Blog

Keep up to date with the latest news and views in the YPO Blog

We'll be blogging every few days about various topics, so come back soon to see more!

Building blocks to the future

17 September 2024 By The Outdoor Classroom Project

Blocks are designed to encourage creative play and child-directed discovery. Children will need lots of time and repeated opportunities to explore all the properties and possibilities blocks offer.
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How to create a sensory garden

03 September 2024 By The YPO Team

A sensory garden is a versatile space designed to appeal to each of the five key senses (sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste). It features a myriad of beautiful flowers, plants, landscaping, and other materials that can be arranged in various ways to create a positive sensory experience for its visitors. What you include in a sensory garden depends on the effect you want to achieve. It can be designed to stimulate the senses or create a calming atmosphere, giving you the creative freedom to design a space that suits your needs.
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Outdoor storytelling beyond the book

23 August 2024 By Stories with Liv

When we imagine storytelling outdoors, most of us picture the same thing: an adult sat with a book in hand, looking out at a sea of children quietly looking up at them. I'm not here to tell you it can't and won't look like that, but storytelling outdoors can be so much more than just reading books. We want to do more than bring the indoors outside. We want to use the natural atmosphere of the outdoors to take children on an adventure. But where do we start?
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Embracing outdoor learning with limited space

10 July 2024 By Millhouse

Outdoor play in early years has many benefits, including developing social skills, connecting with the living environment and promoting physical wellbeing. But how do settings deliver these opportunities and embrace outdoor learning when space is at a premium? It's all about being clever with the space that you have got! Here are five activities that will allow you to embrace the outdoors in your setting without taking up all of your space...
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YPO visits Saplings for the day

29 February 2024 By The YPO Team

We recently had the pleasure of visiting Saplings, an early years natural play session run by Kirklees Council at Cliffe House, set within eleven acres of beautiful woodlands in the heart of Yorkshire.
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Removing the barriers to outdoor play

27 October 2023 By The YPO Team

Outdoor play provides fantastic opportunities for exciting open-ended learning and role play, but we understand that it’s not always easy and there are things you need to prepare for. Here’s some advice on how to tackle common barriers to exploring the great outdoors.
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Creating an outdoor learning environment with Cosy

27 October 2023

If you are looking for ideas on how to embrace the great outdoors in your school or early years setting, here are some great tips from Cosy on creating a safe and stimulating outdoor learning environment.
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3 easy Halloween nature craft activities

03 October 2023 By The YPO Team

Are you running low on seasonal ideas? Don’t fear as this spooky season we have three nature themed craft ideas that both you and your class will enjoy!
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Outstanding outdoor literacy

25 July 2023

At Cosy, we love outdoor learning. As esteemed educator Charlotte Mason once said, 'Never be within doors when you can rightly be without'!
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Spring plant and bug hunting

17 May 2023 By Eduk8 Worldwide

Spring is a time of great change. The world around us is exploding with new smells, colours and sounds. During spring, there is more to discover and see each day. As we leave winter behind us, it’s a perfect time to take some activities outside and celebrate the arrival of spring!
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