A contribution to the 14th Biennial Conference on University of Education in Natural Resources, hosted in March 2022 by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Natural Resources and College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Ann Spilker, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Content is the property of the authors under the Creative Commons agreement.
Environmental education can start as early as preschool through outdoor play and interactions with loose parts materials- open-ended items with no predesigned purpose. Play is a critical aspect of young children’s physical, social, and cognitive development. However, wild spaces and outdoor play opportunities are declining as places continue to become urbanized. Because of this, educators must adapt to provide outdoor opportunities within an urban context. One of my thesis projects examines how preschool children’s outdoor play with different types of loose parts materials affects their play behaviors. The addition of loose parts in an outdoor space has been found to provoke children’s creativity, pro-social behaviors, and ecological awareness. In this video I will share my experiences in collecting data for this project and touch on how different loose parts materials can create exciting stimulation in an outdoor classroom.