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Play is crucial for young children because it helps them develop social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and language skills. Socially, play helps children develop cooperation and collaboration skills. This is because when children play, they are given the opportunity to communicate with other children. They get to play realistic and unrealistic games that help their minds explore. Therefore, they make friends while doing it. Emotionally, play helps children learn the idea of turn-taking. They learn that play is not all about their ideas and with that being said, they also learn how to handle disappointment. Children learn how to take other people's perspectives into consideration which is a big step for them to take. Physically, children learn to develop of motor skills when they experience play. Motor skills like running, climbing, and walking. A good example of this would be recess. Children love running and playing around at recess which helps them develop these skills. Cognitively, children develop problem solving skills, this is because when children are presented with a problem during play, they use their own knowledge to try and fix it. Lastly, children can develop language skills during play as well. They do this by using words and phrases to express their emotions during play. Most of the time though, children are just communicating back and forth.
Play is also super important for children's senses. This is because when children play, they can experience the physical touch of the toy or object they are playing with. They can also use their sight to see what exactly happens during play. Hearing what the children are saying during play is also important because it teaches them to listen to other kids. Smell and taste go hand in hand because children get to experience different smells and tastes depending what object they chose to play with. Sensory development also goes along with this because children use colors, textures, and noises to help sensory development. So, without using the five senses, children wouldn't be able to advance in this area as quickly.

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This website provides a short, in-depth definition as to why play matters. The article then provides examples of at home activities to do with your child to help develop their social and emotional domains. This article also suggests some language engaging activities to do as well. An example that was used in the article was to let your child express themselves through art. In doing this, it lets the child express themselves through their emotional development.

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Why does it matter?

As the caregiver of a young child, you may have heard of physical skills such as crawling and running; cognitive skills such as long-term memory and pattern recognition; and academic skills such as reading and subtraction. However, have you heard of social-emotional skills?

Social-emotional skills act as the backbone for conversations, relationships, and a person's ability to work through emotions in a healthy, productive way. To succeed in school, the workplace, and their personal lives, children need to develop social-emotional skills. Without them, children are more likely to experience difficulties maintaining relationships, self-regulating their emotions, and demonstrating self-control throughout their lifetimes.

Children's early experiences with their loved ones have a big influence on what skills they develop. Because of this, caregivers must consider what social-emotional skills or patterns they are modeling or practicing themselves. Children develop skills and patterns based on what they were taught or exposed to in early childhood. While these patterns can change over time (in childhood and adulthood), the earlier a child practices these skills, the better.

Trying Together created this family guide to define social-emotional skills and highlight at-home activities caregivers can use to support their child's development.

Social-Emotional Skills

Examples of social-emotional skills include, but are not limited to, the following:

building positive relationships with other children and adults;

being able to recognize non-verbal cues and maintain eye contact;

displaying confidence in themselves and others;

displaying respect for other people's feelings, ideas, and opinions;

displaying self-control and patience;

listens and pays attention to others;

recognizing their own and other people's emotions;

sharing toys or materials with other children; and

working together with other children or adults.

By practicing these skills, young children will develop a toolkit of social-emotional skills that will help them navigate interpersonal (with others) and intrapersonal (with self) situations. For information about social-emotional developmental milestones by age, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.

At-Home Activities

A simple game of peekaboo provides a chance for children to make eye contact and exchange facial expressions with their caregiver. Try out different facial expressions each time you reappear to see how your baby responds.

Read at least one picture book per day with your child. While reading, bring characters (and their emotions) to life by changing your voice pitch, tone, speed, or volume and facial expressions. If your child can read, ask them to read out the character's lines themselves. If they cannot, ask them to mimic the emotion or repeat a line.

While reading, pause before you flip the page and ask your child what they noticed about the characters, what they think about what is happening, how they would feel, what they would do, or what they think is going to happen next. Make up your own questions as you go!

Let your child express themselves through art. Give them a piece of paper, a canvas, or any type of artistic material and let their imagination run free. When they are done creating, ask them what it is, what inspired them to create it, and how they felt during the process. If you have multiple children, have them work on a piece of art together.

If your child is experiencing big emotions, show them yoga poses they can do to practice their breathing and move their bodies.

Try activities like this printable Emotional Sorting Game or have them make Plastic Egg Faces to help your child learn about different emotion and feeling words. Puppets can be used as a tool for children to explore or express their emotions.

Schedule a playdate at your house to help your child practice sharing, teamwork, creativity, and independence. If multiple children live in your household, that works too. Gather items like clothes, child-safe dishes, books, and more and let the children determine how they will use them. Card and board games can be used as well.

