Over the past decade, learning through landscapes has demonstrated the powerful influence of the external environment on children. (Lucas, 1996) finds that to make the outdoor environment successful is through investigation and exploration of children in their environmental knowledge and also living environment. He found that the environment is more meaningful to the wellbeing of the children. This finding is also supported the review by (Titman, 1996) on the hidden curriculum of their school life. She found that how the school grounds affect the children’s behaviour and happiness and she indicated the steps which adults can take to ensure that the educational environment meets the needs of the children.
Experiences with nature were also need to be explored. Outdoor learning for children is especially powerful; their responses to sensory and tactile stimuli are rich and empowering. According to (Dunne, 2000), pupils are most likely to succeed when they are involved in doing activities rather than academic learning, and environmental education is an ideal activity learning medium. To achieve the concept, special schools see the wide range of benefits which their children derive from using appropriately landscaped grounds. This was also be supported by (Marcus and Barnes, 1999) said that gardens with natural features that process restorative properties to the people including children with illness or physical and mental impairment.
Previous research has shown that the healing benefits of sensory gardens. All children have right to play. The recovering of children illness could be achieved by play therapy (said, 2002). This kind of therapy help children being exposed to the outdoor environment and thus has improved the wellbeing ...
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...Ed.), Communicating with the healthcare community about plant benefits: Proceedings of the Sixth International People Plant Symposium, Floriade, June 14, 2002 (pp. 2-10). Chicago: Chicago Botanic Garden.
22. Vapaa, A.G., (2002). Healing Gardens: Creating Places for Restoration, Meditation and Sanctuary. Unpublished master thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, United States.
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24. Wong, A. (2010). Break Free: Children’s emotional and physical well-being in the green outdoors. Mychild, December Edition, pp. 50-53.
25. Worden, E.C., (2003). Environmental Horticulture: Lawn and garden design of sensory garden. Unpublished Doctorial thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
As a child going outside was something that excited you. The freedom of running through the grass or climbing the trees was something that always excited you. As times change and technology improves going outside is not a happy thought anymore. In John Stilgoe’s Outside Lies Magic and Rachel Carson’s The Sense of Wonder, they both discuss the feelings you get while going outside and the importance why we should go outside. Though both have different reasons why we should both books are relevant to today.
First of all, gardening has been proven to ameliorate the wellbeing of an individual. As Finley says, “we are soil”. Since we are creatures of the earth, it makes sense
The main point of this book it to express the importance of outdoor play and
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Healthy People 2020. (2013, 11 13). Global Health . Retrieved 4 22, 2014, from Healthy People 2020: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=16
The debate over technology being healthy for our children has been a debate that has gone on for years. It appears as though the tragedy that children are missing out on hands-on nature is definitely something we all must learn to accept. Nicholas D. Kristof hits the nail on the head when he suggest that we try to preserve nature but we don’t promote natural activity such as hiking, biking, camping, and “discovering the hard way what a wasp nest looks like”. Kristof does an effective job getting the point across on experiencing nature and limiting technology. He is a father that is destined for his young daughter to know about the outdoors with personal experimentation. Kristof’s intended audience is geared toward people that want their children and themselves to be involved in nature, but they have been consumed with this technological age.
Edible Forest Gardens, is both a technical design manual and a philosophical foundation text for establishing perennial polycultures.
The Pre-K and Kindergarten class studied habitats of various animals and insects. They were given examples and tough how the animals made their homes. The students built a bird house as their project and as something to take home to remind them of what they learned. Finally they went on a field trip to Legoland where they explored and built “habitats” for their families and the Lego people. The first and second grade class learned about marine life and the ocean. They built shoe box dioramas of coral reefs and created art projects depicting sea life as well as learning new facts about the ocean. The students got to go to the Aquarium for their field trip. Finally the third and fourth graders studied the rain forests and their ecosystems. The students built rainforest models and terrariums along with small group discussions on different ideas human intervention and conservation. They finished their week at the zoo where they studied different rainforest inhabitants in
Lopez, Barry. “Children in the Woods.” The McGraw-Hill Reader Issues across the Disciplines. 11th Edition. Gilbert Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.
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Gardeners often find deep satisfaction in their gardens because they are rewarded by their patience and
learning. For example, in secondary school, students are required to finish the “Other Learning Experiences” programs. It aims to expand students’ learning contexts instead of simply learning in the classroom. While some school hold more outdoor activities as they agree that outdoor activities is beneficial for students, others reject it and continue to use the traditional classroom teaching. This essay examines both sides of for and against arguments of having more outdoor learning activities.
Furthermore, by introducing shared open spaces with other classes, we can bring out the full potential of the children physically, mentally and emotionally. They will have more sensory play when exposed to a wider range of materials outdoors more often. The importance of sensory play is supported by Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in the sensorimotor stage which states child’s intelligence is developed by the basic motor and sensory explorations of the world around them.