nature, nurture and play - fpg child development...

Janet Stewart Anne Stewart Camille Catlett

Family Development Consultant James Madison University University of North Carolina [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Southern Early Childhood Association Williamsburg, Virginia

January 18, 2014

Nature, Nurture and Play

We hope participants will be able to: Describe reports regarding decreased time spent in play and time spent in nature for children across generations. Discuss the evidence for the negative impact of less play time and less time in nature for children, families, and communities.


Objectives are to be able to: Learn hands-on activities that teachers of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers can use to create opportunities for children to interact with and in nature - both in the classroom and outdoors.


Mindful Everyday I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for — to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world — to instruct myself over and over

in joy, and acclamation. Nor am I talking about the exceptional, the fearful, the dreadful, the very extravagant — but of the ordinary, the common, the very drab, the daily presentations. Oh, good scholar, I say to myself, how can you help but grow wise with such teachings as these — the untrimmable light

of the world, the ocean's shine, the prayers that are made out of grass?

"Mindful" by Mary Oliver from Why I Wake Early. © Beacon Press, 2005.

Find it at www.playagainfilm.com and watch the trailer.


http://www.playagainfilm.com/

“The human brain is a “social organ of adaptation” stimulated to grow through positive and negative interactions with others. The quality and nature of our relationships becomes encoded within the neural infrastructure of our brains. It is through this translation of experience into neurobiological structures that nature and nurture become one.” Cozolino. L. (2010). The neuroscience of psychotherapy. NY, NY: Norton Publishing.


Through play children acquire and practice their ability to

• Regulate emotions • Make meaning - re-author, use of metaphor and trauma

narrative, if needed • Enhance opportunities for connection with others and the

natural world • Engage in exploration and problem-solving



And then…! Circle story telling with natural materials. Materials Needed Assorted natural materials (leaves, sticks, rocks, shells, soil) in a bag. This can be provided or gathered locally in community.

Nature, Nurture and Play And then…! Description Children are seated in a circle with the collected materials in one bag. The leader begins the story by establishing the people, place and plot/situation. One day, just as the sun came up, some friends were walking in the meadow. One friend’s name was ___________!


And then…! When the leader pauses, a child pulls an item out of the bag and uses it to “fill in the blank.” The leader should adjust the amount of structure and twists and turns in the story to match the children’s verbal ability and familiarity with the activity. The story comments should incorporate the child’s comments directly. Use a variety of sensory, movement, thinking and feeling prompts. …Then you may recap the story….

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, children are spending an average of 7.5 hours in front of a screen for entertainment each day, 4.5 of which are spent watching TV.

Over a year, that adds up to 114 full days watching a screen for entertainment.


One of the most influential longitudinal studies found that children who experienced the biggest increase in green space near their home after moving improved their cognitive functioning more than those who moved to areas with fewer natural resources nearby (Wells, N. Environment and Behavior, Vol. 32, No. 6).

In a study of 337 school-age children in rural upstate New York,

Wells found that the presence of nearby nature bolsters a child's resilience against stress and adversity, particularly among those children who experience a high level of stress (Environment and Behavior, Vol. 35, No. 3).

Also see http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/03/outdoors.aspx


I want

to feel

safe We have the opportunity to support two critical dimensions of a child’s development and healthy

attachments: the need to feel safe/secure and to explore/learn.

Outside with Babies and Toddlers!

•Focus on building their relationship with you – make the outside safe and secure



•Enhance their ability to focus and compare – sounds, scents, textures, temperatures, etc.

•Watch out for inedible landscape!

•Think developmentally and look for opportunities to use the outdoors to support developmental tasks—to reach and grasp, focus, track, pull up, lean, roll, crawl, discriminate sounds, etc!



•Enjoy the sensations! Look, smell, touch, taste, listen!