Create a safe space in your home where your child can go to relax alone. Ask your child what items, colors, smells, tastes, or materials make them feel better. Walk around the house, help them collect the things they mentioned, and spend time together creating their new safe space. Take time each month to ask these questions and redesign. Children should never be forced to go to their safe space.

Resources

If you are interested in learning more about social-emotional development and other early childhood topics, consider utilizing the resources listed below.

Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series

Developmentally Appropriate Parenting is a family resource content series developed by Trying Together as an effort to empower caregivers to create high-quality experiences at the earliest stages of their child's life.

NAEYC

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age eight, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. Their website includes resources on building social-emotional skills at home, working through challenging behaviors, and more.

Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative

The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is a group of organizations dedicated to advancing the importance of play in the lives of children, families, and communities in the Pittsburgh region. Read their blog to learn about playful activities for children of all ages.

Fred Rogers Center

The Fred Rogers Center works to extend the legacy of Fred Rogers to today's generation of children and the adults who love and care for them. Visit their website to access resources on simple interactions, child wellness, and digital learning.

Print This Resource

Download this resource as a printable PDF document ( English)( Español).

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Supporting Social-Emotional Development Through Play: A Guide for Families

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As the caregiver of a young child, you may have heard of physical skills such as crawling and running; cognitive skills such as long-term memory and pattern recognition; and academic skills such as reading and subtraction. However, have you heard of social-emotional skills?

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This website provides a bunch of excellent engaging activities to help children use all five of the senses. It also goes into detail about why sensory play is good for brain development. An example of a sense that is used in this article is touch. The children can use playdough to stimulate or relax themselves.

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Your toddler or young child's brain is an amazing place. It's constantly growing-adding 1 million new neural connections every second -and learning from the environment as your child discovers the world around them.

That's why it's so important for your child to explore all their senses, so they can stimulate that growth. In addition to playing and speaking with them, you can help by providing your child with sensory play, which is play that stimulates your child's five senses (touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight, and hearing). Here are some ideas for sensory play, and why it's so important to your child.

Why Is Sensory Play Important for Brain Development?

Young brains are driven to seek out new experiences and learn new things. New sensations and experiences are fuel for brain growth. One of the best ways to encourage brain growth is simply by speaking to, playing with, and caring for your child.

"Nurturing a child by understanding their needs and responding sensitively helps to protect children's brains from stress," according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). "Speaking with children and exposing them to books, stories, and songs helps strengthen children's language and communication skills, which puts them on a path towards learning and succeeding in school."

Sensory play, which is play that stimulates your child's five senses (touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight, and hearing), also boosts brain development.

Here's why sensory play is so crucial for your child's brain development:

Combining the sense of touch with vision, hearing, taste, and smell helps build cognitive skills.

Young children learn by using multiple senses simultaneously.

Sensory play is the foundation of all the skills children will use in school as they learn to read, write, and solve math problems.

You don't have to spend much-if anything-to create fun and enriching sensory toys or activities for your children. Here are free or low-cost ideas for sensory bottles, tables, and other activities for your child.

28 Sensory Items and Activities

Check out these homemade play items, sensory activities, and ideas for encouraging your child to explore senses:

1. Make a sensory bin. Sensory bins can help children explore new textures and stimulate their senses. You can find steps for how to make a sensory bin, and ideas for what to include, her e.

2. Explore the five senses. Get this free downloadable guide for some ideas to help your child explore their senses.

3. Play hide and seek with a sensory twist. When it's your turn to hide, gently use a bell or shaker to help your child find you by hearing where you're hiding.

4. Play with playdough. Whether homemade or store-bought, playdough can be a relaxing and stimulating activity for children and adults alike. Roll it, squeeze it, shape it into something fun-you can't go wrong! We like this recipe for homemade playdough.

5. Sort by textures. Use this downloadable guide to help your child categorize different textures like "bumpy" or "cold."

6. Make sensory balloons. Fill standard balloons with rice, cornstarch, sand, or other materials. These squishy balloons encourage tactile (or touch-based) play, as the different fillings give a unique texture to each balloon. Get directions here.

7. Explore sensory letters. With cardboard and some puffy paint, your little one can explore touch while learning about the letters of the alphabet. Here are instructions for puffy paint tactile letters.

8. Have fun with easy-to-make foam slime. Here's a basic recipe for fluffy slime you can make with ingredients you probably have around the house.

