Early Childhood is important in its ownrighting not merely a preparation for later learning. Learning begins atbirth and continues throughout life" There's nothing better than a fight, especially when you're watching it from a safe place. You can yell encouragement! Hit him with the left, he's a big Jessie!

British humour, I think I’m right in surmising, comprises of improvised word-play (invention of new but instantly recognisable expressions), brutalist observation and extremist opinion- or scenario-making (however fantastical – pretty much like the German model – which also lends itself to surrealism), and the somewhat fatalistic dry irony (which encompasses a lot but might easily include the blunt German model and the wry Norwegian weather observation)

As I’m standing in the preserve’s parking lot with my daughters tugging on my shorts, anxiously wondering why I’m being accosted by an officer, my heart sinks as if it were weighted down by a pile of serrated Pennsylvania sandstone. If walking on the trail is the only thing allowed at this preserve, they may as well put up a children not welcome sign at the entrance. It suddenly dawns on me that I’ve probably unintentionally broken several of the preserve’s rules over the years just by allowing my children to play freely here. Young childrenlearn by doing and by having funrather than sitting up at a table with books etc. Go for a walk if you can and have fun counting how many steps between lamp posts, what numbers you can see or letters orshapes. In preschool a lot of classes already use an online tool to keep in touch with parents and share what is going on in the classroom so that makes it easy to switch to home learning in many ways but thispandemic has made it harder to let parentsexperience a play basedcurriculum in person. There are just so many benefits to outdoor play for kids ⏤ physical skills that they build, and social skills, and cognitive skills. And since parents, educators, doctors, and nurses, everybody in Scandinavia is on board and understands that, it’s become this mantra: Hey, we got to go outside even if it’s just for a little bit. It’s refreshing. It’s good for the body and soul. And we’ve adjusted accordingly ⏤ all kids are expected to dress for the weather, with their rain gear when it’s rainy and snowsuits in the winter. The government is also heavily invested in promoting outdoor recreation for children and adults alike as a preventive health measure. For example, the health care system in Sweden’s Skåne region encourages parents to get outside with their children from an early age as a way to prevent obesity and establish a healthy lifestyle from the get-go. “We all know that fresh air and movement benefit both your appetite and sleep,” says an informative pamphlet for new parents. “That is true not only for older children and adults, but fresh air every day makes small children feel well too. This also establishes good habits and a desire to exercise.”

What wasalso sospecial was that so many ofthe staff Imet through thefirstproject werestillworking there and it was wonderful to reconnect with them over the few days. Thechildren were a delight to be around, confident andcompetent in theirenvironment, climbing trees, sliding down steepbanks, playing in shallow water in the forest and just very content andhappy. In 2008 it was one of the things I noticed the most - how happy thechildren were playing outdoors with very little resources and not a lot ofadultsinterference. Froebel saw autonomy as a key part of a young child and their experience inkindergarten and that is what Iobserved the most in 2008 and again in 2023 - children wereconfident to try thingsfor themselves but the adults areskilled enough to know when tostep in to assist or extendlearning opportunities.

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Although in general references to clothing are quite rare in the materials we’ve been working on, a small number of accounts from the archives use clothing to describe the unexpected nature of the weather, whether it be mild weather during winter, or very cold wet weather in summer. Here are a couple of examples: An unplanned, uncontrolled event which could have led to injury to people, damage to equipment or the environment or some other loss. This is used to inform and alter practice. How do you convince parents who aren’t necessarily outdoorsy themselves to get on board with outside parenting?

That said, we never went into this with the intention of being ‘fair weather’ Players. It’s such an enjoyable, communal punctuation to our weeks that we’re determined to grit our teeth and make it through the challenging months. Tips for winter street play and keeping warm… I work in front of a computer screen all day and by the end, my brain isn’t exactly at the top of its game. I need to get out to recover and refresh and recharge my batteries. Not only that, but just like outdoor play for kids helps prevent obesity, it helps us stay in shape too. If we as parents go out there with them and run around, go for walks, or hikes, etc. there’s really no downside to it. There’s a huge benefit that’s not directly manifested on a physical level, but it’s got more to do with developing a love for nature. Ultimately, you have to have a connection to nature early in life to develop the desire to protect nature later in life. The kids who don’t have that connection, it’s going to be hard for them to relate when the woods are being chopped down. They’re probably not going to care as much. The most important thing for a young child is to foster an emotional attachment to nature because that is something you can build on. So I think it’s important for the future of the planet, as well as the kids’ health, to get them out there. Make a mental breakdown of your child’s wardrobe into “playclothes” and “school clothes” to avoid stressing over damage wrought by messy outdoor play. Hand-me-downs, yard sale finds, and older clothes with holes or stains that won’t come out make excellent candidates for playclothes.In the U.S., I’ve found that parents are afraid to let their kids get dirty, or even their clothes dirty, because it’s seen as unsanitary. But it is good for kids to get dirty on a regular basis. There are good microbes in the soil that strengthen the immune system, for example, and it can also help prevent allergies. You can go a little lighter on the hand sanitizers, it’s okay. If they happen to put some dirt in their mouths, it’s not the end of the world. It can actually be pretty good for them. I am a HUGE get outside kids Mom. I love being outside and know that I am a better person when I get some fresh air everyday (even in the winter) I try to incorporate that into my kids lives as well. I walked them to school during their elementary years and miss that special nature and talking time together. It is a struggle to get my kids and sometimes my husband outside now but when we do it is always a special memory and my kids want to go out more. To what extent is the fact that kids don't play with other kids in their neighborhoods anymore related to the fact that ... people have different values/cultures from their neighbors and don't actually want their children at their houses acquiring their values? What if we are giving lip service to multiculturalism but it actually makes us miserable? It's not legal to control who lives in our neighborhoods so ... private schools and private activities were invented. The last phase of mourning is acceptance. For a while I considered fighting the charge, but then I decided to let it go and pay the fine. The rules are the rules are the rules, and I had unwittingly broken them. When I talked to John Bacone, director of the IDNR’s Division of Nature Preserves, about my experience, to my surprise I found that we essentially agreed on the problem. “Kids don’t play outside like they used to,” he lamented. “We need to get them out there again so they don’t just stay inside and play video games.”