Williams-Ridge - outdoor play

Sometimes in the classroom children may be very reserved, or because of the space might not be as open to different relationships or trying new things, but sometimes outside because of the natural sunlight, or because of them having the sensory experience of the wind and the sound and the smells, they’re able to connect, maybe not with another child right away, but they’re able to make connections and they can connect with teachers and children. And a lot of children show a different style of leadership when they’re outside as opposed to in the classroom. Even in children that you might not expect it to.  

So sometimes it’s a challenge for teachers to be able to supervise that, especially in a large open space, but it’s also a chance for those children to exhibit some of their own leadership skills and work a lot on conflict resolution because they’re a little bit further away from a teacher, and so sometimes they have to work on their skills on their own, and a teacher sometimes doesn’t know until things have escalated to a certain point and then the teacher can become engaged. But up until then children have been working on solving a problem together, and I think that is an invaluable experience that the outdoors provides, not only for the children who are having the conflict, but for other children who are watching and can say “They’re arguing about a shovel, how are they doing it?” and it provides chances for children to almost mentor and role model for each other.