Many people remember playground sets from their childhood as designated spaces where kids can exercise and explore. However, there are often queues by the equipment and each part can only be used in a specific way, which doesn’t provide many opportunities for creative and imaginative play. Luckily, there is a recent push to encourage nature play for kids, utilizing natural elements rather than manufactured equipment so kids can create their own fun.

A common fear for parents when discussing nature play is if kids will get hurt. It is understandable that there are risks associated with playing outdoors, such as falling/tripping or getting stung by bees. The risks associated with not allowing nature play, however, are far greater. By having less time outdoors, children’s mental health can worsen, but playing outside can increase their self-esteem and quality of life. Also, children who are in greener areas are less likely to be asthmatic. 

Parents have less time nowadays to have their kids participate in free nature play, so they will often enroll kids into various activities to keep them occupied. This means that some children end up not knowing how to play in nature. Nature play requires time and space to learn. There has been a recent push towards providing experiences with nature at a young age. As demonstrated in ‘Vitamin N’ and ‘Last Child in the Woods’, families need to put aside time to be in nature in the current developing world, where it is becoming increasingly difficult to find spaces to play outside.

Nature play promotes different types of movement than manufactured playground equipment. When playing outside, kids can lift, climb, and run on different elements around them, rather than being restricted to play a certain way. By working with different elements such as sticks and rocks, kids can develop fine motor skills more easily. Plus, being outside provides a fantastic sensory experience for kids to explore and discover. 

When it comes to the social dynamics associated with nature play, everyone is socially level to work together in the effort to complete a project. The task can be as simple as building a fort out of sticks, but this can improve kids’ leadership skills, problem solving, focus, self-regulation, and self-confidence. Plenty of opportunities are provided so children can be peaceful and develop resilience through trial and error. The focus is to promote collaboration rather than competition between participating kids.

Another important aspect to nature play is ‘child-initiated instruction’. Also referred to as ‘child centered learning’ or ‘child directed learning’, kids can learn lessons based on encounters with nature through development. This provides children the space to grow their own independence, ask questions about the world around them, and innovate with the elements provided for them. There is no failure in nature play, so children can experiment and explore free from the pressures of expectation.

The new nature play zone at Peace Valley Nature Center encourages kids to explore their environment beyond the boundaries of their home and to encourages them to have fun and make mistakes on their road to discovery. Visit us today!