9. Make tin can telephones. This fun craft is a classic, and it can also help your child explore their sense of hearing.

10. Play with kinetic sand. Kinetic sand is a favorite of children. It's easy and relatively inexpensive to buy, but you can also make it at home. Get directions and some ideas for activities here.

11. Learn about animal senses. Download I Wish I Had Ears Like a Bat, a free printable book, and think about how animals use their amazing senses.

12. Put together some primary color squishy bags. These bags help children explore how colors mix, and squishing the colors together offers a fascinating tactile experience. Check out the instructions here.

13. Go on a dinosaur discovery expedition! Is your child wild about dinosaurs? Tap into that with this frozen dino excavation game using a plastic dinosaur toy.

14. Make texture sticks to explore touch. Use a hot glue gun to stick things like feathers, pom poms, macaroni, and more to popsicle sticks. Then, have your child describe what they're feeling when they touch one without seeing it.

15. Go magnet fishing. Magnets are fascinating, and this easy magnetic fishing activity uses refrigerator magnets in a tub full of water to encourage play. Hand your child a magnet and have them fish out the other magnets. You can mix up the difficulty according to their skill levels; for instance, you could have them only fish out blue magnets, certain letters, or circle-shaped magnets.

16. Play with water beads. These squishy playthings can fill a tub and provide lots of fun sensory play. These squishy, soft beads are non-toxic (but small enough to choke on, so parents should always monitor play). Water beads can be multi-colored, and they make for a great filling for sensory bottles.

17. Make a sensory table. Sensory tables can be expensive, but most people can make their own for much less money. Find directions here to make a sensory table for children of all skill levels. For hot days outside, here are directions for a water play table.

18. Explore taste at snack time. Turn snack time into a taste test and help your child explore their sense of taste. Here are some ideas to get you started with your junior taste tester.

19. Stay engaged during car rides with audiobooks. Long car rides or restful time at home are perfect for listening to stories. Audiobooks are great because they let your child's imagination fill in details with vibrant storytelling while you're driving or cleaning. Find where to download free audiobooks here.

20. Play in the snow. If you live in an area with snowy weather, that's a perfect opportunity to go out and have some sensory fun in the snow (and warm up with a hot cup of cocoa afterwards). If snow is a rarity for you, you can always make your own. Get directions on how to make snow for sensory play here.

21. Guess that smell. With this fun activity, your child can put their sense of smell to the test. Stretch a pair of opaque tights over the top of a plastic cup you've filled with a strong-smelling object (like onions, coffee beans, peppermints, oranges). Then, let your child describe what they smell and guess what the object is.

22. Play the "draw on my back" game. This simple game is a favorite of kids, and it helps children explore the sense of touch. Invite your child to draw a picture on your back with their finger. Try to guess what it is. Swap places (you can start with easy shapes first, then get more difficult) and keep trying to stump each other.

23. Plant a garden. Gardening is a great hobby for all ages, and kids will enjoy digging in dirt and sorting through seeds. You can make a sensory garden with plants full of different sights, smells, and textures. Find out more here.

24. Explore your senses outside. Nature provides plenty of sensory discovery for children. Going outside-even if it's just the backyard or nearby park-can be a rewarding sensory experience. Get some ideas for exploration here.

25. Make a bubble wrap road. Bubble wrap is fascinating to play with and easy to get. Make a bubble wrap road with some wrap and tape for your child to drive toys over.

26. Make a "Feel 'n Find" box. A cardboard box and a few familiar objects are all you need for this sensory exploration idea. Your child can reach inside and try to guess what an object is by how it feels. If you don't have a cardboard box handy, you can also do the same with brown paper bags.

27. Make squishies. With a few round makeup sponges and a permanent marker, you can make these homemade squishies.

28. Make a weighted lap pad. This weighted lap pad uses sequin pillows to create a fun and soothing sensory object that young children will love to play with.

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Sensory Activities and Toys to Help Your Young Child's Brain Development - Waterford.org

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Your child's brain is amazing! Help it grow by encouraging your child to explore all five senses. Here are some sensory play ideas.

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This reading provides a lot of great adaptations for children with disabilities. One of the examples mentioned was to Velcro or to use double sided tape to tie down toys if the child cannot stabilize them.

