1 Adults with Children with Nature
Environmental worldviews impact pedagogy and practice; interacting in complex and diverse ways with the image of the child and the image of self as educator. When children are with nature in ECEC settings, they are also with adults and this entanglement impacts how children encounter, experience, and relate to the natural world.
It is vital that educators bring awareness to their view of children with nature and how it is reflected in their pedagogy and practice, as well as where these ideas come from. Beyond this, educators should have an awareness of the values and ideas guiding pedagogy and practice in their practice setting in order to build greater awareness and opportunities for collaboration, support, and learning.
Looking at the literature on outdoor and/or nature play, adults and educators identify many perceived barriers to children playing outdoors and in nature. Addressing and understanding these barriers requires critical and open engagement with others in order to unpack what barriers are real and what types of supports are needed to overcome them. It also requires critical and open engagement with self to unpack barriers created in your own mind based on fears, current understandings, and experiences.
Critically examining who you are as an educator and person with children with nature and who you want to be should form the foundation of the development of your nature pedagogy.
Key Takeaways
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Additional Resources
- Getting Outside: Overcoming the Barriers to Outdoor Play
A 2014 blog post by Janelle Durham
Social worker and author Janelle Durham outlines simple concrete ways to overcome some common barriers to outdoor and/or nature play identified by adults in this detailed blog post.
The YouTube hosted video Nature at Home – Nature Play for Kids by Wild Side TV (also shared in the blog post) shows seemingly small changes you can make to create spaces with rich opportunities for children to play and connect with the natural world. A great support resource to share with families.
Reflect: Exploring Barriers
Many complex factors will impact educators’ perceived barriers (internal and external) to outdoor and nature play.
Take some time to reflect on barriers.
- Are there aspects of your own relationship with nature and/or outdoor play that impact how you relate to children with nature?
- Mental blocks that have been created?
- Are there barriers that could be broken down and addressed with the right support?
- Make a list for yourself and start to do some brainstorming around this.
Experience: Observing Adults with Children in Nature
Go to a place where adults and children and nature are. This could be a local park or even a walking path by your house. Without judgement, observe the interactions.
- Do the adults impact how the children relate to and encounter nature?
- Do the adults impact how the children play?
- What possible relationships to the natural world do you see reflected in the behaviours of the adults you observe?
