Yes to Mess

10/29/2008

An optimist laughs to forget; a pessimist forgets to laugh.
Tom Nansbury

In the Q & A portion of his new Exchange book, Natural Playscapes: Creating Outdoor Play Environments for the Soul, Rusty Keeler talks about how messiness in outdoor play is important to learning and how to explain that to parents:

"Childhood is supposed to be messy and and natural playscapes [outdoor play areas] offer a kind of messiness that inspires learning and creativity. Children make mud pies out of mud; they pile up leaves and carry them around; sand and dirt are good for digging in. Two vital tricks are: having an extra set of 'messy clothes' on hand to change into and reminding parents to dress their children appropriately for play. If parents feel uncomfortable with the mess, tell them 'the dirtier your child gets at school, the better reader they will become.' When they scratch their heads, and look doubtful, explain that the experiences a young child has playing set up the foundation for future learning. The skills they learn on the playscape, such as having the confidence to try things they've never done before, will later translate to the school setting. For example, the world of reading — sounding out letters and words they've never seen — could seem daunting unless children have had positive experiences stretching themselves, gaining confidence, and growing through play. A natural playscape makes it easy for children to find challenging ways to dig, jump, stomp, and splash — and yes, get messy in the process — all on their way to becoming better readers."

Check Out Natural Playscapes Today

Natural Playscapes: Creating Outdoor Play Environments for the Soul, now available on the Exchange web site, is an inspiring, yet practical resource on bringing outdoor playspaces to life. It describes how children relate to the natural world, gives many examples from around the world of how early childhood professionals and parents have planned and constructed natural playscapes. Included are blueprints, step by step instructions, and tip sheets such as "20 Ways to Create Natural Playscapes," and "15 Free or Low-Cost Things to Enrich Your Playscapes."

Advance Number and Letter Skills! Coggols Unique Learning Activities for:

Kindergarten Readiness
Evaluating Skills
Small Group Time
Children’s Work Time

FREE Shipping- enter code EED315 or SAVE 15% on Entire Order – enter code EED355

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.