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Integration of Games into the Curriculum

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Integration of Games into the Curriculum

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This website provides many reasons as to how games can be integrated into a classroom's curriculum. One way this website supports this is by explaining that games can help children participate more. This is because when children play games, they tend to be more actively engaged. For instance, if a child had to study for a test, it would be way more fun to review with a Kahoot game, rather than just reviewing their notes. Although games can be very fun for students, they do still need to be well thought out. Another point that was mentioned in the article was that games can encourage collaboration such as working in teams. These games act as building blocks for forming friendly relationships in class. Teachers can also change the level of difficulty of the games for students with disabilities. This not only gives them a chance to succeed, but it also makes them feel included. The last reason that I read in the article was that games can support learning by improving a child's focus and attention span. This is because in order for a child to play a game, they must focus on whatever the game is asking, therefore, is does not allow them much time to fool around. If a child practices paying attention through games, it could also potentially help them learn to focus better when reading.

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What happens when a gorilla goes into a battle with a brown hyena in an Australian rain forest?

Tanya Buxton's high school biology students could find out as they embark on March Mammal Madness (MMM), a virtual game modeled after the annual NCAA basketball championship that aims to educate U.S. students about the importance of biodiversity and endangered species.

This is the second year in a row that Buxton has enrolled her Atherton, California, students in the tournament to deepen their understanding of global ecosystems while building community and camaraderie among peers.

Gameplay in school isn't just about having fun though, say Buxton and other teachers, who are increasingly using games and gaming principles to enhance instruction. From Minecraft to the Game of Life and Werewolf, effective games like March Mammal Madness link content with low-stakes competition and can provide a more collaborative, engaging classroom experience-especially for students who may struggle to focus or find their niche in learning. During the pandemic, games have also provided an important outlet that keeps kids connected and motivated remotely.

These claims aren't just anecdotal. According to research, using games in teaching can help increase student participation, foster social and emotional learning, and motivate students to take risks. One study of the popular multiple-choice quiz game Kahoot found that it improved students' attitudes toward learning and boosted their academic scores. In addition, studies have found that virtual games can improve focus and attention for students with ADHD and help students with dyslexia improve spatial and temporal attention, which can translate into improved reading.

But games aren't substitutes for other forms of learning. Like any educational tool, they need to be well-planned and integrated only when they're relevant to the learning objectives.

Think of games not as Band-Aids to fix what's broken in the classroom but as "a pedagogical approach that might help people think differently about what's possible... limited only by a player's imagination and by what a gaming set of rules allows," says Antero Garcia, an assistant professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education who studies the impact of technology and gaming on youth literacy and civic identities.

Want to integrate well-developed games or just a few gaming principles into your lessons? Here are some approaches to consider to make games a valuable teaching tool.

Test and Learn

In many games, players encounter scenarios that involve making in-the-moment decisions that let them quickly see the impact of their choices in a low-risk setting and then try (and try again) if they falter-skills that are valuable as they go through life, says Garcia.
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Teachers, for example, can use role-playing games in the classroom to help students inhabit different perspectives and understand them as part of larger, holistic systems of thought, explains Matthew Farber, a former teacher and assistant professor at the University of Northern Colorado who studies the intersection of game-based learning and SEL. This system of thinking can become a good entry point for students to learn about their own agency as they weigh possibilities and consider alternate plans of action.

Because games are interactive-unlike books or movies that involve more passive consumption-they may also encourage students to explore new topics and approaches to learning that they otherwise would not consider, he says.

In the virtual game Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, for example, players launch mini-missions where they discover and protect species of endangered animals. Though students might not consider themselves adventurers or conservationists when they play the game, the low-risk setting can get them thinking about larger-scale impacts they could have in the real world, adds Farber. As a follow-up activity, students could conduct further research on animals they encountered or even take local nature walks to identify smaller ecosystems of local wildlife.

Even if teachers aren't using a fully developed game in their class, they can use a process known as gamification, or weaving components of games such as points, leaderboards, and badges into lessons to boost students' motivation. Because students get excited about the competition from earning badges or embarking on a quest, they tend to take more risks-and, in turn, learn from their mistakes, says Manju Banerjee, an associate professor and vice president of educational research and innovation at Landmark College in Putney, Vermont.

When students are researching a topic and conducting a literature analysis, teachers can design curricula to send them on a quest-instead of framing it as a typical assignment-or rethink assessment and "tell a student that he is at a 'novice' level rather than a grade of C-" to reduce academic pressure and encourage participation," says Banerjee.

Learning in Disguise

Though it's not the only reason to play games, the fun of gameplay is a critical part of why they are so successful with children, according to educators, who say that games can help disguise the learning of essential but challenging skills that kids might otherwise resist.
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Teachers Joe Dillon and Marina Lombardo, for instance, created a poem-writing activity using Minecraft: Education Edition, in which students move through a maze and visit rooms to learn how to make their writing more descriptive. This game, inspired by Georgia Heard's Six-Room-Poem activity, guides students through specific writing prompts, such as describing an object by focusing on the ambience of its surroundings.

