Three Outdoor Safety Essentials

Spending time outdoors playing and learning is an integral part of our childcare programs. Children naturally embrace all kinds of weather conditions and are excited by wind, rain, cloudy days, snow, fog, and warm sunny days. The natural environment stimulates our senses with changing temperatures, colours, sounds, and children respond with curiosity and interest to their surroundings.

Playing outside in different weather conditions is fun, but we want to make sure everyone is comfortable and protected from weather condition risks. We need to be aware of what the risks are, and make sure we follow safety guidelines.

Here are 3 outdoor safety essentials for children. 

Hydration 
Hydration is an important part of all outdoor activities; whether a strenuous game of chase, or a leisurely walk in a meadow. Water provides hydration without sugar or added colour and flavour so is ideal for children. It is important not to wait until a child feels thirsty and asks for a drink - because dehydration may have already begun. Instead make sure you always have water available and provide a few mouthfuls during breaks in playing games or sports. Hydration is more of a concern as temperatures or exposure to direct sun increases, but it can happen in all weather conditions. Risks include heat stroke and symptoms such as tiredness, headaches, and a general feeling of not being well. So keep the water bottles topped up and have regular breaks for refreshment.

Sunscreen 
If you're going to be outside for an activity, you will want to protect your skin with sunscreen. The UV light from the sun causes skin damage, which is considered cumulative and is a concern for skin cancer. Even when it’s cloudy out, there are still UV rays out coming through. So don’t think sunscreen is only for the beach. When you buy sunscreen get the highest protection level. While sprays and mists may be the quickest to apply it is also more difficult to ensure a complete and uniform application. In addition, consumer reports are warning to use sprays carefully around children because of the potential danger of breathing in the product. It is recommended to spray your hands and then apply the sunscreen to the child.

So along with the water bottle, make sure you have sunscreen ready to re-apply.

Clothing
What you wear for an outdoor activity depends on what the weather is like for the day. When the sun is out make sure children have a hat to shade eyes and protect their heads from the heat and the sun’s powerful rays. When it's warm, but windy, a windbreaker can protect skin from windburn and UV rays. If it’s raining outside a rainproof jack and boots are the order of the day. If there is a puddle nearby you know it will be irresistible so it’s important to have waterproof boots. In the winter, a good snowsuit, winter boots, hats, and mitts is essential. Remember children are fully immersed in the winter conditions, rolling in the snow, sliding down hills, sitting on the snow covered ground, and they need the extra water-proof and low temperature protection.

Getting children outdoors enriches their lives, and promotes health, and well being. Being prepared for weather conditions with the right clothing, protecting skin, and staying hydrated, will ensure that children are safe and comfortable for outdoor activities.

About Discovery Child Care Barrie Based Discovery Child Care brings nature into the classroom and takes the classroom into nature, offering an environmentally aware foundation of early learning for children, from infants to school age. We follow an Emergent Curriculum philosophy, which means your child will be provided with hands-on, play-based learning opportunities that will encourage active exploration, autonomy, choice, problem solving and plain old fun! Your child’s individual interests, abilities and needs will be considered when planning our indoor and outdoor programs. For more information, visit http://www.discoverychild.on.ca or http://www.forestschool.ca/

Is the Forest School right for my child?

Is your child between the ages of 6 weeks to 12 years? Does your child love the outdoors? Do you feel nature offers learning opportunities and enhances our view of the world? If so, you should consider enrolling your child into a Discovery Child Care program like our Forest School.

In our Forest School, we bring the classroom to the forest and the forest into the classroom, offering an environmentally aware foundation of early learning for children. We like to teach the idea that we are one with nature. We’re leaving the earth to the next generation, so learning about taking care of our environment is important.

We believe that being outdoors in beautiful, natural environments, is an essential experience for all children, and it can be fun and instructive at the same time!

Our Forest School program teaches children to feel comfortable and aware outside. From gardening skills, to learning about different types of animals that live in around the area, to finding bugs and identifying birds, we include lots of activities and encourage creativity.

Research shows that being around nature reduces stress, increases attention span and fosters healthy brain development. Here are 3 benefits to connecting children with nature identified by the Forest School Association in Canada.

Increases understanding of and appreciation for nature. The BEST way to understand something is by going out and learning about it. The natural environment is the one of the aspects of life that we need to teach our children about. We teach children to respect and appreciate the world around us through activities, walks and exploring the forest.

Augments ecological literacy. Children in our Forest School learn about sustainability, for example we plant various crops and enjoy the harvest. We plant, grow, nurture, taste, smell, touch and observe, with the food we produce ourselves.

