Description
Book SynopsisTransforming Your Outdoor Early Learning Environments invites center and home based educators to reimagine and reconstruct their image of conventional children’s play yards as they know them and to create beautiful outdoor learning spaces on a limited budget with natural elements and loose parts that offer children opportunity for irresistible engaging explorations. Ideas, inspiration, and benefits for changing outdoor environments are provided along with the basics for designing, transforming, and maintaining 11 specific outdoor play zones.
Transforming Your Outdoor Early Learning Environment offers an approach that:
- Requires minimal financial resources
- Features loose parts and upcycled materials
- Integrates nature
- Includes inspiring photos of before and after transformations
- Offers design tips and material lists
- Describes how play in each area fosters children’s competencies, development, and learning in the areas of social and emotional, language and communication, cognitive, physical, and expressive arts
Trade Review“Wow! What an attractive and eminently practical book. Lisa Daly provides lavish photographic examples of how to transform early childhood play yards and home backyards. It's easy to say, 'I want one of those' and understand how you could create one of those spaces easily and economically. It's a feast of good ideas.” —David Sobel, author of The Sky Above and the Mud Below and Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens, professor emeritus in the Education Department at Antioch University New England in Keene, New Hampshire.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction of Transforming Outdoor Learning Environments
- Chapter 1 The What, Why, and How of Transforming Outdoor Learning Environments
- Chapter 2 Art Studios
- Chapter 3 Clay Studios
- Chapter 4 Sound Gardens
- Chapter 5 Mud Kitchens
- Chapter 6 Small Worlds
- Chapter 7 Cozy Areas and Hiding Places
- Chapter 8 Construction Areas
- Chapter 9 Trajectory Areas
- Chapter 10 Sand Areas
- Chapter 11 Water Areas
- Chapter 12 Large Motor Areas
- Chapter 13 Non-Mobile Infant Areas
- Appendices
- References