Many games involve a compelling storyline that can quickly hook kids, which is what makes teaching with them so effective, explains Kendra Cameron-Jarvis, an instructional technologist for Buncombe County Schools in western North Carolina. In a game she designed called Discovering the Ancient Pyramids Adventure, sixth-grade students use Google Maps Treks-which provide a 360-degree view of the ancient structures-to go on a quest inside the Great Pyramid and solve a mystery while they explore. The game reinforces what they're learning in class about ancient Egypt, she says.

"It's kind of sneaky-they don't realize they're learning," she says. "Kids are going to have a really good time, and they're going to learn along the way."

Teachers are also increasingly using apps and interactive game platforms like Kahoot and Quizizz -Kahoot says that more than 6 million teachers in 200 countries use its app to date-as fun formative assessment tools to ensure that students are on track with their learning, especially during the pandemic. Cameron-Jarvis says teachers are reporting that the platforms are so engaging, students frequently request to play them as part of their learning.

To increase the likelihood of all students participating, teachers can scaffold the difficulty levels of a game, calibrated to the current ability of the student. For students with special needs in particular, games can be beneficial because they disrupt traditional learning approaches and introduce opportunities for them to succeed where they have often struggled, says Banerjee, who has more than 29 years of experience in the field of learning disabilities.

Banerjee recommends that teachers use a myriad of low-stakes leaderboards-scoreboards that show the names and scores of participants-to highlight often-overlooked activities or skills in a way that recognizes contributions from students who typically do not perform well on traditional assignments. Teachers can give credit to the student with "the most creative calculation error" in a math class, for example, which not only makes learning more entertaining but acknowledges that all students can contribute meaningfully within a classroom.

Bringing Students Together

Though students can play games alone, most education games encourage players to collaborate effectively in teams-a building block for creating strong relationships and skills like cooperation that will be valuable as they progress through school and life, studies show.

These social interactions have been crucial during distance learning, according to Douglas Kiang, a high school computer science teacher at the Menlo School. Since schools went virtual last spring, Kiang has used Minecraft to give students a chance to interact with each other while learning social skills such as teamwork, negotiation, and respect for others. He also plays Among Us with his advisory group of about 10 students.

"I think games are useful in that respect for bonding and for allowing kids to socialize and communicate with each other," says Kiang, who is a nationally recognized expert on game-based learning and technology integration.

Integrating more community-building elements into your classroom doesn't always require playing a multiplayer video game, though, says Cameron-Jarvis. She suggests posting questions in the stream of popular tools like Google Classroom, Flipgrid, and Nearpod, and letting students respond, interact, and debate ideas. Other teachers have used Google tools to make their own versions of traditional games like Connect Four or Tic Tac Toe so that students get a brain break from academic learning.

The important part of using games in the classroom is trying not to gamify everything and to start small, using games with rules that students understand, says Cameron-Jarvis. The mix of games also matters, adds Farber, who says teachers should aim for variety. If you do let kids play games in class, he says, "think about the emotions those games evoke besides strategy and procedure."

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How to Use Gameplay to Enhance Classroom Learning

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Research shows that using games in teaching can help increase student participation, foster social and emotional learning, and motivate students to take risks.

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Integrating Outdoor Experiences and Play into The Curriculum

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Integrating Outdoor Experiences and Play into The Curriculum

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Outdoor play is important for children in many ways. One of those ways is that outdoor play can allow children to explore things on their own. Therefore, it gives them more possibilities to play and use their imagination. Playing outside also gives the children a chance to explore natural environments and see different plant life as well as animals. When a child play's outside, they acquire certain skills. Skills such as physical abilities, autonomy, creativity, cooperation, knowledge, and risk management. To which all of these skills go hand in hand with learning. Autonomy is a skill to which I believe is closely related to play. This is because outdoor play has less structure than indoor play, which leaves the child to become more independent and better at decision making. Another reason as to why outdoor play is crucial is because it is genuinely good for the mental well-being of the child. This is because spending time outdoors can help lower stress levels and mental fatigue.

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Outdoor play helps children learn skills, develop physical strength, and benefits mental well-being. Time outdoors can also provide an opportunity to make friends.

Outdoor play comes in many forms. It could involve spending time in a backyard, a local park, or more rural spaces, such as forests and national parks.

