For most of my life, I’ve taken the great outdoors for granted. Having lived the majority of my time in the countryside or suburbs, I (rather ironically) became more focused on outdoor play when we moved to central Vienna.
Up until that point, my children could go outside into their big Australian suburban back yard at any time they wished, they spent hours climbing the trees, building dens or running about like crazies.
City living means an apartment (where we have to be mindful of our downstairs neighbours), a small terrace and having an excellent knowledge of the parks in the local area.
But moving to the city also came at a time when my youngest son was becoming really active. In fact he thrives when he can spend the majority of time outdoors. He loves nothing more than climbing, exploring and kicking a ball as high as he can.
Unfortunately apartment living and a very active child do not go hand in hand, and so we actively changed our daily rhythm and weekly rhythm to focus on more outdoor time. It was possibly the best parenting decision for all of us.
Throughout October, we will be exploring the magic of outdoor play. This series of emails is exclusive to paid subscribers.
In newsletter 1 of the Outdoor Play Masterclass, we are going to be delving into the importance of outdoor play and setting goals for the month ahead.
What You’ll Learn in this article:
5 reasons why outdoor play is important
How the outdoors encourages independence
How outdoor play helps your child academically
How outdoor play makes days at home with young children less overwhelming
How to set realistic goals for your outdoor play time
This newsletter is part of A Playful Year which is exclusive to paid subscribers. To access the content, including printable resources and guides, please click the link below.Â