There are seven key play themes that emerge when children have access to safe, free time in nature, according to teacher and educator David Sobel, who has been an advocate for children and nature for over 50 years. Through his observations of children across the globe, he discovered that regardless of race, culture or ethnicity, children in ‘woodsy playgrounds’ will make forts and special places, play hunting and gathering games, shape small worlds, develop friendships with animals, construct adventures, descend into fantasies, follow paths and find shortcuts.
Settings can use these principles to design high-quality outdoor play places using loose parts, den-building materials, natural resources to create miniature worlds and mark-making.
WHO IS DAVID SOBEL?
Sobel currently holds the title of professor emeritus in the education department at Antioch University, New England. Although much of his work is US-based, involving nature-based early childhood programmes, he has studied children's relationship with nature in countries around the world, including in the UK. He spent six months at a primary school in Devon doing research on how children use map-making to understand their neighbourhoods.
His drive to design education programmes that are in tune with what is ‘biologically and developmentally appropriate’ for children has also taken him to the remote island of Caicos in the Caribbean, where he observed children's fascination of ‘bush houses’, or forts.
PLACE-BASED EDUCATION
Sobel developed the philosophy of place-based education – sometimes referred to as sustainable education – which uses the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts around language, arts, maths and science.
He believes that children are biologically programmed to bond with the natural world and urges educators to take advantage of this by providing opportunities for them to be ‘adventurously at-one in nature’ in order to set them on a path of future environmental values and commitment.
SEVEN PRINCIPLES
Sobel's seven themes are detailed in his book Childhood and Nature: Design Principles for Educators.
Stramash Fort William Nursery in Scotland was just a two-acre field with a tree eight years ago, before its co-head, Cameron Sprague, used Sobel's principles to design, shape and refine it into what he now describes as a ‘magical place’ that is ‘paradise for children’.
He says, ‘It's not pristine because play is not pristine. The site has been designed organically around what the children want, and Sobel's principles have helped us to audit the space.’
Here, Sprague highlights the key elements of Sobel's principles that have been incorporated at Stramash.
1: FANTASY AND IMAGINATION
A ‘door to nowhere’ stands in the middle of the field, inviting provocation and engagement. Behind the mini door, which was a sample from a local construction company, a spiral of aspen trees has been planted.
‘It's an exciting place,’ Sprague says. ‘Children love to knock on the door and invite the others in to sit under the trees. It can be a Post Office, or anything the children imagine.’
Resources:
- Encourage imaginative productions with Cosy's Creata Stages (6pk), £210. Add open-ended materials, like fabrics for costumes, and loads of loose parts for props.
- Set sail on the high seats with Cosy's Wooden Boat, £299, which comes with seating, a steering wheel and a flagpole.
- TTS's Outdoor Role Play/Puppet Theatre Shop, £319.99, includesa blackboard on the front for mark-making and storage for puppets and props.
- Concoct potions with Early Excellence's Set of Cauldrons, £18.95, or Cosy's Complete Mud Pie Kit, £315.
2: MAPS AND PATHS
There are lots of different pathways upon which children travel. ‘Children don't play in straight lines,’ Sprague says. ‘They like curves and bends and ins and outs. The simple way to do this is by planting bits of hedging into the middle of your garden, rather than in straight lines along the edges. Creating paths and structures out of willow is another.
‘The beauty of willow is that it grows in anything – even a tyre with some compost – and it can be cut, harvest and replanted each year.’
Distances at Stramash are measured in skips, or ‘Sprague steps’, and hand-painted by the children on pieces of wood. ‘You might find a sign saying, “Toilets this way: 20 Cameron steps”,’ Sprague says.
Resources:
- Create signs with planks of wood and white acrylic paint. Or use Muddy Faces’ Wooden Arrow Direction Signs, £3.95 each, or Early Excellence's Set of Mini Trugs & Clips, £22.95, which come with blackboards for labelling and mark-making.
- Take the concept of paths indoors with TTS's programmable Beebot, £64.99, or place TTS's Talking Point Recordable Buttons, 6pk, £39.99, outdoors for treasure hunts.
3: SPECIAL PLACES
This area overlaps with maps and paths because children love little nooks and crannies that they can disappear into and feel like they are a million miles away from adult view.
‘We started off with a couple of willow structures and now we harvest the willow every year with children and create lots of shelters. Pallets are great for den-building because you can see through them to supervise the children,’ Sprague says.
Resources:
- For pallets and den-making, try TTS's Creative Crates 8pk, £104.92, with its Giant Pegs 20pk, £14.99, and its Outdoor Camouflage Den Material Set, £54.99.
- Cosy's Complete Loose Parts Panacea, £515, contains over 100 items, or create a simple den with Muddy Faces’ Den Kit, £21.11, or Early Excellence's Building Dens Collection, £345.
4: ANIMAL ALLIES
Children feel an inherent empathy with animals. They like to hold, take care of and even ‘become’ their favourite animal. Other animals incite fear.
‘We have hens and rabbits onsite,’ Sprague says. ‘We encourage more biodiversity by planting trees and we installed a pond, which attracts dragonflies. We’ve also just added a viewing hut next to the pond.’
Resources:
- Try adding bird feeders to your outside area. Muddy Faces’ Coconut Shell Bird House/ Feeder (3 pk), £12.23, can be hung on branches or places near the ground.
- TTS's Minibeasts Grab and Go Kit, £134.99, is great for observing wildlife.
5: ADVENTURE
Tree swings, campfires and riding bikes are just some examples of adventurous play. Sprague has collected a set of old pallets that were used to transport windows. ‘They’re two metres tall and children love to climb up them or just sit on top of them,’ he says. ‘They’re also a great, free way to add height.’
Resources:
- Make your own Muddy Faces’ Swing, £47.99, or encourage climbing with Cosy's Climbing Cubes (2pk), £415.
- Experience the thrill of movement with TTS's Rabo Pick Up Trike, £234.99.
6: HUNTING AND GATHERING
Natural materials, loose parts and plenty of containers are important for hunting-gathering instincts.
‘Children are like magpies,’ Sprague says. ‘They love to collect and transport treasures. We have wheelbarrows, buckets, containers and baskets with handles.’
Resources:
- Try TTS's Metal Buckets and Pans, £32.99; Muddy Faces’ Flexible Silicone Bucket, £11.99; or Yellow Door's BIO Sand Set, £110.
- Check out Early Excellence's sturdy Wheelbarrow, £155, or Cosy's Crate Trolley, £84.99.
7: SMALL WORLDS
Collections of miniature fairy houses are dotted around. Some are constructed on wooden tree stumps with moss on the roof and some have battery-powered fairy lights.
Sprague explains, ‘These are the creations of families and children, made prior to starting at the setting. They help with transitions.’
Resources:
- Try Early Excellence's Fairy Gardens Collection, £125, or TTS's Mini Wooden Cottage, £22.99, and Metallic Small World Fairy House, £22.99. Cosy's Fairy Doors (3pk), £9.99, are magical additions to any tree trunk.
