipline
were maintained.
The outdoor play area was a vast ground with trees and grasses all over. It was secured with
proper fencing to ensure safety of the children. The area was provided with sheds so that the
children could rest or read books or do any other activity of their choice. The outdoor was well
designed with separate painting station, reading area, writing area, gardening area to encourage
and enable children to engage into various activities. The kits given to the children had all the
necessary equipments like paint brushes, paints, spray paints, stationeries, gardening tools,
magnifying glasses, measuring tapes, picnic utensils, etc to let the children be creative and
imaginative and explore their areas of interest. The children were seen painting the boat in the
painting zone, some were looking for bugs and butterflies, some were helping their teachers in
removing weeds, some were busy with their spray painting experiments, some were learning to
use new items like measuring tapes through trial and error and some were having their calm
leisure time reading books. The area was also provided with bicycles, sand and pebble zone,
water table, different toys and microscope. The children were sometimes accompanied by
teachers and sometimes they were functioning all by themselves and by helping each other.
Link: Starlet, Early Childhood (May 9, 2016). Engaging Young Children in the Outdoor
Environment (Video #166) [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=FrEfhE5VuSQ
Analysis and Inference
Important Components of Outdoor Play Environment
The first and foremost requirement of an outdoor environment for preschool children to play in it
is its safety measures. The outdoor environment should be at par with all the safety norms with
regards to surfacing, fall areas, accessibility to sheds and rest rooms and the component,
condition and maintenance of equipments. It should be free of garbage and debris of any kind
and should be provided with dustbins. The area should be free of hazardous insects and animals
and other dangers like exposed electric power lines or stagnant water or deep pitches and wells.
Another factor that ensures children’s safety is proper adult supervision. A safe and clean
environment has proven to be more effective and helpful to let children play and explore freely.

The playing environment of the children as observed was clean and well maintained and more or
less consisted of every safety component. Thus enabling children to interact and be playful at the
best of their ability. Ample amount of supervision was also observed as the teachers were on
constant interaction with the children.
Second in the list of important components for an ideal outdoor playing environment is the
design of the playing area. Design may refer to how a vast area is fragmented into separate zones
to promote and support wide range of activities that are essential for both mental and physical
development. A play area consisting of different interest zones enable children to explore their
interests, capabilities and skills. Book-reading zones, mini-gardens, painting stations, building
block zones and sand areas are few effective and interesting aspects of an ideal play
environment. Another important aspect of a well designed outdoor play area is the availability of
playground structures like swings, slides, sea saws and merry-go-rounds as they are not only fun
but also helps in strengthening motor skills.
The observed playing environment was quite well designed as it had specialized areas for
children to indulge into fun activities like collaboratively painting a boat, removing weeds in the
garden area and even writing down notes in the separate writing zone. Though the observed play
area had interesting zones but it lacked any kind of playground structure. This can be referred as
a major drawback as these structures are very helpful in enabling the children to relax, enjoy and
also indulge into physical activity at the same time.
The next important component for building up an ideal play environment for children is the
equipment. The play area should have a vast space so that different activity areas can be created
and different equipment can be installed. However if the space is not vast enough then
incorporating some creative structures and installation might change it into an ideal play area.
Loose-parts or open ended play equipment are ideal for fostering creativity and more focused
involvement among children. Play houses or other enclosed play equipments that require
children to construct them help children to improve their interaction and communication ability
and also to make them learn the importance of teamwork. An ideal playing environment must
also consist of playing materials that strengthens the gross motor skills and helps in the
development of the same. Portable equipments like hula-hoops, bicycles, balls helps to promote
physical activities among children.
The observed outdoor environment lacked open-ended playing materials. It had more
sophisticated playing tools. Open ended equipments can easily be installed in the observed play
area as it consists of vast space and thus it will enable children to engage into more interactive
activities. Bicycle and ball were the only portable playing tools seen in observed outdoor playing
environment.
Another component that adds to the importance of an ideal playing environment is the activities
the children perform. The wide range of activities like painting, blocking building, gardening or