7 benefits of outdoor play (www.nct.org.uk):
- Fresh air and sunshine during the day helps babies sleep better at night.
- The everchanging environment of outdoors is stimulating and provides a multi-sensory place to play. It is one of the best and fun ways to learn!
- Being outdoors allows children to use their whole body and develop gross motor skills. Climbing, running, riding bikes, crawling and jumping in the puddles allows for different muscle groups to be used. While looking for treasures and concentrating on detailed features (such as worms!) will give children a chance to develop their attention, fine motor skills and attention to detail.
- Being outdoors helps children to sleep, eat and live more healthily. Therefore, they are able to develop healthy habits for life.
- Children can gain knowledge about their environment and nature when out and about – this enables them to grow up to be environmentally aware adults.
- Even short walks can have a positive impact on the whole family – fresh air can make a world of difference.
- Being outside is great for making new friends and getting in some gentle exercise.
All these benefits and more is why we encourage our children to play outdoors in all weathers – we want them to grow into adults who love outdoors and develop healthy lifestyle habits!
Therefore, we ask all of our parents to ensure that their children are appropriately dressed during all seasons when they come to nursery to allow them to enjoy outdoor play.
In the spring/summer children will need: sun hats and sun creams, dress your children in light clothing.
In the autumn/winter children will need: hats, gloves, scarves and appropriate coat. Additionally, we advise children to be dressed in layers, so that they can take top layers off if they are warm while indoors. We would also advise to have a pair of wellies and spare clothes so that staff can change children when needed should they get wet.