The natural environment can and should be an exciting 'classroom' for children, providing opportunities for investigation and scientific discovery on a daily basis. It can also offer them a base for observing changes that occur over a period of time.
Not all children have a garden at home or ready access to local parks. It is crucial that we as early years practitioners create in the setting an area that will provide children with rich and varied learning experiences and motivate them to find out about features and occurrences in nature.
The outdoor area can also be an ideal place in which to develop other aspects of scientific understanding, particularly the exploration of materials and forces. Practitioners need to consider carefully how to organise and resource the area if opportunities are to be plentiful and meaningful.
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