This was the scene at our mud kitchen this afternoon.  Lots of busy wee people chatting to each other as they cooked up some delicious looking mud.  There is great emphasis put on outdoor learning by the government and by leading educationalists just now.  The notion that young children learn best through play in a stimulating environment is one that we completely believe in at  Milngavie Nursery.  We are lucky enough to share the school garden and play in it on a daily basis with our children.  It provides a beautiful environment in which to learn.  It is ideal for imaginative play- we have a willow den, a play hut and 2 wee play houses, as well as little areas of the garden where we can hide, or get together with our friends to work together, or just chat.  There are trees to climb and 2 great slides, which provide a bit of challenge for those who like to be active.  We also have a great board walk which we can run down, or roll things down, and plenty of benches and seats for those who want to do a bit of drawing, make a picture or read a story.

Every area of the curriculum can be explored in the garden and often in more meaningful and physical ways than in our playrooms.  The quality of play is better out of doors.  The fresh air and exercise and the freedom to run and to make a noise are so good for wee people.  Their spatial awareness and physical confidence is improved by the freedom to move, to climb, to balance, jump and slide.  It is much more likely that children will be interested in the world around them if they are actually out in it, experiencing it.  A book with a lovely picture of a frog will never be the same as watching one up close and listening to the noise it makes.  Emotionally too, the garden is a good place for children.  Most children enjoy the space and it is always more difficult to get them back inside than get them out!

The chat in the garden can be amazing – this morning I watched one of our wee boys holding his own yoga class.  He had obviously watched someone doing yoga very carefully and knew some great yoga positions.  The other children were really interested in what he was doing and he soon had a wee crowd trying out the lotus position and yoga “moves”.  He spiced it up with some karate chops at the end, that perhaps weren’t strictly in the spirit of the first part of his class, but his friends loved it.  There was lots of great use of descriptive language and serious faces and concentration and then lots of smiling and laughing.  Watching children learn from one another is a joy.

Later I saw two three year olds making a cup of tea and having a natter like little old ladies – practising the skills adults use every day.  They had observed adult relationships and were trying them out themselves – learning together how conversations and friendships work. “I’ll be the mum- now just you don’t touch that – it’s hot!”

It might be messy and you do get dirty, but nothing beats outdoors!