Students experience fewer sick days. Children, who spend time outdoors in fresh air, build up a stronger, healthier immune system. We go exploring in our outdoor classroom and we experience things through the forest like grass, trees, tree branches, dirt and puddles.

Discovery Child Care is the 1st Certified Nature Explore Classroom in Canada! (2012)

About Discovery Child Care Barrie Based Discovery Child Care brings nature into the classroom and takes the classroom into nature, offering an environmentally aware foundation of early learning for children, from infants to school age. We follow an Emergent Curriculum philosophy, which means your child will be provided with hands-on, play-based learning opportunities that will encourage active exploration, autonomy, choice, problem solving and plain old fun! Your child’s individual interests, abilities and needs will be considered when planning our indoor and outdoor programs. For more information, visit http://www.discoverychild.on.ca or http://www.forestschool.ca/

5 Reasons Children need Outdoor Play

When we think of play, we might think of unnecessary silliness, fun, & games, but do we think of play as an essential learning activity for young children? Many studies have been done on the importance of play for young children’s development, but just as important is play in the outdoors. If you think back to your fondest childhood memories, I’m sure you will think of at least a few outdoor places and activities that played a major role in your childhood. Little did you know at the time, but playing outside was helping you develop essential life skills that you use to this day! Here are 5 reasons children need outdoor play.

1. Develops Gross Motor Skills. By playing outdoors, kids have the space to jump, leap, skip, run, crawl, and more. These activities help to develop the gross motor skills, as well as coordination and balance.
2. Develops Social & Communication Skills. Of course self-directed play is important, but when children are playing with others they learn important skills such as how to behave in a group, how to effectively communicate with others, and more. Inventing games and figuring out rules is important to developing good communication and social skills.
3. Stimulates the Senses. Being outdoors introduces children to a world of new sensory experiences! Bright lights and dark shadows, a rainbow of colours, the smell of grass, rain, dirt, and flowers, feeling mud between your fingers or the rough bark on a tree.. Playing outside lets children experience sensory stimulus they may otherwise not have a chance to experience - developing their appreciation for natural beauty and their vocabulary as well.
4. Vitamin D & Sunlight. Some studies have linked exposure to natural light with better sleeping habits in infants. Exposure to sunlight also gets children their much needed doses of the essential vitamin D.
5. Encourages Safe & Supervised Risk Taking. While many parents sometimes feel the need to over-protect their children, risk taking is an important and inevitable part of life. Teaching children when they are young how to navigate risk and stay safe, allows them to use these skills later in life. Evaluating risk is an essential skill that can be learned through play and practiced like any other skill.

Getting children outdoors improves their lives, health, and wellbeing. It’s easy to put them in front of the TV when you’re busy, but allowing them time to play outdoors will benefit them beyond what we could outline here! Who knows, maybe you’ll join in the outdoor play and experience some of these benefits for yourself!

About Discovery Child Care
Barrie Based Discovery Child Care brings nature into the classroom and takes the classroom into nature, offering an environmentally aware foundation of early learning for children, from infants to school-age. We follow an Emergent Curriculum philosophy which means, your child will be provided with hands-on, play-based learning opportunities that will encourage active exploration, autonomy, choice, problem solving and plain old fun! Your child’s individual interests, abilities and needs will be considered when planning our indoor and outdoor programs. For more information, visit http://www.discoverychild.on.ca

Five Easy Plants Children Love to Grow

April and May are the perfect months for planing new gardens. Small backyard gardens are great opportunities for learning, play, family bonding, and more. Children who grow their own food are far more likely to make healthier food choices. There's nothing we want more than for our children to grow up with the ability to make choices that have a positive impact on their health and well-being.

There are many other benefits to gardening with children - they get a sense of accomplishment, a chance to care for something delicate, and plenty of time outdoors under the sun getting some much needed vitamin D.

While there are a plethora of delicious choices you can make for your garden, there are some plants that are especially easy for children to grow or help grow. Here are 5 easy plants to grow in your garden this year with your children.

Sunflowers
Sunflowers are a great staple in any garden, but especially in a child's garden. They grow quickly and are quite large. You only need to plant a couple depending on the amount of space you have. Sunflowers will sprout in a week, become a seedling in two weeks, and be nearly 2 feet tall in a month.  Once they bloom, about 8 weeks, they will reveal their seed kernels. These can be roasted for a tasty snack. Be sure to get the confectionery sunflower variety so the seeds are edible.

Lettuce
Lettuce is hardy and easy to grow, making it a great option for kids. The leaf varieties mature faster, and like part-shade. They take 7-10 days to germinate and mature in about 30-35 days. They are sure to get your child interested in making a salad with their own lettuce!

Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes are very fun to grow, and delicious to eat right off the vine. It's better to plant them from seedlings as opposed to from seed. You can drive a 2' stake beside each plant and loosely tie them to keep them upright. They like full sun and compost, and will mature in about 50-75 days.

Snap Peas
Snap Peas are popular among kids because of their fresh sweet flavour. The seeds are easy to handle for kids, and they grow quickly. They will germinate in about 2 weeks and be ready to pick and eat in a month or two. When harvesting, teach kids to pick them gently (a great learning opportunity!) so that they do not pull the entire plant out of the ground with the peas.

Pumpkin
Pumpkins are a must have for any child's garden as they have so many uses. Pumpkin seeds are delicious roasted as a snack. The meat inside can be used for baking, soups, or other treats, and the outer part can be used for carving! Pumpkins will be ready to harvest in about 80-120 days.

As we said above, there are so many benefits to including children in your gardening. Giving them a sense of responsibility, ownership, and care at an early age will set them up for success at other endeavors in the future. They will also grow an appreciation for where food comes from. There are also science and nature lessons to be had!

For further reading on gardening with children, check out our other blogs below!

• 10 Ways Children Benefit From Nature
• Tips for Gardening With Kids
• Our Kinder-Garden Grows Healthy Food
• Why kids Need Time in Nature
• Why Playing Outside is So Important

About Discovery Child Care
Barrie Based Discovery Child Care brings nature into the classroom and takes the classroom into nature, offering an environmentally aware foundation of early learning for children, from infants to school-age. We follow an Emergent Curriculum philosophy which means, your child will be provided with hands-on, play-based learning opportunities that will encourage active exploration, autonomy, choice, problem solving and plain old fun! Your child’s individual interests, abilities and needs will be considered when planning our indoor and outdoor programs. For more information, visit http://www.discoverychild.on.ca

An Early Spring Scavenger Hunt

We are all aching to spend more time outdoors as the weather starts to warm up and change. Hopefully we can soon ditch the boots and heavy winter jackets for some lighter outdoor wear! While we wait for the days to warm up, it's a great time to take children outdoors to witness the changing season first hand. Birds are out and chirping more often, and many animals are scurrying about, waking up from their winter haze in search of food.

It's a great learning opportunity to go on walks this time of year as nature stars to stir and become more active. We thought a spring scavenger hunt would be a great way to pay attention to the subtler signs of spring that otherwise might be missed. These don't have to be found all in one day, in fact, it would be better to take all of spring to spot everything on the list. Feel free to add or change anything on the list. You can even turn making the list itself into a craft project by getting the children to draw pictures on a poster-board of everything they'd like to spot.

An Early Spring Scavenger Hunt:

• Spot a Butterfly

• Spot 3 Different Kinds of Birds
• Find something naturally RED (flower, ladybug, leaf...)
• Find something naturally PURPLE (flower, butterfly...)
• Find something naturally YELLOW (Flower, plant, butterfly...)
• Spot a Puddle
• Spot Someone Else Enjoying the Weather ( jogging, biking, playing in a park..)
• Spot a Seed (acorn, helicopter, pinecone...)
• Find Some Animal Tracks
• Spot Some Green Grass
• Find a Wiggling Worm
• Spot a Bird's Nest
• Spot Some Buds on a Tree
• Spot a Squirrel or Rabbit
• Hear a Bird Song & Try to Mimic it
• Find Something Smooth & Something Rough
• Spot a Fluffy White Cloud
• Find Some Flowers Budding

We hope you find lots of time to get outside and explore nature using this scavenger hunt as a guide! Happy hunting!

Discovery Child Receives Letter of Recognition from Early Intervention Council!

We are really proud of our work and cooperation with the Simcoe County Early Intervention Council. From participating in their campaign and helping to develop processes, to hosting educational events, we have played a huge role in this program. We are pleased to share with you a letter we recently received from them, recognizing our efforts. You can read the letter below.

“Dear Karen,

The Early Intervention Council members would like to recognize you for demonstrating key Council values. These values include the support of system integration, family centred service deliver, early identification and education, teamwork and change championing.

Right from the inception of Early Screening Matters, you were quick to demonstrate leadership. You were in fact, the person, who named our initiative! You not only participated in the “name our screening initiative campaign, but your suggested name also received the most votes. We now proudly refer to our initiative as Early Screening Matters. You demonstrated leadership and teamwork by being instrumental in the co-creation of the “Welcome letter” to be used by child care centres at registration.

