1. Does Nature Always Nurture? Deborah Mugno, Ed. D.

2. Helping Children with Emotional/Behavioral Problems Explore and Reap the Benefits of the Outdoors

3. How can we assist children with emotional and behavioral difficulties to ensure successful outdoor experiences?

4. BENEFITs of Outdoor play
Motor skills
Sensory experiences
Social interactions
Learning
Overall physical and mental health

5. The outdoor environment
“I don’t like to go outside!”

6. Why not? There are too many people; it’s too loud.
I’m scared of bugs/bees/snakes.
I will get hurt.
Everyone is better than me.
My clothes will get dirty.
Kids tease me.
The sand/mulch is scratchy.
I don’t know what to do. Nobody plays with me.
It’s boring.

7. What is it about being outdoors…?
Constantly changing
Diverse environment
Multi-sensory
Not always contained
Typically less structured
Risky
Teacher anxiety or teacher absence

8. Creating a Safe Emotional Experience
Change the experience, not necessarily the environment

9. Safe emotional experience
Knowing that feelings are recognized and accepted
Confident that help is available
Preparation for success and disappointments
Assurance that effort is valued
Knowledge of the games and “rules”
Peer preparation

10. A safe emotional experience outdoors does not necessarily preclude risk, it may require some structure, and it never hurts to have a virtual safety net.

11. What is risk?
Any behavior in which there is uncertainty about the outcomes. It involves a consideration of the benefits against the possible undesirable consequences of the behaviors as well as the probability of success or failure (Little, 2006)

12. Risk
The desire for safety can burden a child. Risk is a catalyst for growth. When children can assess and manage risk, they develop better judgement and anxiety decreases.
Judgement is honed by practice, success and failure
There are good and bad risks

13. Risk involves Risk involves… heights lack of regulation high speed
dangerous elements
rough-and-tumble play
wandering alone
The most common is exploring heights.

14. “Risk Deficit Disorder”
(Eager and Little, 2011)

15. Food for Thought… Taking risks creates anxiety, but the failure to take risks also creates anxiety.

16. RISK Develops autonomy Creates adaptive function of reducing fear
Enhances confidence
Creates a link between movement and thought

17. The risk is that there is no risk
Helping children with risk:
Define the risk
“Scaffold” the risk
Talk about the feelings associated with the
risk
The risk is that there is no risk
Bundy, et al (2009)
Recognize and evaluate a challenge and decide on a course of action that is not dangerous but may still involve an element of risk

18. Structure
Structure and outdoor/nature play are not mutually exclusive.
Play in nature can be intentional to ensure interaction, but then move to an unstructured format.
Structure can reduce child and teacher anxiety.
Structure outdoors is not necessarily the same as structure indoors.
Do our children grow up in a risk averse society?

19. Structure Take indoors outdoors Define the space Define the activity
Encourage non- gender restricted play
Facilitate social interaction
Have helpful adults available (and active) at all times

20. Structure Gardening Two person activities Nature walks Insect studies
Structured games
Defined spaces
Easels, blocks, water painting, etc. outdoors
Weather studies

21. Consider the positive and negatives of teacher proximity

22. How Does Teacher Proximity Affect Play?
Assuming impact…
Does teacher proximity dampen pretend play?
Do children habituate to teacher presence?
Does teacher presence promote social play?

23. Safety Net(FOR activities and emotions)
Planning/expectations (including transitions)
Demonstrating environmental
responsibility
Supervising
Defining space or activity
Defining limits of behavior
Rules
Not teachers sitting and talking
Puddle example
Strikeouts specific
Insects/lizards/plants

24. How can our kids really understand the moral complexities of being alive if they are not allowed to engage in those complexities outdoors?
Richard Louv