Risk & Adventure in Early Years Outdoor Play
Learning from Forest Schools
- Sara Knight - Teacher and Forest School Leader
Play
Do you want to create exciting outdoor experiences for children? Are you looking for guidance on how to incorporate the wilder and riskier elements of outdoor play into your planning?
This book will give you the confidence to offer the children in your setting adventurous and challenging outdoor activities, as well as ways to utilize natural resources to their best advantage. There is clear, practical advice on what you need to do, which is underpinned by the theory that supports the benefits of this approach. Examples from settings are included, to illustrate best practice and to show how things can be achieved.
Issues considered include:
- Being outside in 'bad' weather
- The importance of risk-taking
- The benefits of rough and tumble play
- Observing and assessing children in this mode
- How these experiences improve children's learning
- Explaining activities to parents, colleagues and managers
- Ensuring health and safety requirements are met
- The role of the adult in facilitating these experiences
Suitable for all students and practitioners working with young children from Birth to 8, this book will not only give you ideas for outdoor play but also help you understand exactly what you are doing and why it is educationally sound and developmentally important for children.
This book is relevant to several modules on the course and so I have made it recommended reading.
This book is recommended reading as it has relevance to several modules. Sara Kinght has an easy style and is passionate about her topic.
A well-structured easy read - very good introduction to the outdoor classroom and the learning opportunities for young children
This book is presented well and in a similar format we have come to know from Sarah Knight. It is structured clearly and supportive of outdoor play which is underpinned with theory. The risk assessment offers a common sense approach which supports self assessment. Overall a very good practical book with clear examples.
Links well to course content
The perfect text to encourage early years, primary and forest school staff to consider the issue of risk.
This book is clear and concise and offers students advice and ideas regarding how to create risk and adventure in their play experiences outdoors.
This is a well illustrated book that carefully explores the elements of risk in outdoor play. The book includes a chapter on fire, this is a current topic of interest and relates well to Forest School Education. This chapter discusses the role fire plays in learning about the outdoors. This book would support those considering outdoor education or Forest School provision.
A well written text for both students and experienced practitioners.
Useful book for 3year undergraduate early years students
