ECTPP302A: Exploring Outdoor Activities & Community in Early Years

This essay examines the importance of a sense of community in early childhood services, focusing on both indoor and outdoor learning environments. It emphasizes how the environment shapes children's attitudes, behaviors, and skills, particularly during their formative years. The paper discusses the role of outdoor activities in broadening indoor learning, fostering social interaction, and promoting sustainable education. It also addresses the significance of human geography in early childhood classrooms, highlighting the balance between ensuring children's safety and allowing them to engage in risk play. The essay concludes that a conducive learning environment, created through the collaboration of teachers and parents, is essential for enhancing childhood development and creativity.

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.

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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

OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN 4
got from learning books in class. Nature presents children with the opportunity to link with the
actual world. In agreement to this, O’Connor & Richards (2011), stated that if children do not get
a chance to experience the natural areas and green places at their tender ages, they will grow into
adults who lack social, emotional and cultural connections to the natural environment. Outdoor
activities make it possible to attain a sustainable education development that makes it possible
for all people to develop knowledge and skills, values and attitudes that are crucial for creating a
sustainable future for next generations (Najafi & Shariff, 2011). According to UNESCO,
education for sustainable development implies that teachers should include problems in teaching
methods like biodiversity, climatic changes and reducing poverty (Rennie & Morrison, 2013).
The education system that practices outdoor activities should also encourage children to change
their behavior because it constitutes critical thinking among them.
Outdoor activities help children to become high performers in the class. These
environments make children develop different abilities that they transfer to other life aspects.
They, therefore, end up performing better in quality as they employ all their intelligence which
involve interpersonal communications (Elliott, 2013). Also, by associating with others, students
from poor backgrounds are motivated to learn more thus improving their behavior and
concentrating for a long time across different disciplines. This reduces the probability of these
children dropping out of school because they feel in the right environment receiving the proper
treatment (Verghan, 2010). Outdoor activities also bolster the health of a child. Through physical
activities, children are involved in healthy exercises that help prevent threats such as obesity and
ADHD among others.

OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN 5
Human Geography in Early Childhood Classroom
Geography describes the environment as well as its surroundings. Geography of
classroom is essential in early childhood education as it enhances childhood development
(Rogoff, 2012). It is composed of various activities such as play, interaction and socialization.
The play is highly incorporated in early childhood education as it has been argued to be effective
in enhancing early childhood development. The issue of prioritizing the safety of children or the
importance of risk play has been considered initially to be essential in the process of offering
early childhood education (Waite, Huggins & Wickett, 2014). The contention of enhancing the
safety of children against allowing them to play in emotionally and physically challenging
environments have been highly discussed. The safety of children is currently under emphasis as
it is an essential factor in facilitating early childhood development. Teachers are expected to be
on the front line in ensuring that children are involved in the safe play in the outside setting to
ensure that they are not exposed to any threat or risk. On the other hand, parents have the
responsibility of providing a conducive playing environment for the children in the outside
setting to enhance their safety (Berris & Miller, 2011). The two parties contribute majorly
towards ensuring that the safety of children is assured in the playground both indoor and outdoor
environment as play has been considered essential in early childhood development.
The nature play in early childhood development is based on the established learning
environment (Malone, Hill, Dyment & Cutter-Mackenzie, 2016). Creating a conducive learning
environment indicates that children are going to involve in various plays which facilitate their
growth. The risky play has been defined as the process of stimulating multiple types of play
which presents possible physical harm (Elliott, 2013). Children are curious and have been argued
to easily participate in various plays which present a risk of getting hurt or injured. To ensure

OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN 6
that children are not exposed to risky plays which introduce a potentiality of damaging or
harming them it is necessary that the teachers and parents are equipped with the adequate
knowledge (Francis, 2013). This is because lousy play can either occur in both outdoor and
indoor setting. However it has been argued that children gain knowledge through taking a risk
and much protection can interfere with childhood development, it should be noted that the nature
of play should be considered as some are dangerous and can expose children to permanent
disabilities (Gaudin & Chaliès, 2015). Currently, both environmental and social factors are
contributing majorly towards affecting children’s opportunity of emotional and challenging play.
Previously, children have been participating in play without considering its nature and the
associated threat such as riding bicycles, playing ball games or any other game which increased
the risk of obtaining physical harm.
Reconsidering Children’s Encounters with Nature and Place
In the process of enhancing early childhood development especially in an outdoor setting,
teachers should be keen in the process of selecting the nature of play to be incorporated in the
process of teaching. Previously conducted studies have reported that not all plays are useful for
enhancing childhood development (Malone et al., 2016). Apart from posing a high risk of
obtaining a physical injury, some play contributes majorly towards ensuring that children cannot
remember or associate what they have learned. The playing time in an indoor setting is usually a
system, and the teacher is always there to guide the children. Currently, play in childhood
development setting is decreasing at an alarming rate as children are still confined to their areas
or designated places (Tremblay et al., 2015). The decrease in play in the process of early
childhood development is associated with some advantages and disadvantages (Kids Matter,
2014). Although it has significantly reduced the number of injuries amongst children it has also

OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN 7
hindered child development and creativity as play is a valuable learning tool (Brussoni et al.,
2015). In both indoor and outdoor early childhood setting the nature play and risky play should
be controlled. Children should involve in nature play which does not expose them to risks
resulting in either emotional or physical injuries. Both teachers and parents collaborate in the
process of ensuring that children involved in plays excluding them from physical injuries since
play is essential in early childhood development and enhancing creativity (Brillante & Mankiw,
2015).
Conclusion
Early childhood learning environment is essential in the process of enhancing childhood
development. This is because it creates the foundation which determines the entire learning
process and dictates the type of person the child will grow to be. The environment is an essential
factor which determines the process of early childhood development both indoor and outdoor
setting. This is because the situation reflects the pedagogical beliefs and practices. As a result, it
explains the social, physical and emotional environment that the child grows in. The stable
climate also determines the nature of play and risk play. The fact that children must be involved
in the play in the process of childhood development indicates that a conducive environment must
be created. Conducive environment implies that children are not exposed to any event leading
them to either physical or emotional harm. Teachers and parents have to ensure that a conducive
learning environment is established in both an indoor and outdoor setting respectively.

OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN 8
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