Children are curious by nature, stepping outside of the classroom will open up many opportunities for learning with your students and promoting their cognitive abilities. As questions about the scenes around them arise, we can scaffold the learning that springs from children's curiosity. Challenging students to think critically and consider new ideas will promote their learning. Through these discussions, we can also introduce new vocabulary to children and promote language development.

Physical activities are endless when playing outdoors. Children can work on their gross motor skills and can develop, or maintain, healthy habits when it comes to physical fitness.

Group activities can be a good way to promote social development as children work as a team to complete tasks together.

Let's get outside and learn!

An inclusive play environment is an area adapted to meet the needs of all the individuals participating within it. It is accessible to children with wide ranges of abilities and can support the engagement of any who wish to take part in the play area.

Play is a pivotal part of child development. For too long, we have seen playgrounds and play areas that were not equipped to support the play of children with a range of different abilities. If we know that play supports the development of children, we should make efforts to create environments in which all kids can grow and play in accordance to their own range of ability.

With things such as sensory play, quiet spaces, and movement breaks, we can integrate a variety of useful tools and methods into our play areas for all children to learn in.

Creating a space for children to feel included and safe to play in should be a priority for us as early educators. This article delves into more ways to foster inclusive play anywhere.

Learning and following the rules of a game draw on cognitive functioning and self-regulation. Children must utilize their brains to make sense of and apply rules to the game they are playing. This can test their ability to listen to and follow directions, which can have a direct impact on how they follow our classroom rules. Following rules requires self discipline that children will have to work on throughout any game you integrate into your lessons, expanding on their social/emotional skills.

There are so many games out there that can improve basic skills for children, such as numeracy, literacy, and so much more! Game based learning can also be an opportunity to get creative and challenge yourself to make your own games to support learning in any area.

Games require interaction with others to achieve a goal. By playing games with your students, you will also create situations where they will strengthen communication and problem solving skills.

Create and integrate games surrounding a current lesson you are teaching your students and you will have given them an exciting way to learn new material.