Importance of Outdoor & Play-Learning Activities For Toddler's Development

Learning can always be fun if innovative ways are adopted for it. No matter how much we appreciate and promote classroom learning or indoor learning, there’s no substitute for outdoor learning, learning through fun and games and playful learning.

Benefits Of Outdoor Play For Toddlers-

1. Outdoor play impacts the brain development of your child
2. It ensures overall development of your child
3. Makes learning easy
4. Promotes physical strength
5. It helps in intellectual development

Purpose of Outdoor Learning-

Providing for the outdoor play needs of our child is a complex and challenging task. A variety of factors must be considered, including the various play needs, most importantly supervision and safety. Since children, today, experience fewer and fewer opportunities to explore nature, it is our duty to provide our child with a variety of ways and methods to play outdoors.

Outdoor Play-Learning Activities-

These activities might prove helpful in building up the outdoor play-learning habit in your child-

1. Scavenger hunt:

   Take them on a scavenger hunt. For E.g. – hide object of different textures, or shape or colour and ask them to feel the objects. This will promote their sense of texture, analysing and at the same time improve their vocabulary when the learn names of new objects, colours etc. Adventure and learning can be a good combo

2. Hiking/ climbing:

   No outdoor activity can be complete without hiking/climbing. If your babies is a little more towards the elder side of age, take them to a moderately high but safe mountain/ stone. Line them up and give them an idea about all the safety measures that need to be followed. Please make sure your carry generous amount of fluids and first-aid kit. This activity will promote physical fitness, and give your child an understanding of heights and lengths

3. Nature Journal:

   Encourage your child to go on a nature walk and collect objects of nature like stones, leaves, flowers, etc. Ask him/her to maintain a journal for the same. This will promote their understanding of nature, and also promote their sense of keeping records, notes, etc. as they learn to maintain their journal. Who knew learning could be so much fun!

4. Gardening:

   Ask them to assist you in gardening; this will encourage a feeling of care, warmth and maintaining things, keeping them organized. Plant a garden and learn along, cool right?

5. Abacus:

   Help you child DIY an abacus. U can use bead, threads, and pipes for these. As you help your child in making this, he/she will learn more about it as they DIY their abacus. A fun activity with learning, amazing right?

Encouraging Physical Play-

In general, physical play should be encouraged by parents. Cycling, running, camping for that instance are activities which not only promote health but also promote educational learning. Academics will serve the purpose of education but the things your child will learn through outdoor learning and play will have a wholesome impact on your growing child.

Did you like the blog? Did you find it useful? Share your thoughts and ideas with us on outdoor learning in the comments section below; we’d love to hear from you!