Playing outside promotes leadership skills

In an environment where children create the fun, natural leaders will arise. One child may excel at explaining how to play the game, while another may enjoy setting up the physical challenge of an outdoor obstacle course.

All types of leadership skills are needed and encouraged. Provide the materials and the opportunities outside and watch the leaders of the future emerge!

When planning your outside play activities consider the following areas of development to help you to develop appropriate activities to achieve these goals.

Social Can children work together, share and take turns? Are they able to select and return resources needed for a task? Do they take risks and tackle problems? Can they concentrate and persevere until a task is completed?

Language Do children talk about activities and reflect on and modify what they are doing? Do they give and receive verbal instructions? Do they listen and take note of other people’s ideas and thoughts?

Maths Do children use the appropriate vocabulary linked to size, shape and capacity? Can they estimate which container holds more? Do they count accurately and use language such as 1 more? Do they understand and use prepositional language?

Exploring/thinking- Do children naturally explore the outdoors? Do they ask questions/ respond to suggestions? Are they able to suggest reasons for how and why things happen?

Physical Do children consider the safety of others as they move around? Do they make optimum use of the space available? Do they use the equipment safely and appropriately?

Creative Are children able to express their ideas in a variety of creative ways- music, art, dance- note some of the quieter children. Are they more likely to engage in this type of play?

To support practitioners to develop their outside play we have developed an online training course ‘Let’s Play Outside’

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