A Month of German Inspiration

Introducing the bug hotel, built by high school students to house bugs near their garden. It is also beautiful and artistic.

Nature Play At Home

I share a lot of ideas and projects on the blog that are related to public projects and sites that are open for all types of users. In no way was this meant to say that nature play needs to be done on a large scale. Quite on the contrary, many parts of nature play have to do with materials, textures and small details.

There are some really easy places to start offering nature connection at home

Offer Natural Materials:  

Let kids collect these materials while on a hike then explore them more at home. Relate them to the seasons and seasonal patterns. There is so much to be learned from breaking open a fall nut or smelling a spring flower.

from: http://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/

Offer Sand and Water Access:

Again it can be simple. Below is a fire pit turned into sand and water exploration. This works great because it comes with a mesh top covering to protect from animals and leaf litter.

Offer a Mud Kitchen or Potions Lab:

There is nothing better then a mud pie with fresh spices and flowers from the garden. Round up a few old kitchen containers and tools and identify a 'work counter'. Kitchen and potions labs help young children master the use of kitchen tools in a creative, no worries way. They are often not as much of a mess as you would expect. :)

from: http://rhythmofthehome.com/2010/05/mud-pie-kitchen/

Offer Real Tools to Interact with Outdoors:

Kids are naturally drawn to simple household tasks and tools. These small repetitive movements help with coordination as well as muscle memory and brain development.

A Great Resource for Further Exploration:

The Natural Wildlife Federation has recently Publish this resource, "Make your Backyard the Best Playground - Naturally!" It is jam packed with ideas and resources.

Enjoy!

Natural Play in Montessori Settings

I have been looking for a Montessori program for my little one and at the same time doing some landscape improvements at our house that will facilitate play. While she is a bit young for a slide or climbing equipment there are lots of things that are montessori based that she can do now. To me Montessori spaces are inviting in nature: they are inspiring, organized, and calm.

http://www.arborday.org

MARIA MONTESSORI

One of the central tenants of the Montessori philosophy is the connection with the natural world. Children should have the daily opportunity to experience the outdoors with structure and purpose. She placed a great emphasis on nature and nature education. Dr. Montessori also felt that the outdoor environment should be an extension of the classroom.

http://naturalplaygrounds.com

“It is also necessary for his psychical development to place the soul of the child in contact with creation, in order that he may lay up for himself treasure from the directly educating forces of living nature.” Maria Montessori

FACILITATING MONTESSORI WORK
Many of the ideas are not space based they are 'work' based. Much of Montessori education is based on prepared tasks or work that children can practice and achieve. How can Montessori work be adapted to outdoor spaces and materials? As a designer this leads to what types of spaces are needed? What materials are offered, where are they stored, and how?

Here is a basic Montessori math activity. We need exactly 55 pine cones (children check their work by using all the pieces) usually stored in a nice basket, chalk (also in the basket), a large, flat, and safe space where they can write and organize without being interrupted.

from http://livingmontessorinow.com

ORGANIZATION AND MATERIALS
Materials and spaces need to be organised so appropriate work can happen and so children are drawn to the work.

from http://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.com

APPROPRIATE OUTDOOR WORK
Much of the Montessori work for little ones happens around practical life skills. If only we can get kids to weed! At least digging, wheelbarrows, sweeping and planting seem to be within reach.

I could not find this web sourfce again after catching these littel ones at work. Please let me know if you know the source.

How do we inspire a deep and true connection to nature? I like this Montessori farm approach (dispite being bit by a chicken as a child)!

www.mountainlaurelmontessori.org

HOW TO MAINTAIN THE OUTDOOR MONTESSORI AREA

The process from inspiration to design can be a long and detailed endevour.  But, there are some wonderful resources out there. The Montessori Print Shop has learning materials as well as a specific section on playgrounds. They have a lot of helpful playground forms including an injury log, inspection forms for daily, monthly and yearly and seasonal maintenance. While the forms may seem like extra work they will be invaluable for maintenance, extending the life of your playscape, protecting children and liability.

