1. Leave No Child Inside! A Study of ECE Outdoor Program Environments Click mouse to advance slide Harvest Resources www.ecetrainers.com

2. How do you think about playgrounds for children? Do you see them as places to blow-off steam, giving children a break from the important lessons you plan for your classroom? Leave No Child Inside invites you to transform conventional thinking about outdoor environments, and to plan them as thoughtfully as your indoor environments for learning.

3. In his important book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Children from Nature Deficit Disorder , Richard Louv reminds us that unlike television (and we might add school), nature does not steal time. It amplifies it. It offers new possibilities.

4. The out-of-doors offers a larger world for children. It can provide places for freedom, exploring, and solace. Being in natural outdoor environments helps children thrive not only physically, but socially, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.

5. Likewise, there are human costs that come with alienation from nature. Today’s children are experiencing the symptoms: stress, obesity, fear, depression, and ADHD.

6. Well designed playgrounds help change these conditions for children—reducing stress, sharpening their concentration, and promoting creative problem solving. We can nurture children’s enthusiasm for the out-of-doors and their commitment to protecting nature for generations to come.

8. Connecting Children to Nature

11. What colors & textures can you find? How would you feel in this place?

16. Finding one’s place in the cycle of life

23. Moving water

26. Adding more dimensions

27. INSPIRATION

28. Conserving water with a dog lick

29. Sand beyond the box

35. And don’t forget… the value of dirt

36. And the joys of excavation!

37. Landscaping for Adventure and Drama

39. Building in pathways

41. guide children to journeys, mysteries, destinations, and discoveries. Pathways

43. draw children to explore, soar, and discover how to focus their physical energy and imagination. Pathways

44. INSPIRATION

47. Where could you add a pathway in your play area?

48. INSPIRATION

49. Adding platforms

52. Places to get up

54. Places to get under

56. Creating places to feel powerful and competent

59. Building confidence

60. Building imaginations

62. INSPIRATION

63. INSPIRATION

64. Learning to keep yourself safe when you take risks

65. INSPIRATION

66. Designing cozy spaces & gathering places

67. The outdoors is not just for big energy, but also for relaxing, letting nature be your nest.

69. Do you have cozy places in your play yard?

70. Places where a few can gather ?

72. INSPIRATION

73. INSPIRATION

74. Places for an audience when it’s time for a show?

75. INSPIRATION

79. Being in the fresh air clears your head and opens your heart.

80. Enhancing play with props & activities

81. When you bring indoor things outside, you expand the possibilities with A different quality of light More space Less worry about mess.

88. Loose parts can travel and become tools, forts, props for representing ideas and extending dramas.

96. Defining spaces for people and things

97. Some final thoughts about outdoor environments Fences and gates should not only protect a playground, but also foster good feelings. Define each outdoor play area as carefully as you do indoor areas. Create storage and clean up systems in convenient locations.

101. Even when your space is small, you can plan for different interest areas.

103. Storage systems

106. Clean-up systems

108. And, one more thing…

109. Create outdoor spaces for families and teachers too!

112. Leave no child inside. For further inspiration, read Richard Louv (2006), Last Child in the Woods. Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder NY: Algonguin You can prevent nature deficit disorder! Visit Harvest Resources for ongoing information. www.ecetrainers.com