All Children Deserve Time for Play

I advocate for all children to have access to great outdoor spaces and and ample time out in nature because when children are outside they learn about their world and each other.  I also believe that we can also measure the health of our communities by the opportunities that all children have to play.

Research is showing that unstructured play time is critical in terms of learning self regulation and developing socially and emotionally, as well and other skills that will lead to later success in life.  Unstructured play also leads to JOY! I can attest to this from watching my own children play both at home and at their play based pre-school.

However, the challenge is that schools are not always providing this opportunity for children- and it may be the only time that children have safe access to outdoor play.  KUOW recently did a three part series on this topic: no time for play.    If this is a concern of yours I hope that you will find some of these resources helpful.

National Association for Environmental Education publishes amazing information the benefits of outdoor time for a myriad of health related pieces on Children and Health.

Peter Gray writes about play on his blog and in Aeon Magazine  as well in his scholarly article for the Journal of Play 

Some of my other favorite books and online-articles that focus on the importance of Getting Kids in Nature include:

Christoper, Todd, The Green Hour: A Daily Dose of Nature for Happier, Healthier, Smarter Kids , Trumpeter Books, Boston, MA,  2010

Louv, Richard, The Nature Principle, Alonguin Books, Chapel Hill, 2011  (He also wrote Last Child in the Woods)

Books and articles by David Sobel including an inspiring article on Outdoor Kindergartens in YES magazine

Finally a few other resources:

City of Mercer Island- Links to Outdoor Play Research

There is a 2010 report on KUOW about recess disparity in the district


There are some local health resources here:


Green Cities:Good Health