Outdoor play for kids gaining momentum

Two new textbooks are furthering an Okanagan College researcher’s efforts to inspire Canada’s early childhood educators to embrace the benefits of outdoor play for Canadian children.

Dr. Beverlie Dietze has studied children’s outdoor play theories and behaviours in countless settings in the Okanagan and across Canada.

Her observations have fueled two new works that are part of a new collection designed to inspire Canadian early childhood educators to join the outdoor play movement.

Less than a year after the publication of their book Empowering Pedagogy For Early Childhood Education, Dietze and co-author Dianne Kashin have published an all-new text entitled Outdoor & Nature Play Early Childhood Education through Pearson Canada.

“The outdoor play movement is building momentum in Canada,” says Dietze, who is Director of Learning and Applied Research at Okanagan College and a recognized expert in outdoor play curriculum for children.

“In order for that momentum to continue, we need to offer more educators new knowledge, examples and practices that make outdoor play principles accessible and place them in a Canadian context.”

For Dietze, that meant ensuring educators flipping through the book would immediately get a sense of place.

The book includes examples and insights — as well as some of her own photography — from outdoor play workshops she has hosted at parks and nature areas around the Okanagan. The local content and context is fitting as the book was released as part of Pearson’s Canadian Early Childhood Education Collection.

“The collection is written by Canadians for Canadians,” explains Dietze.

“This book was informed by movements around Indigenous education and environmental sustainability in Canada, along with a wide array of outdoor play concepts,” she says.

“We’ve looked at how — and for how long — children play in natural play settings versus traditional play spaces, and shared findings we hope will help more and more educators provide children with meaningful outdoor play opportunities.”