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1000 Hours Outside -WHY?? Listen to this Podcast

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1000 Hours Outside -WHY?? Listen to this Podcast

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1000 Hours Outside - How Time In Nature Sets Kids Up for Lifelong Success

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My guest this week is Ginny Yurich, she spends 1000 hours outside with her kids each year. Time outdoors is extremely beneficial for learning.

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Reopening Guidelines- Ministry of Education March 2021

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OutsidePlay.ca aims to provide the best experience for both desktop and mobile users which requires the latest version of CHROME (Recommended), SAFARI, or FIREFOX. Please try again on one of these browsers.

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Outdoor play is a basic childhood need and taking risks is a necessary part of play. Whether jumping in a pile of leaves, climbing a tree, or playing street hockey, children are often happiest when playing. These kinds of experiences are a lot less common for kids today. Our worries and desire to protect our kids can result in setting too many limits on them, which can interfere with healthy development. Risky play can have many different shapes, but always involves the thrill and excitement of testing yourself and finding out what happens. These are some of the ways that children engage in risky play.

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1.	If we see all children as curious, competent, and capable of complex thinking, how will this be reflected in the environment?

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1.	If we see all children as curious, competent, and capable of complex thinking, how will this be reflected in the environment?

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2.	How could greater complexity and challenge be integrated into the environment?

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2.	How could greater complexity and challenge be integrated into the environment?

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3. How do you know when children are fully engaged? Based on your observations of individual children, when are they most engaged?

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3. How do you know when children are fully engaged? Based on your observations of individual children, when are they most engaged?

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4. Consider how the environment and experiences that you provide for children engage them. What draws them in?

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4. Consider how the environment and experiences that you provide for children engage them. What draws them in?

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5. What areas of the environment do not attract children? Why might this be? What changes might be needed?

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5. What areas of the environment do not attract children? Why might this be? What changes might be needed?

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6. What barriers exist that may limit some children’s ability to engage in active exploration, play, and inquiry? What adaptations and changes might be made to ensure the inclusion and participation of every child?

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6. What barriers exist that may limit some children’s ability to engage in active exploration, play, and inquiry? What adaptations and changes might be made to ensure the inclusion and participation of every child?

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When you think back to your favourite childhood play experiences, chances are they took place outdoors, unsupervised and while hanging out with friends. But today's kids spend far less time playing than their parents did.

Mariana Brussoni, a professor at the University of British Columbia and BC Children's Hospital - featured in The Nature of Things documentary - has spent years researching the benefits of play that have an element of risk. Risky play for children, she explains, is "thrilling and exciting play where children engage in risk without certainty," and it has been proven to have immense benefits.

The benefits of risky play

Risky play involves kids experimenting and pushing themselves to figure out what will happen, without knowing the exact outcome. If kids don't go far enough with their play, it's boring and if they go too far, it gets too scary, Brussoni explains. She likens it to a science experiment, where kids are testing out their environment and determining what they're comfortable with.

"When we have kids engage in play, it's really a fundamental way for them to figure out the world - how the world works, how their body works," says Brussoni, adding that these little experiments are all done "in context of a relatively safe space."

Risky play in early childhood can help develop a child's self-confidence, resilience, executive functioning abilities and even risk-management skills. And Brussoni's work in injury prevention research shows that engaging in risky play can actually reduce the risk of injury, too.

Brussoni gives the following tips for parents on how to put riskier play into action.

Focus on 'as safe as necessary' over 'as safe as possible'

Consider a playground. Things such as needles on the ground or broken equipment would be cause for parental intervention, whereas navigating a bush with thorns at eye-level, for example, would be something you could involve the child in.

Rather than removing the plant altogether, Brussoni advises assessing the situation together, having the child take stock of the thorns and then suggest ways to stay safe. Balance the risk with the benefits, she says.

Provide guidance

Brussoni suggests that when you walk your child to school every day, it can be helpful to take the time to point out the potential dangers so that they gradually reach a point where they have enough knowledge to stay safe. This builds confidence and prepares them for solo adventures.

MORE:
From bonobos to sheep, lots of animals enjoy play as much as we do
Unstructured play can create mentally healthier kids

Don't let your own fears get in the way

Parents' fears can get in the way of giving their children freedom. Worries about kidnapping and injury, and the fear of people thinking they're bad caregivers can drive many parents to intervene before their child can engage in risk during play.

But statistics show that the likelihood of a child in Canada getting kidnapped is 1 in 14 million - similar odds to winning the lottery. And recent estimates show that children would need to spend about three hours per day playing, every day, for 10 years before they were likely to get an injury that needed treatment (and it would likely still be minor).

Brussoni and her team of researchers have developed an online tool called Outsideplay.ca, which informs parents on making informed choices regarding risky play for their children.

Practice the 17-second rule

Instead of telling your child not to climb so high or run so fast while observing them at play, take a moment - or, as Brussoni advises, 17 seconds. Step back, she says, and "see how your child is reacting to the situation so that you can actually get a better sense of what they're capable of when you're not getting in the way."

Brussoni explains that this will provide them with "the opportunity to figure out for themselves what's comfortable and what they can do," while allowing them to develop those all-important risk-management skills.

Get out of the way

In , Brussoni states that the most important thing parents and guardians can do is get out of the way: provide children with an environment for play and then let them play.

This doesn't necessarily mean that optimal risky play is unsupervised. For younger kids, it may simply be about facilitating and supporting children in how they want to play, rather than guiding it .

