At the arrival of spring last week, both in terms of the official calendar and of the actual weather, our children and staff literally burst from the school onto the playground with seemingly boundless energy.  Watching the joyful movement, excited discoveries, animated interactions, and even diverse responses to the inevitable tumbles and scrapes prompted me to reflect about the value of outdoor experiences.  The expansive spaces invite more freedom of movement.  We notice the children fully engaging their senses, minds, and bodies as they navigate the varied natural and artificial surfaces and structures.  We know that fresh air and exercise are good for our bodies, but they also prepare our brains to focus more effectively on learning.

At the recent National Coalition of Campus Children’s Centers (NCCCC) conference in St. Louis, keynote speaker Richard Louv challenged educators to intentionally combat the disconnection between children and nature, both to improve their health and to nurture their interest in the future of the environment. 

Louv cited a variety of research findings demonstrating the importance of outdoor experiences to healthy development, cognitive functioning, and creativity, as well as to combating the increasing prevalence of childhood stress, obesity, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.  He also notes that environmental conservation measures in future years will depend on the current generation of children learning to love nature now.  Louv’s Children and Nature Network is dedicated to starting a movement to reconnect children and nature.  The web site (www.cnaturenet.org) has links to a range of interesting research reports and interviews.

At the Children’s School, we offer outdoor opportunities every day when the weather permits, and we take advantage of Schenley Park’s proximity to broaden our experiences beyond the campus environment.  We also bring the natural world indoors via our class pets (the 4’s worm farm, the kindergarten parakeet, and most recently the 4’s tadpole), plants and planting projects (recently, the 4’s spider plant babies and the kindergarten sunflowers), and other natural artifacts (feathers, rocks, shells, skeletons, etc.).  Last week, Margaret Cyert donated hundreds of American Cancer Society daffodils to the school for our children’s enjoyment, artistic inspiration, and eventual dissection.

We encourage families to take advantage of the many outdoor experiences that our beautiful city has to offer.  Our park system offers miles of discovery trails for exploring Pennsylvania flora and fauna.  At the zoo and aviary, families can experience natural habitats from around the world in both indoor and outdoor venues.  As a result of our Games Unit, many children are now interested in neighborhood games, such as hopscotch and jump rope.  Invite them to share these and other games from their gym classes with you as you enjoy the longer hours of sunlight and better weather outdoors.  Have fun together!