Thank you to Murry Burgess (North Carolina State University), Rachel Szczytko (Pisces Foundation), and Kathryn Stevenson (North Carolina State University), for providing this post. Do children in your life spend time outside? What do they do? Maybe they go on family hunting trips, play organized sports, or spend time alone in the backyard. New research shows...
Since 2009, the Equinox Holistic Alternative School, within the Toronto District School Board, has led the way for holistic academic excellence with a focus on nature-based learning. They have attracted national and international attention with their full-day outdoor kindergarten program, and now in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has shifted to full outdoor...
Outdoor Play Canada, before its formal organization, was responsible for the development and release of the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play in 2015. This Statement had a significant impact on uniting the Outdoor Play sector, providing direction and a common purpose – promoting children’s healthy growth and development through outdoor play. To build on and...
In light of most summer 2020 sport leagues, camps, and outdoor activities being cancelled or put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ParticipACTION launched the Invent-a-Sport Campaign to encourage Canadians to get active locally and connect with friends, family and neighbours (while remaining physically distant) by inventing a new sport. Participants were invited to share...
On August 26, 2020, Tim Gill, an independent researcher and International Play Association member, and Robyn Monro Miller, President of the International Play Association, released their study report: 'Play in Lockdown: An international study of government and civil society responses to Covid-19 and their impact on children’s play and mobility'. The study collected data from 25...
In the August 2020 series of HELP Coffee Talks, host Dr. Eva Oberle from the Human Early Learning Partnership at the University of British Columbia, discussed the state of outdoor play in Canada with Outdoor Play Canada's Leadership Group member, Dr. Mariana Brussoni, and the role of outdoor learning in schools and how teachers can...
Thank you to Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter and Ole Johan Sando (Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, Trondheim, Norway) for providing this post. Physical activity in childhood is beneficial for children’s long-term health and development, and the early childhood education and care (ECEC) institution is considered an essential arena for promoting physical activity. Experiencing...
This blog provides a brief overview of an article published in Health Reports on July 15, 2020: “Exercise and screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic” by Rachel C Colley, Tracey Bushnik and Kellie Langlois. Thank you to Dr. Colley for providing this post. Background Life changed dramatically in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seemingly overnight,...
Thank you to Louise Zimanyi and Olga Rossovska, Professors of Early Childhood Education at Humber College, for providing this post. "I Speak Frog: Storying Seasonal Narratives of Children’s Common Worlds" is part of a special peer-reviewed series published through the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario's eceLink. The full article can be accessed here. The special...
Thank you to Yingyi Lin, PhD student in the Population, Health and Place program at the University of Southern California, and Mariana Brussoni, Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, for providing this post. Walking to school and playing in the streets without adult supervision were previously commonplace, but are no longer the norm in...