Giant Treehouse, Outdoor Trains and Lots More to Discover at Highfield

The Highfield Discovery Garden is located in Hamilton County Park's Glenwood Gardens. While the entire sight is full of trails, nature, and wonder the discovery garden is especially amazing.

The magical tree just calls you to enter.

Designed by Site Masters of Cincinnati, this is truly jam packed with things to find. Highfield Discovery Garden is designed to teach children the importance of nature while they have fun exploring seven themed garden areas. I have the pleasure of working with Teri Hendy of Site Masters in an upcoming natural playground project. I am definately looking forward to it after seeing the details of Highfield.

Inside the tree: lots of light and nets to keep us safe.

Giant mushrooms add wonder to the flower and herb garden

My nephew was enchanted with the outdoor trains. They ran on three levels, through wooden tunnels and across bridges.

A windstorm in the park provided timber for whimsical art.

Even the small details were there. This little fairy village allows kids to get in and play.

The water features are designed to be shallow while looking like ponds and wetlands. The mesh on the top of this photo keeps children from falling into the deeper sections.

He could barely wait to enter the twisty house (above) and found a few educational pieces inside which he read with his mother on a nearby bench (below).

Winter gardens teemed with greens.

Trails of all materials and sizes encourage exploration

I would love to see this type of discovery space in every city. Our kids deserve it!

Mt. Hood Community College Natural Playground - The Big Picture

The Early Childhood Program at Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) in Gresham Oregon just opened their doors to a new state of the art child center with a natural playground. GreenWorks designed the landscape features including infant areas, a 3-5 year old play area and a large nature classroom.

Like many communities and education centers the staff and teachers at MHCC did not want to have a large colorful play structure as the center of their play area. The client worked with GreenWorks designer Michelle Mathis to design many small nodes of play areas that let the children be creative, work together in problem solving, get exercise, get closer to nature and learn (shhhhhhh don't tell the kids they are learning during play).

This blog will feature the design, products and photos of each node on the next few months. These areas include:
- Net and rock climbers
- Sand and water play
- Mounds with climbing and sliding
- Tree fort and log climber
- Trike garage and riding track
- Music and sensory garden

- Free building zone
- Imaginative play area
- Wind, rain, and nature exploration pieces
- Planting integrated throughout the site
- Art and exploration area
- Game and free play zone
- Learning Garden
- Outdoor nature classroom
- 24- 36 month discovery zone
- 6-12 month exploration area

Natural Play for Teen Parents

This is a fast moving and exciting natural play project in North Portland. The Pathfinder Academy is an amazing program. Their students are engaged, staff supportive, and they draw dedicated volunteers and positive energy from their community. I just finished working up these two site plans for their play area. It is located in a courtyard in the church where they are based. Construction and grading has already started so hopefully finished product photos are not far behind!

The Pathfinder Academy successfully helps teen and young parents (up to age 21) who have dropped out of high school to re-enter school and earn their GED.  The Academy was founded in 1999 and over the past ten years, the Academy has delivered a very solid core of programming that addresses barriers to GED completion: providing a young-parent friendly approach which includes addressing their broader needs in areas such as housing, income support, and physical safety; as well as such concrete assistance as getting youth to school regularly and helping secure regular childcare for their children.

The Pathfinder Academy is implementing the Pathfinder Academy: Building Health and Parent-Child Bonding Through Outdoor Play project in order to teach teen parents healthy activities (which they themselves may not have experienced as children) and to support teens learning to interact positively with their children.  At least 40 teen parents and their 40+ children will benefit from this project each year.  Through the Outdoor Play project, each week parents and children will eat a nutritious meal together, and engage in coached outdoor play, including a 20 hour curriculum teaching the importance of physical activity for children’s brain development and health.

Parents will learn to play in these areas with their children, which may also be a first for them.  Engaging in play together will help parents gain knowledge about child play and social development, increase stimulation and positive bonding with their children.  The play and curriculum will foster a cultural change for the teens to begin engaging in physical activity with their children.