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Writer's pictureFranzi Shelton

The Importance of Outdoor Play

Updated: Jun 22, 2021

“All of nature begins to whisper its secrets to us through its sounds. Sounds that were previously incomprehensible to our soul now become the meaningful language of nature.”- Rudolf Steiner


One of my favorite aspects about Waldorf early childhood education is the fact that a great deal of time is spent outdoors. Having been a science teacher myself, I can honestly say that taking children outside is one of the most effective ways to fuel their curiosity for the natural world and to inspire an innate desire to ask questions, investigate, and explain. I wanted to provide you with a few tools to make nature based learning possible within your own four walls.


  1. Facilitate Unstructured Free Play: allow your child to gather natural “toys” (pine cones, rocks, shells, dirt, sticks....) when playing outside. Natural toys are open ended and foster a child’s creative imagination.

  2. Take Your Child on Adventures: activities such as building forts, finding shelters, and foraging can be incredible motivators. You can also look for additional resources to support your outdoor adventures. Have you heard about @raisinglittleshoots (#exploringnaturewithchildren) and @1000hoursoutside? How about @tanglewoodhollow’s Arbor Adventure Club?

  3. Practice Mindfulness: simply listening to the sounds of nature and taking in the potential smells and colors that are surrounding us can be a wonderful and healing experience for children.

  4. Start a Nature Journal: a Nature Journal is the perfect tool for asking questions, recording observations, planning and conducting investigations, and formulating hypotheses.

  5. Provide Your Child with Tools: Choose a few select tools to facilitate your child’s investigations and explorations. I love recommending the so-called MagiScope as a beginner’s microscope. Compasses, binoculars, and microscopes can oftentimes be found second hand. Also, @woodlark ’s store stocks the most beautiful nature inspired learning tools!


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