Quick Read: Supporting Pre-Writing Skills in the Great Outdoors
I’m a great believer that anything you can do indoors with the children, you can also do outside. In recent years I have challenged myself to set up intelligent play spaces in a range of natural settings to enhance my provision. Recent locations have included the garden, park, woods, riverbank, local farm, nature reserve, and smack bang in the middle of a pumpkin field!
In doing so, I have noticed that activities offered in the fresh air boosts children’s engagement, and that they are far more focussed, and are able to embed new skills and information more effectively when play and learning moves outside. As knowledgeable early educators, we all know that gross motor development underpins children’s ability to write successfully. Before they can hold a pencil, they need to develop their proprioceptive and vestibular senses, core strength, and their arm, wrist, hand and finger muscles. Activities such as; running, climbing, stomping in puddles, kicking or throwing a ball, digging in mud, balancing on a log, or swinging on a rope all support these.