Literature


		Suggestions for further reading. Our aim is to help promote inspirational examples from other countries. In case you have suggestions (in English) to add to this list, please contact us. • Books (on pedagogy, play and nature) • Articles • Research BOOKS (ON PEDAGOGY, PLAY AND NATURE) BOOKS Last child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder Richard Louv Last Child in the Woods is the first book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. In this influential work about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of todayâ€™s wired generation - he calls it nature-deficit - to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. More than just raising an alarm, Louv offers practical solutions and simple ways to heal the broken bond - and many are right in our own backyard. BOOKS The Creative School: A Framework for Success, Quality and Effectiveness Bob Jeffrey and Peter Woods This book is about a unique school in the UK, the Coombes School. It's a school that, despite the increasing pressure put upon it by changes in the curriculum and the organisation of education, has managed to succesfully maintain the creative values that have won it international and governmental recognition. The intention of the Coombes School is to be a learning community of children and adults working in a holistic way, by integrating spiritual, moral, aesthetic, physical , social, emotional and intellectual strands in our everyday practice. The Coombes School is specifically known for its unique outdoor environment, which is used as a rich and complementary education resource. 2004, Routledge BOOKS Playing Outdoors: Spaces and Places, Risks and Challenge Helen Tovey What do children learn through playing outdoors? What makes an effective and challenging play space? What is a safe environment and can children be too safe? How can adults best support challenging play outdoors? Young children seek adventure and challenge in their play outdoors. They look for places they can explore and spaces they can transform. However, provision for exciting and challenging play outdoors is often restricted because of an over-emphasis on safety, and also because the value of play outdoors is not well understood. This book offers a clear rationale for why outdoor play is essential in young children's lives and learning. It asks fundamental questions about what sort of environments we want for young children, as well as examining controversial issues of risk and safety.The author identifies key principles underpinning the design of challenging outdoor play environments and examines how children use and transform space to create their own imaginary worlds. The essential role of the adult in supporting and extending children's free play is examined and implications for practice identified.This book makes an important contribution to current debates on risk, safety and challenge in outdoor environments for young children. It brings together research from a range of different disciplines, as well as illustrative examples of children's play and talk outdoors. 'Playing Outdoors' is inspiring reading for early childhood practitioners, students, play workers, parents, policy makers and all those seeking to develop challenging outdoor play areas. 2007, Open University Press, Berkshire, UK ARTICLES ARTICLES Risk and Play - A Literature Review Josie Gleave To inform the Playday 2008 campaign, Play England reviewed a comprehensive array of recent research on the benefits and dangers of risky play and general attitudes towards this. The findings are summarised i this review. July 2008, on behalf of PlayDay UK Read this article » (PDF) ARTICLES Vestmarka naturbarnehage ReWilding Childhood The ethos of the Norwegian nature nursery mirrors that of a nation keenly engaged in the outdoors life. Amongst modern industrialised countries, Norway is something of an anomaly in this respect, leading to its dominance in winter sports, building on a tradition of polar exploration. The Vestmarka naturbarnehage in suburban Trondheim is typical of a growing network of nature nurseries in Norway. Parents who choose this type of provision value the more active, less prescriptive approach on offer where most activities, whatever the weather, take place outside. 2007 RESEARCH ARTICLES Play, Naturally: A review of children's natural play Stuart Lester and Martin Maudsley The report looks at the benefits of play on children's health and well-being, and outlines what we should be doing to compensate for the loss of natural play space in recent years. 2006, On behalf of PlayDay UK Read this article » (PDF) ARTICLES Categorising risky play—how can we identify risk-taking in children's play Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter There is a growing debate on the balance between making sure our children are safe versus letting the children play in physically and emotionally stimulating and challenging environments. The focus is now on children's right to do risky play. There are no studies categorising risky play. The present study has aimed to do this. Qualitative observations of 38 children and semi-structured interviews with 8 children and 7 employees from two Norwegian preschools gave 6 categories of risky play: 1) Play with great heights; 2) Play with high speed; 3) Play with harmful tools; 4) Play near dangerous elements; 5) Rough-and-tumble play; and 6) Play where the children can 'disappear'/get lost. The reliability of the analysed categories was tested through a second opinion made by an experienced preschool teacher, who has long and varied experience with children's play in preschools. June 2007, European Early Childhood Research Journal ARTICLES Landscape as Playscape: The Effects of Natural Environments on Children's Play and Motor Development Ingunn Fjørtoft This study investigated the impacts of playing in a natural environment on motor development in children. A quasi-experimental study was conducted on five-, six-, and seven-year old children with an experimental group playing in a natural environment and a control group playing in a more traditional playground. When provided with a natural landscape in which to play, children showed a statistically significant increase in motor fitness. There were also significant differences between the two groups in balance and co-ordination in favor of the experimental group. The findings indicate that landscape features influence physical activity play and motor development in children. 2004, Children, Youth and Environments Read this article » (PDF) ARTICLES 7 C's - an informational guide to young children’s outdoor play spaces Susan Herrington The author is a landscape architect, University of British Columbia, Vancouver What are seven cs? Seven Cs is an informational guide for early childhood educators, designers, administrators, and parents. 1 The goal of Seven Cs is to help people design outdoor play spaces that support the development of young children and integrate the unique qualities of playing outdoors. The guide should be used in concert with existing codes, safety regulations, and design guidelines. Seven Cs is based on findings identified from a five-year multidisciplinary study of outdoor play spaces at child care centres in Vancouver. 2 This study was funded through the Consortium for Health, Intervention, Learning, and Development (CHILD). It has involved academic researchers, early childhood educators, governmental agencies, and professionals. brochure Read this article » (PDF)