•Delight in the child’s curiosity, wonder, hesitancy, excitement…

•Use sensory experiences to build –Language skills, such as communication in general and vocabulary

–Problem solving

–Motor and kinesthetic skills


Nurtured with Nature

•Word of hope on stone (or name of who or what helps you feel safe and happy) •Create circle in sand/dirt and put in items that help you know you are ____ (stronger, hopeful, have friends, etc). •Re-build your community


Nature-based Learning and Play for Children with Special Needs

Innovative approach

Outdoor environments for children with autism could include transitions between spaces/activities, orientation maps, soothing places, clear and secure boundaries, and elements of consistency across areas of the nature play area.

http://www.informedesign.org/_news/april_v09-p.pdf

• Prescription for Play: Nature-based Learning and Play for Children with

Autism and Other Special Needs on the KaBOOM! website http://playschool.kaboom.org/series.php?id=1111

• The Children and Nature Network http://www.childrenandnature.org

• Natural Learning Initiative http://www.naturalearning.org

• SOL (Sequential Outdoor Learning) Environment http://www.solenvironment.org

• Therapeutic Landscapes Network http://www.healinglandscapes.org

• Get Out and Play http://www.healinglandscapes.org/related-play.html


Dream Big, Start Small or Do One Thing (Different)

Imagine your outdoor space, classroom or building. How might you incorporate natural items in your space, with the goals you have for your children?

http://www.naturalearning.org/greendesk/tag/32

Louv, R. (2011). The nature principle: Human restoration and the end of nature –deficit disorder. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books. Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books. Townsend, M., & Weerasuriya, R. (2010). Beyond blue to green: the benefits of contact with nature for mental health and well being.


Erikson, M. Shared nature experience as a pathway to strong family bonds. Children and Nature Network Leadership Writing Series. Retrieved from http://www.recpro.org/assets/Library/Children_in_Nature/shared_nature_exp_pathway_family_bonds.pdf


http://www.recpro.org/assets/Library/Children_in_Nature/shared_nature_exp_pathway_family_bonds.pdf

http://www.recpro.org/assets/Library/Children_in_Nature/shared_nature_exp_pathway_family_bonds.pdf

Children and Nature Network The Children and Nature Network (C&NN) (childrenandnature.org) is dedicated to creating a “world in which all children play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives.”



Watch me play. Watch me learn: In Nature by UNM Family Development Program

To print order form, go to:

http://fdp.unm.edu/resources/books/html

Pebble Pictures Invite a family to take a walk outside (through a park, their backyard, along a river, or along by a neighboring street) and find a pebble that is interesting to each family member. Once found, these unique pebbles can be painted with any image or phrase that is meaningful to the pebble holder. After the pebbles have been painted, ask the family members to describe what they found special about their pebble and what influenced the design they created.


Pebble Pictures These pebbles are similar to the complexity of a family system. Just like members within a family, each pebble is unique. Some pebbles may have bumps or sharp edges and others may be smooth and worn. Each pebble has had unique experiences that shaped it into its exclusive form. And when these pebbles and family members come together, they create a strong foundation upon which life can thrive.



Create a Secure Place – Fairy House

Think of a time and outdoor space where you felt safe and secure. Recall your surroundings, the season, the scents, lighting, and temperature. Think about what you saw around you and the feelings evoked. You may • Gather items that help recreate the feeling from that place

and build you new safe place. • Take a photo of something that creates the secure, calm

feeling and carry it with you.

Build a Secure Place - Fairy House Being in nature can help children with complex trauma address many symptoms and risks. It can help improve their attention, focus, and memory, enhance language and collaborative skills, awareness, reasoning and observational skills.


What We Can Do • Understand basic neurodevelopment • Understand threat response/safety • Help parents understand the need for co-regulation • Provide opportunities for co- and self-regulation • Build positive relational supports • Recognize sensory issues vs. behavior problem • Offer opportunities play and creative expression in

safe and secure relationships in and with the natural world


Let nature nurture you! Viewing nature

•Improves concentration, remedies fatigue, positively affects mood state; •Improves performance in attention and on demanding tasks; •Aids recovery from mental fatigue.

Viewing nature in the workplace reduces perceived job stress, improves work satisfaction, reduces incidences of illness and headache. Try to have a “room with a view!”


http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=nk4hYd9Gg53i9M&tbnid=kNfuXv1HNy-14M:&ved=0CAgQjRwwAA&url=http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sunset-into-the-night-window-view-james-bo-insogna.html&ei=mnERUqyiH-a42QXV-YCIBA&psig=AFQjCNGnwnF9zlPm6KSxeFk_m-mMFrzd0g&ust=1376961306567214

The Peace of Wild Things

Remember, we know what works.

nature, nurture and play - fpg child development...

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