Outdoor Play

If you are employed in a state that uses a registry to track professional development hours, you will be able to provide your registry ID (Stars, MOPID, Registry or other ECE ID#) after you have completed the quiz for the course. If you pass the quiz we will report your course completion to the state registry using the registry ID that you provide.

Explore the importance and benefits of outdoor time for children of all ages, from infants through school-age children. Designed for early childhood educators and childcare professionals, this course examines outdoor safety, age-appropriate activities, ways to bring indoor learning outdoors, and creative ideas such as low-cost mud kitchens. Participants will explore practical examples and consider how to make outdoor experiences engaging on any budget. Apply these strategies to create safe, meaningful outdoor experiences that support children’s learning, development, movement, and exploration. Course Length – 2.0 Hours.

The course answers the following questions:

• Do infants really need outdoor time?

• What weather conditions are safe for children to have outdoor time?

• How can I make a mud kitchen on a tight budget?

• What are some activities that we typically do inside that we may take outdoors?

• What are some “out of the box” activities we can do outdoors?

Participants who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Identify at least three benefits of outdoor play for children of different ages with 80% accuracy on the course assessment.

• Determine whether weather conditions are safe for outdoor play using appropriate safety guidelines.

• Develop an outdoor-play plan that includes at least three developmentally appropriate activities.