Outdoors

Promoting Play

“Children learn through play, movement, communication and sensory experience which the outdoors provides for on a much greater scale than indoors”. - Early Childhood Ireland

With our newly renovated outdoor playground, each group have their own spacious and safe play area with a variety of activities that provide a range of developmentally appropriate, challenging, diverse, creative and enriching experiences for all children. Each area is provided with a covered outdoor play, soft matted and grass section which has proved to be an invaluable asset to our centre.

Our young babies have the chance to explore varied experiences which will enhance all their senses, sight, touch, smell, hearing and movement in their own newly designed space for their age.

Aistear guidelines supports the idea that playing outside provides children with the opportunity to experience the world and explore using all their senses. Outdoor play allows children to be noisy, be more creative with bigger structures, play games which involves using their imagination in different ways such as being messy, running, climbing and going on their own adventures.

It has been researched that children who experience quality time outdoors has a great effect on the growth of their brain and builds a strong foundation for overall development in physical, intellectual, language, emotional, social skills, spatial awareness and cooperation.

Outdoor play teaches children to learn about decision making, helps them to overcome their fears and increases their sense of becoming more independent. It provides them with new opportunities of getting dirty, wet or falling over, all these experiences will help children’s confidence to grow through learning about the environment outdoors.