The benefits of outdoor learning are well documented and access to an outdoor area should be a choice open to children on a daily basis. Where an adjacent area is accessible and continuously available, the quality and frequency of children's outdoor learning experiences largely depend on practitioners' commitment to outdoor play.
Planning should reflect a balance between indoor and outdoor activities, and should address the organisational issues of staffing and setting up equipment in zones. In addition to these practical aspects, practitioners should carefully consider the learning opportunities in the outdoor area and how to support them.
The British weather, although much maligned, offers a rich source of learning across the curriculum. Advance planning will enable practitioners to respond spontaneously and effectively to a range of weather conditions.
As long as children are wearing suitable clothing and safety issues are addressed, there are very few days when they will be unable to venture outside. Wet or windy weather, often used as excuses by adults to stay indoors, can then become exciting and sensory learning experiences for children.
Collecting and organising equipment into weather resource boxes is a cheap and easy way to enable practitioners to respond immediately to a change in the weather. Include in each box a list of resources and possible experiences and activities. Here are some ideas: Sun
* Shadow puppets Look at the shadow shapes cast by different puppets and make up stories about the puppets.
* Shape 'lollipops' (card shapes on sticks) Compare shadow shapes and look at how these change as the lollipops are moved. Stick a lollipop in the ground and observe how the shadow moves during the day.
* Chalk Draw around body, tree and building shadows and compare their size and shape as the day progresses.
* Buckets and decorator's brushes Make marks with water on paving stones and observe the evaporation process.
* Hats (different shapes) Talk about the shadow shapes created and create persona for the shadow characters.
* Card, scissors and tape Design and make sun hats.
* Lengths of fabric and den frames Make shelters from the sun.
* Digital camera Record shadows made by static objects at different times of day.
Frost, snow and ice
* Ice cubes (some containing food colouring, glitter or sequins) and shallow plastic trays Observe the melting process by putting ice cubes in different areas (indoors and outdoors) and monitoring what happens. Make marks with ice in plastic trays.
* Squeezy bottles Make marks in snow with warm water.
* Flour sifters containing powder paint Sprinkle paint on to snow and watch as the colours spread and mix.
* Spades, trowels, scoops, plastic tubs and buckets Mould and build with snow.
* Shoes with different tread patterns, toy vehicles, textured natural and man-made objects Make prints and create patterns in the snow.
* Digital camera Take photographs of frost patterns.
Rain
* Umbrellas and cooking foil Listen to the rain falling on an umbrella.
Cover the umbrella in foil to increase the sound effect of the rain.
* Waterproof and absorbent materials Experiment with materials to make clothes or shelters that protect from the rain.
* Lengths of plastic guttering, buckets, troughs, trays and funnels Collect rainwater in buckets, construct water collection and storage systems, and water plants with collected rainwater.
Wind
* Kites, paper and fabric ribbons Tie ribbons to a 'ribbon tree' and watch as they are blown by gusts of wind. Run around the outdoor area 'flying'
ribbons and kites.
* Sugar paper, crepe paper, tissue, art straws, balsawood, string and scissors Make and fly kites and aeroplanes.
* Commercially produced wind chimes, lengths of copper and plastic piping, bamboo and safe metal kitchen utensils Listen to the sounds produced by wind chimes hung in trees. Create home-made wind chimes and experiment with the sounds made by the various resources.
* Windmills and windsocks Observe the effects of wind.
