Monday, May 21, 2012

No Child Left Behind and Leave No Child Inside-Nature Education and Outdoor Play


I would like to address the importance of nature and outdoor play in the lives of young children and its values and benefits for physical, cognitive, social-emotional wellbeing of young children. 
Children are naturally curious, born with a sense of wonder and discovery, and passionate about their surroundings. Therefore, provide a nature playground and encourage outdoor play are vital to young children's healthy development. 

Think about what were your favorite things to do outdoor when you were little? 

Climb trees, tree house, swings, secret club, picking wild flowers, build fairy houses, forts, bicycles, picking berries, sand and mud, bug hunting, dirt alley, and the list goes on. 


Why do people discourage their children play outdoor?  Research shows that most people make excuses by saying the busy daily schedules, spaces are limited, and believe "Strangers dangerous".  Some people blamed technology, video games, and digital media. 

Nature education advocate, author Richard Louv says, “I think we should leave no child  inside and not No child left behind". (To be continued)



1 comment:

  1. I agree with you that students don't get outside as much as they should, especially since they miss out on a lot of learning experiences that they are unable to gain elsewhere. I wanted to refer you to a news report that King 5 did a while back:

    http://www.king5.com/health/Half-of-preschool-kids-dont-get-outside-to-play-on-daily-basis-study-finds-146148735.html

    I thought of you and hope it will be a good resource you can use.

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