OUTDOORS

 We are outdoors in all sorts of weather, every day.  The children have some favorites-our outdoor classroom, the field for snow and sledding fun, the stream for ice or water fun, and our playground -as well as walks throughout the property.  We have even had a few opportunities to combine for a "winter Friday" time with our friends the PreK3's and the K's.  

In an article "Why Kids Need to Spend Time Outside" by the Child-Mind institute, the following points were made as to why kids need to be outdoors.....and we know that you subscribe to this school of thought, and have chosen Robert C Parker School for at least some of these reasons! 

Play outdoors:

• builds confidence-there are infinite ways to interact with the outdoor environment and letting children play outdoors in a supervised and unstructured way gives them control over their own actions.
• promotes creativity and imagination-children think freely and approach the world in their own inventive ways.
• teaches responsibility-when you mistreat living things like trees or plants they don't survive-and children can see the results of their actions.
• activates more senses-in different ways than an indoor environment or screen time.
• gets kids moving-the open spaces call for lots of exercise.
• makes children think-there is a unique sense of wonder that occurs outdoors, and opens up questions about the earth and what's happening.
• reduces stress and fatigue-in natural environments we experience a soft fascination, which gives a pleasurable experience to the brain. 

from  Childmind.org

For this week's post, we thought to share images of our outdoor play this  winter. 

WE are very active when we're outside!  

Thank you for sending in weather appropriate clothing each day, and for understanding when there are wet clothes (or even muddy clothes!) coming home.

Until Next Time,

Michele