Why to Encourage Outdoor Play and 5 Activities to Engage In

  Why to Encourage Outdoor Play and 5 Activities to Engage In  

By Lea Altea Winnen                                                                                   September 17, 2024

Outside play is crucial to children’s development. Engaging in outdoor activities can help children build gross and fine motor skills, create an open mind and body connection, and reset their minds' need for sensory input for proprioception and vestibular systems. Proprioception is the brain's way of sensing where our limbs are, and vestibular means the brain’s way of finding where the head is in space.  Both give the brain the ability to find where it is located in its environment and help with balance and coordination   When given outdoor play opportunities and encouraged to engage in gross motor tasks, it can help to calm a child’s sensory systems within their body.  It does this when they are engaging in tabletop tasks or other actions that require them to have to pay attention and sit for some time.  Please remember that children at a particular developmental level can only sit for a set amount of time. Below is a basic time frame to think about when setting up high-focus tasks that require a child’s attention.  

The Average Attention Span in Age

• 0-3: A few seconds to 2-3 minutes
• 3-6 years: 5-15 minutes
• 6-12 years: 15-30 minutes
• 12-18 years:  30 minutes to several hours depending on the task.

*information for the timetable according to the article Attention Span By Age by Joyce Mabale (Neeuro.com)

Keep in mind that all children are different and the average time for one child will be different from another.  Don’t be ridged about a time frame.  You need to allow for flexibility in highly focused tasks.  Children with attention deficits or other disabilities may have attention issues and the time may vary.  Increasing the time for outdoor play or gross motor engagement will help to increase their ability to focus for sedentary tasks. 

Here are 5 outdoor play activities that a child can engage in to assist in increasing their attention and focus during table time or other highly focus tasks.  Remember, to keep your tasks open-ended and grade the task up or down depending on the developmental needs of the child.

1. Tennis Ball and a Wall:  All that is needed for this activity is a tennis ball and some open space to play, like a courtyard or a cemented area and the side of a building or other structure.  Have the child take the tennis ball and stand as close as need to attempt to bounce the ball against the wall and then catch it.  This task may send a lot of kiddos, running or changing after their tennis balls.  That is okay!  You want them to engage and have fun bouncing, catching, and chasing after their ball.  Another way to engage them is to have them bounce the tennis ball on the cement and them try and catch it in the air or toss it up into the air and attempt to catch it before it falls onto the ground.  Any and all mix of these tasks can help to engage their interest and increase gross motor skills, bilateral coordination, and balance.  If there is more the one kiddo, have them engage in tossing their tennis balls back and forth.  If the tennis ball seems too small or too large for some children, do not be afraid to try different-sized sports balls, such as a basketball, or ping pong ball.

2.   Catching Bubbles in Cups:  A nice grassy area is perfect of this game.  Have a selection of small cups and bubble wands with bubble solution ready.  You can have either a child blow or you can blow the bubble solution. Any other kiddos are attempting to catch the bubbles in their cup.  You can also, have them use their hands to pop the bubbles if you don’t have any cups available.  You can do this task almost anywhere and it can be used with any age and development level.  Catching or popping bubbles helps to engage sensory skills, and hand and eye coordination. 

3. Hopscotch:  All you need is a sidewalk and some sidewalk chalk.  You can engage in putting together a hopscotch board yourself or showing a child how to do it, then have them build one on their own.  The act of getting down on the ground and using chalk to build a hopscotch board, engages sensory regulation, bilateral coordination, and fine and gross motor skills.  The child has to engage with this task at multiple levels, such as kneeling, crawling, and crouching.  Some children may not be able to engage in some of these tasks, so adjust the task as far as they can engage. Let the child lead the play in how they might want to engage with the task. You an give them samples of what a hopscotch board might look like, but in the need remember to keep the activity open-ended.

4. Obstacle course:  An obstacle course is a good way to engage a child in many different tasks, you can use playground equipment, bring in your own, such as a tunnel, rocking horse, and trampoline, or you can use what you have around you or on you, such as a table to crawl under, chalk to create circle to hop from one to another, or having kiddos crawl around a cone or other object.  This activity is endless!  Also, engage the child to help you set it up.  When you include their input, it encourages excitement and a sense of accomplishment.  An obstacle course can also be adjusted for children with different developmental needs. If a child is extra active, you can have them engage in wearing a backpack while engaging in the obstacle course, or give them an extra challenging task to encourage an outlet of all the extra energy.

5. Going on a scavenger hunt walk: You can engage in taking your child on a walk in a park, by the street, or on a trail.  It does not matter where you decide to go, this activity is great because you engage in conversation with your child (or children), which can support social engagement and language skills.  Using a visual checklist list for them to find items or even verbally describing an object and having them guess is a great way to engage in this activity.  Whichever works for you and your kiddos to increase your outdoor involvement.

There are truly any number of activities to engage a child in outdoor play.  Simple tools, such as balls, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles, are easy and inexpensive.  Games are always a great way for children to engage in social-emotional skill building, as well as gross motor development.  Also, it helps them turn-taking and learn to follow a given set of rules.  Think about when children engage in outdoor play, it can spell success for doing homework, sitting for meals, and other table-related tasks, and increase fine motor muscle support during writing or coloring projects.  Being outside decreases stress and stressful outcomes in a given situation.  So lace up and slather on the sunblock! Today will be a good day to play!

Sources:

Attention Span by Age: How It Changes Over Time (neeuro.com)