How many time do you hear ” today the kids don’t play
outside anymore or that kids are just sit and playing on their computer games
all day “ well stop doing it then and take your kids out
side turn off the computer and go out to play.
What’s the Big Deal about Being Outside?
For starters, kids engage in more active play when they are outside, as opposed to inside. Active kids are healthy kids, and outdoor activities are especially healthy for them!
For starters, kids engage in more active play when they are outside, as opposed to inside. Active kids are healthy kids, and outdoor activities are especially healthy for them!
Among a wide range of benefits, outdoor play is vital, because it:
- Gives kids a chance to burn off energy
- Can be calming and allow kids to "recharge" their energy levels
- Helps kids learn to interact with and understand the natural world
- Offers a chance for more social interaction with peers
- Helps to develop their powers of observation and their assessment of risk
- Offers more opportunities for creativity and free play
- Helps to build a strong link between physical health and outdoor play, at a young age
The Importance of Outdoor Play
The outdoors is the very best place for preschoolers to practice and master emerging physical skills. It is in the outdoors that children can fully and freely experience motor skills like running, leaping, and jumping. It is also the most appropriate area for the practice of ball-handling skills, like throwing, catching, and striking. And children can perform other such manipulative skills as pushing a swing, pulling a wagon, and lifting and carrying movable objects.
Additionally, it is in the outdoors that children are likely to burn the most calories, which helps prevent obesity, a heart disease risk factor that has doubled in the past decade. With studies showing that as many as half of American children are not getting enough exercise-- and that risk factors like hypertension and arteriosclerosis are showing up at age 5-- parents and teachers need to give serious consideration to ways in which to prevent such health problems. The outside is also important because the outdoor light stimulates the pineal gland, the part of the brain that regulates the "biological clock," is vital to the immune system, and makes us feel happier.
The outdoors is the very best place for preschoolers to practice and master emerging physical skills. It is in the outdoors that children can fully and freely experience motor skills like running, leaping, and jumping. It is also the most appropriate area for the practice of ball-handling skills, like throwing, catching, and striking. And children can perform other such manipulative skills as pushing a swing, pulling a wagon, and lifting and carrying movable objects.
Additionally, it is in the outdoors that children are likely to burn the most calories, which helps prevent obesity, a heart disease risk factor that has doubled in the past decade. With studies showing that as many as half of American children are not getting enough exercise-- and that risk factors like hypertension and arteriosclerosis are showing up at age 5-- parents and teachers need to give serious consideration to ways in which to prevent such health problems. The outside is also important because the outdoor light stimulates the pineal gland, the part of the brain that regulates the "biological clock," is vital to the immune system, and makes us feel happier.
Outdoor Play Contributes to Learning
The outdoors has something more to offer than just physical benefits. Cognitive and social/emotional development are impacted, too. Outside, children are more likely to invent games. As they do, they're able to express themselves and learn about the world in their own way. They feel safe and in control, which promotes autonomy, decision-making, and organizational skills. Inventing rules for games (as preschoolers like to do) promotes an understanding of why rules are necessary. Although the children are only playing to have fun, they're learning
The outdoors has something more to offer than just physical benefits. Cognitive and social/emotional development are impacted, too. Outside, children are more likely to invent games. As they do, they're able to express themselves and learn about the world in their own way. They feel safe and in control, which promotes autonomy, decision-making, and organizational skills. Inventing rules for games (as preschoolers like to do) promotes an understanding of why rules are necessary. Although the children are only playing to have fun, they're learning
- communication skills and vocabulary (as they invent, modify, and enforce rules).
- number relationships (as they keep score and count)
- social customs (as they learn to play together and cooperate).
So as you can see it is very important to get out side
with your kids to play but here is the thing so should you as well. What! Me you ask yourself, yes, why not
playing is fun and you’ll have a great time doing it too. So what games should
you play with your kids here are a few that
should help .
Hide and Seek: Everyone has played this one. Most parents have played with their kids,
since hiding and finding is a common interest of small children. I’ve heard of
all kinds of variations on this game. Sometimes you count to twenty, sometimes
ten, sometimes one hundred. Sometimes there is a home base that you can run to
and tag, becoming “safe,” sometimes you just wait to be found. The general idea
is that one person is “it,” that person closes his or her eyes and counts to a
certain number without looking and then he or she tries to find the others.
Number of Players: Ideally at least three.
Equipment: None.
Number of Players: Ideally at least three.
Equipment: None.
Four Square: This ball
game is played on a square court further divided into four smaller squares,
numbered one through four. One player stands in each of the squares, with the
highest ranked player in number one, lowest in number four. You bounce the ball
among the players, bouncing once in the other person’s square before that
person catches it. When I played this as a kid, we had countless additional
rules to choose from. The person in square one got to choose the rules. Anyone
who violates the rules will have to move down in the ranking, or be eliminated
with another player rotating in to square four.
Number of Players: Four, unless you take turns.
Equipment: A four square court or sidewalk chalk, a playground ball.
Number of Players: Four, unless you take turns.
Equipment: A four square court or sidewalk chalk, a playground ball.
Hopscotch: Use some
sidewalk chalk and make a hopscotch grid. Number the squares from one to nine.
Pick a rock that is good for tossing. Small ones can bounce too much, and
larger ones are hard to throw. Start by tossing the rock onto Square 1. Hop
over the rock and hop with a single foot or both feet (to follow the hopscotch
pattern) all the way to the end. Turn around and come back, stopping on Square
2. Balancing on one foot, pick up the rock in Square 1 and hop over Square 1 to
the start. Continue this pattern with Square 2. And so on. If you toss your
rock and miss the correct square, your turn is over. This game can be played
with any number of people, but only one person can go at a time. If it’s raining
or dark or too cold, you can get indoor hopscotch mats or foam
pieces, or just find a pattern on the floor to follow, perhaps using a beanbag
instead of a rock.
Number of Players: One at a time.
Equipment: Hopscotch grid, rock or beanbag.
Number of Players: One at a time.
Equipment: Hopscotch grid, rock or beanbag.
Jump-Rope and Double Dutch: One of the biggest ways I spent my recess time as a young girl was
jumping rope. I got quite good at it for my age, both in speed and in skill. It
was fun to jump by myself, but it was even more fun to have a long rope and
jump with a couple of friends. That’s where jump-rope rhymes come in. They turn
a simple exercise into a fun game, to compete against yourself and others. Then
there’s double dutch. I was always in awe of the older girls who could do
double dutch. The first time I tried it, I got tripped up almost immediately.
However, once you understand how to do it, it isn’t as hard as it looks.
Number of Players: One for single jumping, three with a longer rope or for double dutch.
Equipment: One or two jump-ropes.
Number of Players: One for single jumping, three with a longer rope or for double dutch.
Equipment: One or two jump-ropes.
Once you do you’ll have fun and have so great bonding time with your kids
