Thinking outside of the box Thursdays: What is a challenge you face in your outdoor play space?
Outdoor play spaces vary greatly and each one has its own strengths and challenges. What is a challenge that you have faced during outdoor play? Are there any ways you have tried to overcome the issue?
I worked at a centre with many
natural features, including gardens. The children often touched and inspected
the plants, mulch, or insects that they find. They also enjoy exploring the
garden through smell and sometimes taste (especially among young toddlers). It
can be challenging at times to make sure that the children are staying safe and
learning to respect the plants so they can grow. We support them by modeling
gently touching the plants. We also have conversations about why we cannot eat
some of the plants (for their own health and the plant’s health). Lastly, we can
redirect the children to the garden where we grow edible plants, such as cherry
tomatoes.
We have been trying hard to think of ways to change our very unnatural play space and add in some natural materials. Finances are our biggest challenge; we need to purchase a lot to bring in some storage, materials, etc. We have added tires to our yards; however, due to theft and storage issues, we have them stationary and chained to the fence for now. We do have planted boxes in our yard and do plant some flowers in the Spring/Summer. The children help to water them. We have a list of plants that are safe for the gardens and have been asked not to grow any vegetables so that the children aren't mistakenly eating other plants.
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