How well do we support children's outdoor play? Do we just assume that children love everything about the outdoors and so neglect to heed the extent to which they favour some equipment and activities over others?
These were some of the questions I wanted to reflect upon while working as a children's centre teacher and attending a course on outdoor learning. In response, I carried out detailed observations of children's play and shared these with staff as a means of improving their engagement in children's outdoor learning. It was an enlightening exercise.
BORING?
I started observing how the children used fixed pieces of equipment - a large wooden slide, a train, willow den and pirate ship. Each had cost hundreds of pounds.
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