Outdoor Play
Outdoor Play Strategy: Phase 1.5 (2018-2020)
Exploring a focus on early childhood education
As the first phase of the Outdoor Play Strategy moved towards completion, the Foundation began to think about next steps and how to achieve measurable impact. We decided to explore early childhood education as a focus for our future work.
Advancing Outdoor Play and Early Childhood Education: A Discussion Paper
We published Advancing Outdoor Play and Early Childhood Education: A Discussion Paper as a reflection of the exploratory symposium we held in 2018 which ultimately laid the groundwork for developing the Outdoor Play Strategy 2.0.
- Discussion Paper – Advancing Outdoor Play and Early Childhood Education
- Executive Summary (2 pager)
- Stakeholders in Outdoor Play diagram (image)
- Outdoor Play – An ecosystem lens diagram (image)
- Discussion paper front cover (image)
En français:
- Document d’orientation – Promouvoir le jeu extérieur et l’éducation à la petite enfance
- Sommaire exécutif (2 pages)
- Graphique : Les acteurs clés du jeu extérieur (image)
- Graphique : Le jeu extérieur – une vision écosystémique (image)
- Page couverture du document de travail (image)
Increasing Outdoor Play and Early Learning and Child Care in the Context of COVID-19
In July 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic we engaged a group of advisors to support the development of a policy statement, Increasing Outdoor Play and Early Learning and Child Care in the Context of COVID-19, to draw attention to the outdoors as a distinct ELCC setting that supports quality early childhood education and pandemic mitigation measures.
The statement includes guiding principles and recommendations to support the reopening and ongoing implementation of high quality ELCC programs during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the Statement and Media Release (PDF)
Lisez l’avis et le Communiqué de presse (PDF)
Related News and Updates
Advancing Outdoor Play in Early Learning: The Power of a Relational, Values-Driven Approach to Building Adult Capacity
The Lawson Foundation is proud to announce the release of "The Power of a Relational, Values-Driven Approach to Building Adult Capacity: Final Evaluation Report of Outdoor Play Strategy 2.0." a comprehensive evaluation highlighting the significant strides made in...
Transforming Post-Secondary Early Childhood Education in Canada with Outdoor and Land-based Teaching and Learning
The Lawson Foundation has released a new report, “More Than a New Course: A Framework for Embedding Outdoor and Land-based Pedagogies in Post-Secondary ECE Programs. " The report provides guidelines to help integrate Outdoor and Land-based teaching and learning in...
Outdoor Play Milestone : Canadian Pediatric Society’s position statement on outdoor risky play
The Canadian Pediatric Society just released a position statement on the importance of outdoor risky play! https://ow.ly/xgfB50QuTmm “Risk is inherent to free play. When children play spontaneously, they may choose to push boundaries and test limits. Risky play...
Report | Funding for Outdoor Play in Canada
"Funding for Outdoor Play in Canada" supports funders and grant seekers in finding common ground and building partnerships to advance the multiple issue areas that overlap with outdoor play July 29, 2021 - A new report from The Lawson Foundation and Outdoor Play...
Article | Why the outdoors should be an integral part of every early learning and child-care program
Our program director, Christine Alden, put pen to paper to make the case on why the outdoors should be an integral part of every early learning and child care program. She explains outdoor learning and its benefits to kids’ development and provides some policy...
Outdoor early learning helps kids. Provinces should do more to support it
Check out our latest update on early learning and childcare in First Policy Response, "Outdoor early learning helps kids. Provinces should do more to support it," by our very own Christine and Kayla Ritchie, and Frank Welsh. From the article: "We reiterate our call to...