Your adoption of Early Screening Matters was swift. You have a solid process for sharing information with families at registration by discussing our screening initiative with them and including a welcome letter and red flags for speech and language in your enrollment packages. You have shared that the inclusion of the “welcome letter: and related conversation at registration is key for parents.

You successfully established a clear process for your staff to follow when they have concerns about a child in their classroom and you have built a strong support system for them. Staff are encouraged to complete the Early Screening Matters module series and you frequently forward the names of new staff to be added to the Community Learning Library. Another effective method for building capacity and supporting your staff is your invitation to role play administration of an ERIK with a supervisor to increase confidence. What a fabulous idea!

You have hosted many educational events to build capacity, Learning Language & Loving It™, Effective Classroom Strategies for the Preschool Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Calm, Alert, & Ready to Communicate in a Child Care Centre are just a few of the workshops hosted. Intake at RVH has received a total of 7 ERIKs from screeners in your centre. Thank you!

Council members believe your work has made a significant difference in the lives of children.

Thank you Karen, your contributions are truly appreciated,

Kim Latour & Michele KapteynEarly Intervention Council Co-Chairs”

We are so glad to be a part of this effort, and to be recognized for making a difference in the lives of children. Thank you!

10 Indoor Activities for Snow Days

Nothing spoils the fun of a snow day like the weather being too nasty to play outside. No one likes being cooped up indoors with nothing to do! That’s why we’ve come up with a list of 10 great indoor activities to beat boredom!

Indoor treasure Hunt

Put some toys or snacks in a shoebox and and hide it somewhere in the house. Make a treasure map with clue and riddles for your child to solve and find the hidden treasure! You can even make it more fun by dressing up as a treasure hunter!

Dance Party

Need to expend some extra energy? Throw on some tunes and clear out a space to use as a dance floor! Challenge your children with different types of dance moves or have them make up their own! Once this is done they’ll be ready to settle down for a snack or maybe even an afternoon nap!

Photo Challenge

If you have a small disposable or inexpensive camera around the house, this is is a great scavenger hunt type of activity. Make a list of things your child has to find and photograph. You can do this straightforward such as “find a yellow toy”, or you can turn them into riddles for older children who might want more of a challenge!

Create Your Own Board Game

If you’re looking for a unique craft for school-age children, this one never fails! All you need is a large bristol board or cardboard sheet, some markers, some bingo chips or small toys, some dice, and possible construction paper and scissors. Have your children think of a setting or theme, and make up some game rules. A simple board game basis is to create a path of squares on the game board, and roll the dice to see who can get to the finish first! Make it a little more interesting with some game cards with different actions you have to complete to move on.

Masking Tape Play

Masking tape is extremely versatile for play! You can tape out a hopscotch pattern in the carpet,  or tape some different size circles for a bean bag toss! You can also tape out some “roads” for toy cars to drive on, or play tic-tac-toe!

Make Your Own Pizza

Hungry yet? Pizza is a great menu option for new little chefs. You can get some pre-made pizza kits to make it easier. have your child spread the sauce and pick out their own toppings to go on top! They can spread the toppings randomly or make a picture or face! They will love eating the pizza THEY made, and it’s a good learning opportunity for kitchen safety.

Puppet Show

If you gave your own puppets that’s great! If not, you can make some simple ones with characters cut out from construction paper and glued to a popsicle stick. Tale a cardboard box and cut out the middle to make a “theatre”! Have your child put on a show for you and some stuffed toys as their “audience”.

Make a Rainy (or Snow!) Day Jar

Get a big mason jar or other container. Get some popsicle sticks or scraps of paper, and think of a bunch of fun ideas to write down on them. SOme examples might be, play go-fish, play a board game, color/draw, or play hide-and-seek. You could also  include some of the ideas on this list! When you’re done, you now have a whole jar-full of rainy day activities you can bust out when you're stuck inside!

Build a fort

This was one of my favourites as a kid and would keep me entertained for hours on end. Take the cushions off the couch and grab a blanket. Set them up into a little fort in the family room. throw some stuffed toys, some books, and a flashlight in there and you’ll have hours of imaginative play!

Sensory Table

Kid’s love these and they are great for learning as well as play! Get a large tupperware and fill it with different things! You could get some snow from outside, and add some food coloring, cups, and beach shovels. You could also get several different bowls and put different things inside like dried beans, cooked spaghetti, grapes etc.. then blindfold your child and have him describe what he feels in each bowl. You can even ask him to guess what each item is!

We hope you can use some of our indoor activity ideas the next time you and your child are stuck indoors because of bad weather.