Date of Award
10-12-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Education
Program
Early Childhood Education
Capstone Instructor
Dr. Kelly Sadlovsky
Second Reader
DeShawn Woods
Keywords
Outdoor play, nature play, physical activity, physical developmental domain, large muscle skills, whole child development.
Abstract
Research has shown there are many benefits to outdoor play. The benefits included an increase in movement, improvements to cognitive development, healthier bones, less stress, and growth for the whole child (Bai et al., 2019). When time was spent outdoors, children had the opportunity to participate in physical activity for large motor development. Even when children simply had nature nearby there were positive effects on children’s health and wellbeing (Fraser, Heimlich, Yocco, 2010). Spending time outdoors helped connect children to the natural world and encouraged exploration and curiosity. Children had more opportunities to develop executive functioning skills and social skills from participating in physical exercise outdoors with classmates (Best, 2010). Despite these many benefits, research has shown there is a decrease in the amount of time children have spent outdoors in recent years (Lee et al., 2019). Research has shown the benefits make outdoor play an important part of the childhood years and children gain skills and experiences when it is included in the curriculum of early childhood education.