However, some people may find it more challenging to spend time outdoors with their children than others. Having access to nature is an important aspect of health equity and can reduce the risk of numerous health conditions.

This article reviews the importance of outdoor play for children, its benefits, and the alternative options for people who do not have access to outdoor spaces.

Outdoor play is important for children for many reasons. A states that it is associated with healthy development. A describes some of its advantages. Outdoor play is often:

open-ended, allowing children to decide for themselves how to explore

unstructured, giving children more possibilities for play and imagination

less predictable than home or school, encouraging children to problem-solve

in natural environments, involving exposure to plants, animals, and sunshine

These characteristics make outdoor play uniquely beneficial in comparison to indoor structured play. However, despite these benefits, outdoor play has declined significantly in Western countries over the past few decades.

Less outdoor play to:

a more sedentary lifestyle

disconnection from the natural world

lower ability to navigate unfamiliar environments or deal with risk

As a result, it is important that children and caregivers use opportunities for outdoor play where they can.

Children can learn many skills while playing outdoors. For example:

Physical abilities: Outdoor play allows children to learn physical skills that may be difficult to practice at home. This could include jumping, climbing, cycling, skating, or team sports.

Autonomy: As outdoor play has less structure than indoor activities, children can direct their own activities, which encourages independence and decision-making.

Creativity: In less familiar environments than the home or school, children have to think creatively about playing. For example, when using new play equipment or climbing a tree, they need to think about how to use it. They may use their imagination to invent games that make use of the space.

Cooperation: When playing with others, children can also learn cooperation. For example, they may have to work together to decide which games to play or how to share the space.

Knowledge: Being in a natural environment can teach children more about the world.

Risk management: Although caregivers want to protect their children from all risks, it is important that they learn how to navigate minor risks, as this teaches them how to handle different situations and increases confidence.

Outdoor play provides several health benefits to children, including:

Physical strength and well-being

Outdoor play can improve children's physical strength. Physical activity can also help with maintaining a moderate weight and reduce the risk of developing weight-related health conditions, :

Mental well-being

Spending time outdoors may help lower stress and mental fatigue. This is because, while urban environments demand direct attention that can be tiring, being in nature can induce "soft fascination," which is a type of unfocused attention that some scientists believe can restore mental energy.

Outdoor play can be more beneficial to children than indoor play because it provides multi-sensory stimulation and requires children to be more dynamic, using their physical, cognitive, and social skills all at once.

In contrast, indoor play tends to have fewer elements, takes place in a smaller environment, and may have more rules limiting what children can or cannot do. The home is also more familiar and can stop being as challenging to children as they grow up.

A found that preschool children from five different child care centers who played outdoors were more active outdoors than indoors.

Despite the benefits, outdoor play is not accessible to everyone. According to a 2021 review, this is due to a combination of factors, such as:

increased urbanization

low availability of play spaces

poor urban planning that makes cities less walkable

increasing appeal of device-based activities

fear surrounding the risks of outdoor play

low social cohesion, as this reduces caregivers' perceptions of safety in the neighborhood

These factors can affect families from many backgrounds, but inequity compounds them. Additional obstacles some families face include:

Economic inequity: Neighborhoods with less investment may have fewer outdoor spaces and more crime, reducing how possible or safe it is for children to play outdoors. Families with lower incomes may also have less time for outdoor recreation due to working long hours or having multiple jobs.

Pollution: Even if outdoor spaces are available, they may not be healthy places to spend time in due to pollution.

Racism: Systemic racism adds to the deprivation of neighborhoods. Environmental racism may also expose children to high levels of pollution, and the potential for experiencing discrimination or police brutality may cause caregivers to keep children indoors.

Sexism: A 2019 review notes that previous research has found that girls play outside less than boys. Some studies have found that caregivers treat girls differently from boys when it comes to managing risk, encouraging boys to deal with problems by themselves more often. This may mean girls feel less confident playing outside without supervision. Caregivers can also restrict girls from playing outside due to fears of assault.

Whether or not children have access to outdoor space, caregivers can still encourage them to get similar benefits. Some ways to do this include:

giving children open-ended and unstructured time to play at home or in a backyard

creating a play space that engages the senses through color, textures, or smells

recreating activities children can do outdoors, such as races, scavenger hunts, or building forts

playing physically active games or sports together

allowing children to solve problems for themselves, where it is safe or appropriate

treating girls the same way as boys

inviting friends and schoolmates home for playdates

limiting the use of electronic devices

accessing outdoor play when possible, such as on trips or when visiting others

Outdoor play has a multitude of physical and mental health benefits for children. Spending time playing outdoors can promote creativity, independence, and problem-solving. Outdoor play can also improve strength, endurance, and mental health.

