5.06.2010

The Benefits of Being Outdoors

The California-based State Education and Environmental Roundtable, a national effort to study environment-based education, found that schools that use outdoor classrooms, among other techniques, produce student gains in social studies, science, language arts and math; improved standardized test scores and grade-point averages; and enhanced skills in problem-solving, critical thinking and decision-making. In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that time in natural surroundings also stimulates children's creativity.
— Richard Louv

It never ceases to amaze me how far pebbles, sticks, mud, and water will go with these little ones.





1 comment:

Nicola said...

Love these little conversations. "No! It's not animal cake, it's people cake!" I checked out a few of Vivian Gussin Paley's books about fantasy play from the the library, and was amazed by the intricate conversations between preschoolers that she records. I guess you get to see/hear it, every day, Andrea!