Outdoor Play and STEM Engagement

How many hours do you and your children spend outside each week? With all of the amazing inside activities we put on offer for our children these days, combined with the city living of so many plus our busy lives, it is not surprising our kids are spending more and more time inside rather than outside. 

My kids spend plenty of time inside. They have toys and DVDs and games and LEGO and so many of their much loved things are inside. But, I am also a huge advocate for outside play. My kids also just love being outside, running around, and I love watching their little selves filling with sunshine and fresh air.

It’s one of the reasons I put together the Caring For Country Outdoor Play Activities IndigiSTEM book. Because getting our kids outdoors and engaged in stem thinking is important. The world around us provides so many easy opportunities for STEM engagement of our early learners. Nature is the best teacher.

Aboriginal culture has so many great examples of understanding this. Understanding how to manipulate the landscape through fire, how to make use of certain species at certain times of the year recognisable by seasonal changes in the weather, how to understand the stars and constellations through storytelling.

All amazing examples of how Indigenous culture and science have always intertwined beautifully.