In considering how best to support the development of strong and resilient children, it is important to be clear about what the attributes of a strong child are. A strong child has fortitude and resilience, is often supple and lithe and is a risk taker by nature. Children are born with an innate desire to move and respond to stimuli, but there is much we can do to support the development of co-ordination, agility and strength.
It's likely that your outdoor space will already include features and objects that children will use to develop their physical strength, so there are two ways you can enhance this. Firstly, by becoming more aware of what your outdoor space affords in the way of physical challenges and secondly, by providing more or a wider range of opportunities.
Auditing affordances
The exercise of auditing and observation provides a sound basis for making sustainable improvements outdoors. Begin by auditing the features of your outdoor provision and the activities taking place there. Observe children at play and photograph or film the places, spaces and features that the children are using to build strength.
Also, describe what children are doing and how this activity is contributing to a strong and resilient child. Observational auditing will identify areas in which your setting's support for children's physical development is strong and where there are gaps in provision. It will highlight affordances; in other words, the properties the space possesses that provide opportunities for children's play.
For example, a toddler may pull at the handle or door of a low-level storage shed, knowing that there are fascinating items inside it and having seen other children do likewise. The simple pulling action builds muscle tone in the toddler's arms and core, as well as developing hand-eye co-ordination and balance.
Observing and recording children's existing physical abilities is also vital to ensure that their bodies are not overexerted in the process of encouraging them to be more active. The NHS recommends that under-fives who are mobile should be active for three hours every day, indoor and out (see Further Information).
Babies
- Provide objects for babies to reach out and grab while they lie on a blanket or on the grass, to build the muscles in their neck and upper body.
- Mirrors and reflective objects placed close by will encourage babies to move their heads and bodies, and to stretch and flex arms and legs.
- Make the most of changes in level to enable babies to pull up and cruise. Handles, low walls, fences and steps all combine to make 'activity trails' for very young children, using their own body weight for 'resistance' training!
- Tunnels, tents and sweet smelling hidey-holes (try sweet peas on an arch) will all entice crawlers to explore the area independently.
Toddlers
- Bikes, trikes and push-alongs all help children build core strength. Uneven surfaces and hillocks require children to expend more effort to the task of moving their own body plus the weight of a vehicle, so be sure to allow children to go 'off road' with the bikes and trikes (or incorporate mounds into a road system).
- Children love the sensation of rolling down a grassy mound; doing so involves adjusting the position of arms and legs in order to control direction and speed.
- Use your grass or soft mats to organise gymnastic and aerobic activities, such as balancing on one leg, rolling, making 'body bridges' and springing. Music can make this more fun, and remember to show children how to use one another's body weight to add resistance.
Older children
- Trailers that can be attached to a bike or trike or pulled along independently allow older children to build upper body strength. Threeand four-year-olds will require more space to play with vehicles, so consider zoning your space to enable them to play energetically without affecting the enjoyment of other children nearby.
- A traverse wall is an excellent, cost-effective way of introducing challenging physical play. Carefully placed handand footholds will provide a wide range of difficultly levels to suit children of all ages and abilities. Climbing requires upper body strength, flexibility (especially in the legs and hips) and perseverance as well as the ability to problem solve - 'Where do I go next?'
- Give children responsibility for tidying up outdoors: shifting boxes, sweeping sand and clearing up resources so that they get a full body workout towards the end of a session.
ideas to try right away
- On a windy day, go outdoors with umbrellas, ribbons on sticks and flags to battle the elements. Keeping an umbrella the right way round in a breeze requires concentration, anticipation and strength.
- Provide a range of vessels and implements to facilitate water play. If you have an outdoor tap, place the water play kit some distance away, so that children are forced to fill and carry vessels. Pouring and ladling into tubes and gutters at different levels obliges children to reach up and to hold steady objects whose centre of gravity changes as they move.
- Organise outdoor storage and resources so that children are able to help you set up and pack away.
Lifting, shifting and carrying are all strengthening exercises, but remember to gauge the weights of boxes so that children are not over exerted.
- Children should use crates and your large hollow wooden blocks to construct multi-level enclosures. At first, encourage children to choose blocks that they can manipulate and carry easily, then as they become more competent builders, encourage them to try irregularly shaped or heavier blocks and to reach higher or into tricky spaces to place the blocks.
- A CD player and CDs, alongside a boxful of scarves, fabric remnants, long ribbons and small props can inspire children to move rhythmically, using controlled movements to express themselves.
- Act out a favourite story using props and as much of your outdoor space as you can. Think about stories that lend themselves to strong, purposeful movements, such as the Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch, One Mole Digging a Hole or Where the Wild Things Are.
Healthy lifestyles
It's important to remember that children's physical strength and stamina are affected not only by their levels of physical activity and fitness; children's weight and nutrition have an impact too. In tandem with implementing new approaches to outdoor play, it will be worth considering ways of encouraging healthy lifestyles, perhaps by growing vegetables in a small raised bed or corner of the garden, then harvesting, cooking and eating them together.
Green, leafy vegetables (often the most appealing visually in a small nursery allotment) have significant nutritional value, as do brightly coloured vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots and peppers. These have the added benefit of being sweet and tasty when eaten raw - although do remember to wash veggies well before they are eaten, cooked or raw.
Yoga is a fun activity for adults and children alike. Grass, rubber surfacing or PE mats make firm but yielding bases for the poses and actions, which build strength and flexibility as well as helping children understand how to control their bodies.
In yoga, strength is built up by increasing the complexity of the poses, the length of time they are held and the number of repetitions. Use the names of the poses (such as Sunrise, the Fish, the Butterfly) to weave an imaginative story to help children maintain the poses and take their minds of the hard work their bodies are doing.
CASE STUDY
Children at All Saints Children's Centre Nursery in Medway are offered plenty of playful activities to promote their physical strength.
In a small and awkwardly shaped outdoor space, practitioners have been able to provide this by clever use of space and resources. Low-level storage units enable children to access boxes of toys independently. The sliding lids of the sandpit need lots of hands to shift them; water play involves lifting and reaching on the stairs of the pergola and a fabulous brass gong proves irresistible - bashing it with the striker involves full body movement from the babies and toddlers using this part of the garden.
Carolyn Theedom, programme manager at All Saints, explains, 'One of the most popular features in our garden is the traverse climbing wall. Children of all ages can use it and it challenges even the strongest and most able. We landscaped the area in front of it with bamboo, netting and boulders so that children could begin to weave stories around their climbing adventures, enriching the experience even further. We also encourage independence and responsibility at the same time as physical strength by expecting children to help set up, tidy and pack away our outdoor resources - and they do this with enthusiasm and increasing skill.'
Further information
NHS Physical Activity Guidelines: Factsheet 1 for non-walking under-fives and Factsheet 2 for walking under-fives are available at: www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/ physical-activity-guidelines-for-children.aspx
Julie Mountain is director of Play Learning Life, Julie@playlearninglife.org.uk, www.playlearninglife.org.uk