6 key factors to risky play:

1. Play with heights, such as climbing trees or structures

2. Play at high speeds, such as a fast game of tag or riding a bike really fast

3. Play with tools, such as building a fort or whittling a stick

4. Play near elements, such as playing near fire, water, a cliff or something that a child could fall into

5. Play with a chance of getting lost, such as wandering the neighbourhood with friends unsupervised, or simply hiding in the bushes for younger kids.

6. Rough-and-tumble play, such as play fighting "

Provide time, freedom and space for good play

Brussoni emphasizes that parents need to carve out enough time to let children play, despite a high volume of homework and extracurriculars. Kids need to be afforded the freedom to play the way they want to, without being limited by the mindset of their guardians.

High-quality play also requires space - both physical and psychological. In terms of physical space, there needs to be enough of it, and it has to be of good quality (more on this later). Psychological space, Brussoni explains, "involves the feeling that somebody has their back" so that kids "feel like they have the latitude to try and try these experiments."

Create a play space with loose parts and materials

Brussoni and her team are currently developing a playability index to find out what elements are necessary to create a high-quality outdoor play space in neighbourhoods.

In her interviews with hundreds of children, one factor stood out: the freedom to build on imagination. In the typical North American playground, equipment is fixed and the options for play are limited; there is only so much you can do with a slide, monkey bars or swings.

Instead, Brussoni's team recommends removing all this structure, and instead providing loose materials such as logs, mud, tarps, crates, sticks, planks, ropes and even water to play with.

These elements can often be found in nature, vacant lots and even junkyards, but the most important element in any play space is, again, the psychological and physical space to take risks.

To learn more, watch on The Nature of Things.

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Risky play for children: Why we should let kids go outside and then get out of the way

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It turns out play with an element of risk may be exactly what today's kids are missing

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Welcome to the Child & Nature Alliance of Canada

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We foster meaningful connections with the outdoors for children and youth. All children and youth should have the opportunity to play and learn in forests, parks, meadows and mud puddles. We work to connect children and youth with nature through policy, research, and practice.

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Category

Health, Wellbeing & Development, Loose Parts Play, Parents, Practice, Professional Development

Forest School Canada is the flagship educational project of the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. They provide evidence-based, practical, and inspiring professional learning opportunities for everyone interested in supporting the healthy development of children through play and learning outside.

Professional learning opportunities include the Forest and Nature School Practitioners Course as well as a number of workshops, both of which are available in multiple locations across Canada.

Learn more about Forest School Canada here.

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Child Nature Alliance of Canada - Forest School Canada

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Category Health, Wellbeing & Development, Loose Parts Play, Parents, Practice, Professional Development Forest School Canada is the flagship educational project of the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. They provide evidence-based, practical, and inspiring professional learning opportunities for everyone interested in supporting the healthy development of children through play and learning outside.

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The Freedom of Nature - The Curiosity Approach.pdf

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When registering families, make sure to confirm how many adults will be attending.

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Each child has their own equipment which can be disinfected.

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Families who don't want to wear their mask. Children 3 and up need to wear their masks. (Great practice for school.) Allow them to move away at a safe distance (2 meters can be maintained) to remove it for drinking or taking a quick break.

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Staff having backpacks with extra masks, wipes, screening materials, bear whistles etc.

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Wearing goggles / face shields and fogging up. (try washing with liquid soap)

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We are making up individual activity kits for outdoor programs.

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-don't run
-don't play dead
-make yourself big
-make noise or sing
-wear bear bells

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Bear sighting are not unusual in the Greater Sudbury area. It is important to understand bear behavior and what steps you can take to avoid human-bear encounters.

EarthCare Minute - Garbage and Bears

Bear Encounters

Report-a-Bear

The City of Greater Sudbury maintains a Report-a-Bear map of bear sightings to determine patterns and intensity of bear sightings. We will not respond to bear sightings submitted through Report-a-Bear. Add your bear sighting to the map below:

1. Fill out the online form.

2. Call 705-674-4455 extension BEAR (2327) and leave a message.

3. Send an email with your bear sighting information to bear@greatersudbury.ca. Include location, date, how many bears and any other relevant information.

Your sighting will be displayed on the map below within a day or two of being reported. Your name and contact information will not be made public.

Report-a-Bear Map
View larger, interactive map.
Locations may not be precise.

Most recent bear sightings (last 7 days):

Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday Weekend

Sightings reported more than a week ago.

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Bear sighting are not unusual in the Greater Sudbury area. It is important to understand bear behavior and what steps you can take to avoid human-bear encounters. EarthCare Minute - Garbage and Bears The City of Greater Sudbury maintains a Report-a-Bear map of bear sightings to determine patterns and intensity of bear sightings.

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July 6th CCR started outdoor programing with the families, i put together this short video simply to share our expirience with the rest of the team. We really had a great time, If your curious. i invite you to watch. Thanks

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What is Physical Literacy Infographic - AFL.pdf

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Each of our workshops offers something different, be it a taste of Forest and Nature School or a deep dive into supporting opportunities for risk-taking in children's play. The workshops are ideal for anyone and everyone looking to support play and learning in the outdoors, across sectors.

The Forest and Nature School Practitioners Course is intended for educators or those with similar backgrounds who are interested in starting their Forest and Nature School programs, or in incorporating elements of the philosophy into their practice. The Practitioners Course is a significant, year-long commitment, while the workshops are less so!

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Each of our workshops offers something different, be it a taste of Forest and Nature School or a deep dive into supporting opportunities for risk-taking in children's play. The workshops are ideal for anyone and everyone looking to support play and learning in the outdoors, across sectors.