Jaela Davidson, Halle Reinheller, Lily Davidson and Hunter Reinheller have fun at the Ross Glen waterpark in this June 2019 file photo. Medicine Hat College early learning and childcare instructor Jennifer Usher has offered tips to help parents and children spend more time outside.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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A Medicine Hat College early learning and childcare instructor, who was recently recognized with the Alberta Colleges and Institutes Faculties Association innovation in Teaching Award, is sharing tips to help parents encourage children to spend more time playing outdoors.
Jennifer Usher says the warm weather offers kids opportunities to interact with their environment and develop physical, cognitive and social emotional skills, and suggests several activities to take advantage of Mother Nature.
Usher says spring is the perfect opportunity to teach children how to garden by allowing them to help plant seeds and watch plants grow together.
When heading out on a nature walk, Usher says to encourage children to collect items along the way.
“They can collect what inspires them or you can give them a list of items to search for.”
Usher also says it’s important to get active by playing games that involve all family members, like tag and hide and seek.
Sidewalk chalk can be useful to encourage children to create designs and use literature about things found in nature like birds, insects and animals.
During the summer Usher suggests allowing children to play in the sandbox and says to encourage children to build things like sand castles. Sprinklers and other water games are a great way to cool down in the summer, and she says to turn on your sprinkler and encourage your children to run through it.
Allowing children to help build a camp or outdoor fire safety by collecting and moving logs will aid children in their fundamental growth, says Usher.
During the fall Usher says falling leaves are a great provocation to support children’s cognitive development by making art or piling up leaves to jump into.
“Activities such as these encourage children to get creative and use their imaginations while engaging with their surroundings.”
During the winter months Usher says snow is one of the “best tools” for children’s play and exploration and suggests creating designs, sculptures or anything their imagination comes up with in the snow.
“Take kitchen utensils outside and encourage your child to create snow cookies, cupcakes,” suggests Usher.
“I just think being outdoors is so good for emotional and mental development. There’s research that shows even just being in and seeing a green space really can boost your mental wellbeing.”
In 2024, Usher developed a course that encourages early learning students to use nature as their inspiration as well as a playground for learning. As part of the outdoor courses, Usher also hosted a series of free play sessions for members of the community in Kin Coulee Park.
