Enhance Learning with Outdoor and Nature Play!
The Outdoor Nature and Nature Play Series includes 12 two-hour courses focused on supporting learning through outdoor and nature play for children of all ages.
What You Will Learn
Would you like to enhance your outdoor space to optimize children’s learning and development? Research has shown that outdoor and nature play benefits children in many ways such as:
- Increases physical activity
- Helps reduce risk of obesity
- Improves eyesight and nutrition choices
- Encourages creativity, problem-solving, and social skills
The Outdoor and Nature Play Series focuses on the educator’s role in supporting learning through outdoor play. Each course provides:
- Ideas for outdoor play activities
- Ways to bring nature inside
- Suggestions for designing outdoor spaces
- Examples of teacher-child interactions
Training Courses Offered
- Introduction to Outdoor and Nature Play
- Creating Outdoor Learning Environments
- Planning Outdoor and Nature Play Activities
- Facilitating Outdoor Nature Play
- Observation and Assessment in Outdoor and Nature Play
- Managing Risk in Outdoor and Nature Play
- Outdoor and Nature Play and Physical Development
- Outdoor and Nature Play and Cognitive Development
- Outdoor and Nature Play and Language Development
- Outdoor and Nature Play an Social Emotional Development
- Outdoor and Nature Play and Environmental Stewardship
- Family and Community Engagement in Outdoor and Nature Play
Helping Educators Grow and Thrive
The development of these online courses was 100% funded by federal Child Care and Development Funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of an $8,000,000 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission.
Get Started
To get started, visit the course links above, or go to the Outdoor and Nature Play training courses page.
Training Series Flyer
Share information about the new training courses by downloading the Outdoor and Nature Play Training Series flyer (pdf).