However, not everyone has access to outdoor spaces where their children can safely play. In this case, people can take several steps to encourage children to gain outdoor play benefits while spending time indoors, such as by playing physically active games.

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Outdoor play and children: Benefits and why it matters

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Outdoor play is beneficial for all aspects of health and helps children learn vital skills. Learn more about outdoor play for children.

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How and Why Outdoor Learning Boosts a Child's Development

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How and Why Outdoor Learning Boosts a Child's Development

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Outdoor experiences play a huge part in a child's development. This is because having these experiences can help a child blossom, flourish, and explore while also challenging them. Experiencing different scenarios can also help your child develop strong emotional skills, physical skills, and motor skills. It can help them emotionally by causing the child to express themselves. Outdoor experiences can help physically by acting as a form of exercise. Lastly, it can help with their motor skills by increasing flexibility of certain body parts.

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Why Outdoor Learning Boosts Children’s Development

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Parenting expert, Sue Atkins discusses outdoor learning and why the outdoors is a place of natural, abundant unbounded opportunities for kids to learn.

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Inclusive Playgrounds and How They Support a Child's Development

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Inclusive Playgrounds and How They Support a Child's Development

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Before you learn how an inclusive playground can support a child's development, it is crucial to know what it is first. An inclusive playground is a play area that meets the needs of children with a wide range of disabilities. An example of an accommodation would be like having larger, wider spaces to give children access. With that being said, every teacher knows that kids love to play. Therefore, having a play area accessible for all children will make them feel included. Playing on playgrounds can help a child develop better socially. This is because of the interactions that children encounter between kids with different backgrounds. Children also gain a sense of independence because they learn to use equipment on their own.

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All kids want to play. As every educator and child advocate knows, play is so essential in childhood that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights declares it as child's right.

But the unfortunate reality is that not all playgrounds in America are inclusive or even accessible for all children to play in. Furthermore, many schools/organizations aren't sure how to build inclusive play spaces, or start developing a culture of inclusion in playgrounds.

Children with disabilities should rightfully have access to the same or properly-adapted playground equipment as their peers without disabilities. The playground, after all, is a safe haven for every child. In addition, all children can benefit from inclusive playgrounds. A child's understanding of the world often starts with play. When all kids are offered opportunities to play together, it opens up healthy behavioral and social skills that are vital later in adult life.

Despite its many benefits, though, there are still several challenges concerning inclusion in playgrounds. The good news is that resources and information necessary to create inclusive playgrounds are readily available. With increasing awareness campaigns on inclusion and accessibility for all kids, the tools to create inclusive playgrounds are usually just a click or an online training program away.

Still - the perennial question remains - where and how to begin? And chief among many concerns is the expense it takes to create an inclusive playground in the first place.

For this blog post, we'll talk about the benefits of inclusion in playgrounds for all kids, information on how you can start building an inclusive play space and how Kids Included Together (KIT) can help your organization foster inclusion in playgrounds.

The concept of an inclusive playground is simple - a play area with equipment and resources that meet the needs of children with a diverse range of disabilities; whether these disabilities are visible (e.g. kids in wheelchairs) or not (e.g. kids with hearing difficulties) - parents can count on inclusive playgrounds to offer a fun, inclusive and sensory-rich environment where all kids can develop critical physical, social and emotional skills.

What Does An Inclusive Playground Look Like?

At first glance, inclusive playgrounds don't look any different from traditional playgrounds. That's because any playground, regardless of whether it is inclusive or not, has a few things in common:

It has play equipment, such as swings and climbing structures.

It has areas for running and jumping. It may have toys for sand or water play.

There may be a sandbox and drinking fountains.

​​ There are also picnic tables, restrooms, shelters from the sun or rain, basketball courts, and other features in some playgrounds.

However, inclusive playgrounds (also called "universal playgrounds" or "universally accessible" playgrounds) have some additional amenities and adjusted equipment that may include:

Larger, wider spaces to give access to wheelchairs and other mobility devices.

Calendar of activities and events that cater to a specific disability.

Ramps to make it possible for children in wheelchairs to get on the equipment.

Swings designed to accommodate larger children.

Swings next to benches so that an adult can sit and swing with a child who cannot swing on their own.

Wheelchair-accessible seats for swing sets.

Modified slides with ramps for additional support.

Modified climbing frames for blind/partially sighted children.

