Research shows that 85 per cent of children nowadays spend less than two hours of play outside.
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The first Outdoor Classroom Day in Australia looked to address that and increase the amount of time kids spend playing outdoors in the process.
On Thursday over 200,000 kids and nearly 2000 schools and early learning centres, including 13 from the Illawarra, enjoyed the benefits of outdoor playtime with specially designed lessons held in the great outdoors.
OMO and Nature Play organised Australia’s first national Outdoor Classroom Day, as part of its ‘Dirt is Good’ campaign, which has put the spotlight on the importance of outdoor play in children’s development.
Australia is not alone in its quest to reconnect children with the outdoors, with more than 1.6 million children in 12,000 schools across the world having taken part in the campaign to date, as part of a global movement pioneered to support kids engaging in more real play.
Nature Play Australia CEO Griffin Longley said real outdoor play not only teaches critical life skills such as resilience, teamwork and creativity, but is central to children’s enjoyment of a happy and healthy childhood.
This view is supported by Gerringong-based educator and outdoor learning expert Dr Amanda Lloyd, who recently called on more Australian schools to embrace the outdoors.
Research conducted by Dr Lloyd shows students who take part in outdoor learning programs not only continue to perform well academically, they learn problem solving, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills and resilience.
