Importance of Sense of Community or Belonging in Early Childhood Education

Running Head: OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN
Importance of Sense of Community or Belonging in Early Childhood Education
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OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN 2
Introduction
The first years of a child's life are essential for all children in shaping their long-life
attitudes, behavior patterns, attitudes, and basic life skills. Children must be provided with
different opportunities to experience various feelings such as happiness, peace, and interest
towards nature because the emotions bind their knowledge and skills. The environment in which
children are brought up in a matter a lot to who they become and their behavior in the future life.
Children are eager and curious about what happens around them during their early years. Their
bodies and minds develop at a swift rate with respect to the social, physical and temporal
environments. The physical environment is the learning centers where children meet for their
studies, the materials they use and the furnishings of the setting. The social environment involves
interactions within the learning area with peers, teachers as well as family members (Rogoff,
2012). According to IRIS centre (2015), the temporal environment is the timing, sequence, and
length of routine and activities that occur throughout the day. As children grow, they go through
the early childhood service on their daily basis for a period thus making it a routine. The place
and community from which a child comes from and learns in plays a significant part in the
child's entire life. The aim of this paper is to examine why a sense of community matter in early
childhood services in both indoors and outdoors learning environments. The paper also
determines how critical is the role of adults in facilitating and nurturing a sense of awe in
children at early development stages.

OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN 3
The Power of the Environment and how it reflects Pedagogical Beliefs and Practices
Community Engagement
Despite many studies coming to conclusions that outdoors having numerous benefits to
children, recent research indicates that practitioners, parents, and administrators in schools have
educational problems with no action taken to impose corrective measures. Children spent an
average of 7 hours and 38 minutes in a day totaling 53 hours weekly thus developing the habit to
use technology as their recreational games (Gaudin & Chaliès, 2015). Parents and guardians
should give children time to spend outdoors with schools being part of it. The outdoor
environment can create an opportunity for the child to broaden his indoor learning. By doing
this, students will increase their knowledge capacity. The outdoor setting is more than just a
place where children burn off energy, but also where professionals such as teachers agree to the
idea statement that outdoor play spaces promote extra outdoor activities (Davis, Eivers &
Thorpe, 2012). The environment provides opportunities for investigating and exploring as well
as social interaction in early childhood education. It can be optimized as a good phase for every
child to discover, grow, enjoy and treasure. Through outdoor activities, children associate
themselves with other groups thus learning to communicate and socialize with others in the
community. The environment presents them with an opportunity to learn new tactics and develop
new ideas my opening up with their playmates.
Fostering a New Approach to Understanding: Learning through Intent Community
Participation
As cited by Larson, Green & Cordell (2011), children's mental and physical development
varies according to their experiences in nature. Natural experiences are vital that the experience