Multiple exit/entry points, so children do not have to wait in line to enter or exit the playground.

Play equipment oriented towards the center of the playground rather than around the edge.

Additional staff to assist kids and parents.

Should Playground Equipment Be ADA Compliant?

The ADA requires that playgrounds built after 1993 be accessible to children with disabilities. Many playgrounds were built before the ADA took effect and are therefore not accessible.

The requirements for playgrounds are the same as those for buildings and facilities under the ADA; compliance requires that:

All playground parts must be accessible to children with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs, who must have "full and equal enjoyment" of all aspects of the playground experience.

There should be no barriers between the playground and sidewalks or other routes leading to it.

Slopes should be no steeper than 1:12 (5 percent); spaces no narrower than 36 inches; swings, slides, ladders, and other equipment that children who use wheelchairs can reach; swings and other equipment that can be used safely by children with disabilities.

However, many inclusion and child advocates push for playgrounds to go beyond just accessibility and to fully embrace inclusion.

5 Impressive Examples Of Inclusive Playgrounds

Want to know what the best inclusive playgrounds are like? We listed 5 impressive playgrounds from around the country. Feel free to click the links to learn more about each one .

What Are The Benefits Of An Inclusive Playground?

Both immediate and long-term benefits of inclusive playgrounds are numerous for all children, with the same benefits often extending to their parents and caregivers. So, aside from promoting social interaction between children of diverse backgrounds and abilities, critical skills that are immensely useful later in life are developed through inclusion in playgrounds, too.

Here's a quick list of the most common benefits for all children simply by playing together in an inclusive play area:

Through an accessible and sensory-rich environment, inclusive playgrounds instill a sense of independence and confidence in all children.

Through interaction with peers who have unique abilities and needs, children without disabilities learn how to work out conflicts peacefully and respectfully by listening to their peers' ideas and feelings, and following rules set by the group.

Children with disabilities can now be included in play and develop social awareness.

Because of adaptive and modified playground equipment, children with disabilities are encouraged to try new activities. For example, the inclusion of soft play structures without special access ramps promotes these structures by children with a wide range of mobility needs, including those on wheelchairs.

Interaction in inclusive play settings is essential for children with disabilities who may be at risk for isolation and bullying.

Well-designed inclusive playgrounds encourage friendships between different groups of children, which promotes awareness and acceptance of diversity throughout the community.

How Can KIT Help You Foster Inclusion In Playgrounds?

With over 20 years of experience - working behind the scenes and in the front lines of inclusion - KIT provides early childhood education professionals and caregivers with inclusion training and practical strategies. KIT's goal is to foster a culture of inclusion in classrooms, playgrounds, schools, and childcare centers.

At KIT, we have engaged over 100,000 child & youth development professionals in creating more inclusive environments. We help drive the national conversation around disability inclusion in childcare and education programs by introducing inclusive policy changes and best practices.

Our services and resources are designed to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to build inclusive spaces where all young children feel safe, valued, and included.

If you are looking for something specific, you can explore our other inclusion solutions and resources below.
Training & Support Packages
From comprehensive onsite professional training to ongoing support, including on-demand online courses and webinars, KIT is your onsite, online, ongoing resource for providing inclusive practices and solutions.

Our services are available individually. However, your organization will get the most benefit if you customize a complete training package.

Connect with our experienced KIT coaches and unlock consultation services that will provide you with fresh ideas on how you can help include children of all abilities in group settings. You can purchase our Consultation Services as a standalone business service or combine it with our other relevant services into a Training & Support Package.

KIT works to help develop systematic changes that will encourage inclusion with regard to policy & professional development, training & technical assistance, research & evaluation, and extensive community engagement.

Visit kit.org/what-we-do to explore more inclusion services that we offer. From speaking engagements, monthly webinars, and coaching & consultation, KIT will teach you how to create inclusive environments where no child is excluded.

Conclusion

It's time to embrace differences and encourage our children to do the same. By encouraging and fostering a culture of inclusion in playgrounds, we can create opportunities for all children to play together and learn from one another. Some schools, organizations, and communities have already embraced this idea and achieved great results. Let's make more playgrounds inclusive and encourage the growth of inclusion in all parts of our community.
Let's talk about inclusion! We look forward to discussing options that best suit your organization's needs. Contact KIT today!

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Inclusion In Playgrounds: Why Is It Important? - Kids Included Together

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Learn how an inclusive and accessible playground is beneficial for all children and their parents. All kids want to play. As every educator and child advocate knows, play is so essential in childhood that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights declares it as every child's right.