Thank you to Sarah Forrest, second year journalism student at Carleton University, for providing this post. Outdoor risky play is key for childhood development, says Canadian Paediatric Society, but it’s not quite so simple. In a statement released on Jan. 25, CPS defined risky play as “thrilling and exciting forms of free play that involve uncertainty of...
This post was originally published on After Babel. Thank you to Dr. Mariana Brussoni, Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia, for providing this post. [Preface from Jon Haidt:] In April 2023 I was invited to give a lecture at the University of British Columbia. As long as I was flying out to Vancouver, I wanted...
Momentum is building at an international scale around taking a more playful approach to learning in schools. To document this movement, Edutopia put together a Making Learning More Playful video series, documenting how six schools in four countries adopted a playful learning mindset. Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School (PETES) was among the four filmed, where principal...
Get Outside & Play is co-hosting their second annual Outdoor Play in the Early Years Conference! See details below. Dates: April 12 (evening) & April 13 (all day) Location: Calgary, Woodcliff United Church, and Edworthy Park Cost: $210 + GST Children need to be outdoors. This conference will inspire educators to be outside with children in a way that...
This article was originally published by the Canadian Pediatric Society. Safety measures that aim to protect children can become harmful when they are too restrictive, says Dr. Émilie Beaulieu, paediatrician in Quebec City and lead author of a new position statement on the importance of risky play. “Children should be kept as safe as necessary during play,...
Thank you to Dr. Ole Sando, Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Health at Queen Maud University in Trondheim, Norway, for providing this post. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) institutions offer young children an environment with play opportunities that contribute to their development. The complexity of early childhood learning led to the...
On May 16th, 2023, Outdoor Play Canada will be hosting a Risky Outdoor Play webinar, featuring speakers from Canada, the US, and Norway! This 90min webinar will begin with a summary of research from each of our speakers, followed by what's sure to be a lively discussion! Join us! Register here. ...
Thank you to Emily Gemmell, PhD student from University of British Columbia for providing this post! What does a playable neighbourhood look like? Researchers at the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health are inviting five to twelve-year-old kids and their parents to participate in an online survey assessing visual perceptions of neighbourhood playability...
Thank you to Anna Kaufmann, Intern at Technical University of Munich, Germany, Jan Ellinger, PhD Candidate at Technical University of Munich, Germany, and Dr. Christoph Mall, Researcher at Technical University of Munich, Germany, for providing this post. “Man is by nature a social animal” - Aristotle. It was already known in 300 B.C. that we humans...
Thank you to Thomas Morgenthaler, PhD student in Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at University College Cork and Queen Margaret University, for providing this post. If you were to visit your local playground and ask several children what they like about it, you would likely hear a common response repeated over and over again: "It's so...
