The book highlights the importance of unrestricted outdoor play for children's cognitive development, self-regulation, and emotional grounding. It argues that the lack of free play is contributing to sensory and behavior issues in the classroom.
The book Balanced and Barefoot by Angela Hanscom emphasizes the critical role of unrestricted outdoor play in children's development. It discusses how free play is essential for cognitive development, self-regulation, emotional grounding, and motor planning. The book argues that the decline in free play opportunities is leading to an increase in sensory and behavior issues among children in the classroom. Hanscom suggests that children need more exposure to nature and activities that challenge them physically to help them integrate their senses and improve their ability to focus and learn. The book also highlights the importance of play environments that include a bit of 'danger' to help children develop problem-solving skills and creativity.
Quick quotes
When children are deprived of child-led play experiences, they may struggle with higher-level thinking skills such as coming up with their own ideas, problem-solving, and other forms of creative expression.
Children who are outdoors longer than 45 minutes have more exposure to sensory integration through touch, smell, sound and light.
As children become more integrated with their environment, it calms the body and the senses so they aren’t craving the movement they need to sit still in the classroom.