This report from Maximum City summarizes data on children and youth's play, physical activity, emotions and healthy growth during the third wave of the pandemic in Ontario, in the spring and early summer of 2021. The results highlight the role of outdoor play and physical activity in maintaining emotional wellbeing and healthy growth during this...
The report 'Les bienfaits de la nature sur la sante globale' produced by Dr. Louis Bherer and a team of researchers from the Centre EPIC at the Montreal Heart Institute provides a summary of the available literature and an evaluation of the quality of the evidence on the health benefits of nature. In the report,...
SaskOutdoors has been partnering with Outdoor Play experts to lead "Get Outside and...
Playing Out is a UK-based organisation aimed at restoring children’s freedom to "play out" where they live, tackling traffic danger and other barriers. Started by parents in Bristol, England in 2009, the resident-led ‘temporary play street’ model is now followed by street communities across the UK and around the world. This simple model involves neighbours...
The 'Standards for healthy eating, physical activity, sedentary behaviours and sleep in early childhood education and care settings: a toolkit' provides implementation recommendations and standards for promoting healthy movement and eating behaviours in early childhood education (ECE) settings. The toolkit highlights the importance of providing opportunities in ECE settings for play to promote children's healthy...
Play to Thrive, a white paper produced by Maximum City, makes the case for the fundamental importance of play for children's ability to learn and thrive in the 21st century. The report provides an overview of the current state of global crises, how play may help children navigate these crises, why it is important to...
The Alberta Recreation & Parks Association has a series of tools to support municipalities in creating Play Declarations; formal, signed commitments for communities/municipalities to share a vision for play. Resources include 'how-to' guides, video presentations and executive summaries for use with decision-makers, and webinar presentations for practitioners (featuring a quote from OPC Chair Dr. Mark...
PHE Canada has developed a robust resource of physical education activities to support children and youth in getting active both at home and in school. The activities are focused on promoting physical competencies surrounding the themes of 'move', 'think', 'feel', and 'act'. Activities are categorized according to grade level (K-3, 4-6, 7-12) and are downloadable...
Written by Tim Gill and published & copyrighted by Play Wales, the Weighing up risks and benefits in children's play info sheet outlines why risk is important in children's play, the importance of finding a balance between protecting against injury and promoting beneficial play opportunities, and guidance on how to do so. Read the full info...
Schoolyards Count, produced by Kelly Gallagher-Mackay (Wilfrid Laurier University), Christine Corso (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education), and Tammy Shubat (Ophea), reports on the quality of schoolyards across Ontario using data from citizen scientists. The report provides a review of why schoolyards matter for the health and wellbeing of students, a review of the gaps...
