Encouraging a child to go outside in all weather builds resilience, but more importantly it saves them from spending their life merely tolerating the ‘bad’ days in favour of a handful of ‘good’ ones – a life of endless expectations and conditions where happiness hinges on sunshine.
– Nicolette Sowder

To help educators who want to embrace the adage, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing” but aren’t sure how to always make that work in practice, Nature Explore educator Kirsten Haugen will be presenting a free January 14 Early Childhood Investigations webinar called  “Brrrrring It On! Embracing Cold, Snow and Rain Outdoors with Young Children.” She’ll be offering ways to prepare for cold weather play so children can enjoy it in safety and comfort.

Sandra Duncan and Jody Martin, in their beautiful book, Bringing the Outside In, help early educators provide nature experiences for children in all circumstances. For example, they encourage programs, “even if located in a metropolitan area with little green space,” to “grow gardens within a room’s four walls. Container gardens do not need a large piece of land or even a lot of space – all you need is light, dirt, water, and a collection of containers for the plants.”

And in his book, Adventures in Risky Play, Rusty Keeler advocates for children’s right to have an unfettered relationship with the natural world through open-ended play. He writes: “When play is allowed to be child-driven, children practice decision-making skills, move at their own pace, discover their own areas of interest, and ultimately engage fully in the passions they wish to pursue.”