What advantages does outdoor learning offer elementary school students?
Play outside at Nursery in Dubai Marina is becoming more and more common in schools and is vital for kids' growth, especially in their initial years. Children gain a great deal from outdoor learning and Forest school opportunities.
Outdoor learning opportunities on school property result in Natural Connections, which in turn foster an educational environment where the outdoors is valued as an integral component of the curriculum. Students will gain a great deal from secondary schools that adopt outdoor learning strategies.
Children's exposure to a variety of sensory experiences is one of the main advantages of outdoor play. Since they are exposed to nature, kids can form deeper, more meaningful connections with their surroundings.
In a natural setting, they also acquire an extensive variety of physical abilities like dexterity, balance, and coordination. Furthermore, playing outside gives kids the chance to challenge themselves and take reasonable risks—two things that are crucial for a child's healthy development.
Since outdoor play is so important to children's development, schools ought to promote it. A culture that values and promotes outdoor play fosters the development of the whole child, embraces the Natural Connections philosophy, and equips kids with the critical skills they require for achievement in school and beyond.
Learning outdoors and the effects of technology
Any kids born after 2010, the year the iPad was released, are currently considered members of Generation Alpha, the generation that follows Generation Z. Given that social media is a dynamic tool with the potential to transform civilization in countless positive ways, this generation of children is the first to never have experienced a world without it. As such, they are significantly more technically astute than any generation before them (Cottrell, 2022).
All things considered, children are spending a lot less time playing outside as technology devices become more widely available. As a result, kids today spend a lot less time outside than kids in previous generations (Anderson-McNamee and Bailey, the year 2010).
Outdoor Education in Residential Settings
For a variety of reasons, playing outside at Nursery with FS2 may not be possible in the home. Bento and Dias (2017) expound on the diminishing prospects for outdoor play, attributing it to factors such as globalization, technological advancements, urbanization, and the children's residential location in relation to urban and rural areas. Professionals' and parents' attitudes towards outdoor play are being influenced by a growing culture filled with dread about potential mishaps. In light of these
considerations, kids are typically kept indoors, participate in organized activities, and are under adult supervision. Because of the latter, children's opportunities to play freely in a safe environment may be limited to outdoor play in preschool settings.