ABSTRACT
There are children who want to run and those who want to hide or find a dappled shelter to read; those who climb and some who root around under logs to search for insects. Many children transport water to pour, splash and mix and some dig and tunnel in sand and mud; others use a space to wander and engage alone or with others in free-flow imaginary play. There are children who practise skills such as skipping, throwing and balancing or rolling down slopes and those who use real tools; others develop acute sensory awareness. We care for children who may first encounter seasonal and metallurgical conditions such as fog, rain, ice, snow, shade from bright sunshine, strong breezes and frosty cobwebs with us. As adults preparing for young children’s possibilities, our outdoor environments need to provide for the unique learning journeys of each child whilst recognising their crucial connections to people, places and things. This relationship is woven through the experiential nature of the habitats we provide, developed through the theoretical play constructs we have absorbed in training and in observations. These theoretical constructs will be expanded further in the final chapter. Here, a consensus of ideas, design, resource provision and pedagogy will be examined that support both the key ideas behind the notion of elemental play and how our prepared environments can begin to meet children’s natural exploration of the world around them.
