The return of sunny days invites movement and outdoor activities. Or to take a break conducive to reconnecting with nature. For toddlers and the professionals who accompany them, the exterior of the nursery offers many benefits. Discover the advice of HABA Pro, a specialist in nursery design, to create an outdoor space that helps children develop their qualities and meets the new standards imposed by the building from the reform of childcare modes.
The benefits of the outdoors, an educational and fun space
The nursery's outdoor area is not a space to be neglected; it also participates in developing new skills in toddlers. Among the best-known alternative pedagogies, Montessori and Froebel integrate respect for the planet at the heart of a new way of life oriented towards sustainable development. These pedagogies place nature at the heart of the education of young children and consider that to respect it, the child must know it.
The outdoors provides education and well-being since the natural environment brings many benefits. It is a space that promotes the multiplication of learning. By allowing the child's different bits of intelligence (creative, cognitive...) to express themselves, we cultivate his self-esteem. In young children, the outdoors contributes to the development of:
- Physical stimulating appetite, sleep, immune system, motor skills, senses...
- Mental: courage, perseverance, development of self-esteem, inner life, and calm...
- Cognitive: discovery of nature and life, development of creativity and imagination...
- Emotional: autonomy, freedom of movement...
- Social: meeting, sharing, and well-being favourable to the production of oxytocin and, therefore to the development of the brain ...
- Moral: natural benevolence, peace education, respect for the environment, living in harmony with others...
Wood, an educational material in harmony with nature
It is used to invite nature inside nurseries, but wood is a flagship natural material when there is an outdoor space. Beyond its ecological aspect, this natural material has a pedagogical and educational dimension as well as a playful aspect. Allied with the awakening of children, wood helps to stimulate the senses of toddlers, to build, to develop their creative imagination ... Whether it is small furniture, motor structures, or toys, it is, therefore, a material to be preferred in the outdoor layout of the nursery – as well as natural materials.
At HABA Pro, we have developed several ranges of outdoor landscaping in harmony with nature and made of wood. These facilities respect the standards in force and prioritize the safety of toddlers.
Arrange the exterior of the nursery space by space
The vegetable gardens
Developing a vegetable garden is a real plus for children to awaken in contact with nature. To build your vegetable garden, you can provide small equipment such as an outdoor kitchen block, a mobile greenhouse, a vegetable garden for the nursery, wheelbarrows, and gardening accessories...
Imitation games
Imitation games contribute to a baby's awakening. Children enjoy role-playing and are receptive to things they have already seen in real situations. Outdoor kitchen block to improvise starred chef, wooden boat or tepee to go on an adventure, wooden horse for apprentice riders: allow toddlers to stimulate their imagination by inventing thrilling scenarios!
Circus trailer, wooden or cotton tepee, horse, boat, or wooden car: our outdoor facilities promise toddlers to live adventures and develop their imagination!
Motor space
Motor structures, huts, playgrounds, and slides: integrate fun and safe equipment to allow children to develop their motor skills, balance, and coordination and stimulate their sensory awakening through various accessories. Choose resistant materials over time and integrate well with a natural environment, such as wood. To ensure the safety of children, games and motor structures must be fixed to the ground and comply with current safety standards.
Motor structures, playgrounds, cabins: Terramo is a global outdoor design concept designed to meet the exploration needs of toddlers! The materials are natural (untreated wood), and resistant, and the colors are inspired by nature.
The relaxation area and shading devices
To relax or read outside, create a comfortable and warm space. For example, set up a picnic table, an ottoman, and a flower box...
If you are lucky enough to have trees that provide shade, make sure that it is sheltered regardless of the sun’s position or if the vegetation is pruned. Otherwise, you must provide suitable equipment to guarantee a shaded part.
To protect yourself from the sun and especially because toddlers are very sensitive, umbrellas are part of the list of essentials for the outside of a nursery. To create a space sheltered from the sun, you can also use shade sails.
The sandbox
Sandboxes are very popular with children. Of its texture, the sand is stimulating for toddlers. This activity promotes autonomy, sociability, initiative, or a sense of mastery. Set up a sandbox away from the sun and ensure disinfection and renewal to ensure hygiene and safety.
In addition to the sandbox, provide a protective device, such as a tarpaulin or a closing system, and renewal the sand once a year. Also think about accessories: rake, shovel, small water decanter...
The exterior of the nursery is a space to reconsider
The young child evolves outdoors and appears under facets known to be essential in its construction and development. Despite a favorable external environment, young and old often only reap some of the rich benefits of pleasure and learning. Indeed, the outdoors is considered by many early childhood institutions as a space of physical expenditure thought for the motor experience – motor structures being the main ones. While they respond well to the child's need for physical exertion, these accommodations alone limit the experience of the outdoors.
Children and adults have learned to consider outdoor space as a response to an overflow of energy. To consider the outside in another dimension is to take advantage of its full potential and recreate interest for the children and the supervising team. To revisit the outdoor space, we can think back to his childhood memories and the moments spent outside: improvised natural cuisine, tasting the park, and construction of huts ... These simple and material-less moments are charged with exploration, relationship, and imagination!