Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 2022
Abstract
As preschool-aged children spend more time using electronic devices and studying academic content, they are spending increasingly less time playing outdoors. Preschoolers spend a large portion of their days participating in sedentary activities. Outdoor play facilitates children' s development and learning in many areas including health, social and emotional skills, and motor skills. Outdoor play has also been shown to assist children with academic learning. Early childhood professionals spend significant amounts of time with young children and are largely responsible for providing outdoor play experiences for the children within their care. This school improvement plan documents the need for an Iowa preschool to implement daily student-selected outdoor play in a newly created outdoor area. The plan targets improving students' fine motor skills, problem solving skills, and mathematical skills in an outdoor environment. Additionally, the plan addresses the areas and materials that should be available to the students in the outdoor space and incorporates student choice and interest.