Most of us spent ample time in nature as children, climbing trees, exploring rocks and bugs, or even just playing games outdoors with friends. Little did we know that these fun activities were actually building our brains, bodies, and characters for later life. Today, ample research has shown that nature exposure has numerous long-term benefits and at Inspired we encourage our children and educators to participate in our Community Outings curriculum.
Outdoor play fosters children’s intellectual, emotional, social and physical development. And by being outside and surrounded by nature, children experience an ever-changing and free-flowing environment that stimulates all the senses, whilst building an appreciation and respect for our broad community.
The benefits of being immersed in our rich Community Outings curriculum (often called Bush Kinder) include:
- Direct association with nature has both mental and physical benefits. It has been proven to improve mood, reduce depression, and also reduce mental fatigue. Children who are involved in regular outdoor play also benefit from increased flexibility and gross motor skills. More outdoor time also improves vision and reduces body inflammation.
- When children step outside, they get plenty of opportunities to interact with their Inspired peers. In nature, children can connect with others, help each other, share their individual learning ideas and solve problems together.
- Children who play more in the natural world fall sick less often than those children who usually stay indoor. Regular exposure to the outside world boosts one’s immune system. As a result, a child is able to combat illness better. It also specifically improves eyesight.
Our community outings curriculum, is the opportunity for our Inspired children and educators to build meaningful connections within our local community. Activities include; visiting the local supermarket to discover and encourage our awareness of literacy and numeracy, or purchasing lunch from our favourite Fish and Chip shop, visiting the local park to challenge our gross motor skills, and feeding our local animals at the lake.
Other activities include; collecting natural resources for our play spaces, reading a story in nature, experimenting with risks as we climb trees, participating in a game of local footy to challenge our gross motor skills or visiting Botanic Ridge Primary School to prepare our Kindergarten children for their next transition.
“Nature play nurtures children’s minds, bodies, hearts and souls”.
