With February half-term often bringing cold, wet weather and shorter days, it can be tempting to retreat indoors and rely more heavily on screens to help keep kids entertained.
While staying inside may feel easier in the moment, enabling children, regardless of their age, to spend time outside plays a significant role in their education and psycho-social development. Exposure to nature and the freedom to play are shown to improve children’s learning, particularly on tasks requiring attention, working memory, and collaboration with others. It also improves physical fitness, regulates sleep patterns, and helps them to appreciate and care for natural spaces. Adults who spent time outside as children are said to retain their love of nature into adulthood, developing a thirst for knowledge of the wider world.
For parents looking to encourage outdoor play this half term, here are some practical tips to make the challenges of outdoor learning more manageable and enjoyable.
1. If you view rainy, cold conditions negatively, then your kids are more likely to feel the same and may be more resistant to going outside. Instead, try reframing rainy weather as an exciting opportunity for adventure and outdoor exploration. It is the unpredictability of nature and adventure that provides the foundation for real-life learning that is both memorable and meaningful.
It helps to encourage your children to notice how wet weather changes the environment, whether that’s puddles forming, surfaces becoming slippery, or the landscape looking and feeling different. This is an ideal breeding ground for children to develop the fundamental skills of questioning how, what, who, when, and why. Curiosity and inquisitiveness empower children to be creative, coming up with effective solutions and adapting to the world around them.
Also, adjust your expectations around mess and encourage your kids to do the same. Muddy feet and damp clothes are commonplace at this time of year, so try to embrace it. Children need to know they won’t be in trouble for getting dirty so they can fully engage in unrestricted outdoor play.
2. Children often respond well to purpose-driven activities. Setting simple missions, such as collecting or clearing leaves, building small shelters with sticks, or creating short obstacle courses, makes outdoor time more engaging. This type of activity also encourages creativity and independent thinking. What's more, thanks to the collaborative nature of playing outside, children learn to become more empathetic and self-aware, work as part of a team, and ultimately, make meaningful connections with other children.
3. As well as increasing fitness, building bone strength, and even reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in children, outdoor physical activity improves their motor skills for better coordination, balance, and agility.
To support health and well-being, young people aged 5 to 17 need at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity every day, so it’s helpful for them to build a positive association with outdoor play from an early age. This will increase the likelihood that they will seek opportunities to be active independently while helping to build positive habits that extend into adulthood. You can support this by encouraging them to reflect on any changes they feel in their mood, sleep, or energy levels after spending time outdoors.
4. Outdoor play does not need to involve long excursions or complex planning. A short walk, or just ten minutes playing in the garden or local park, can make all the difference.
Try to establish a routine of small, regular periods of outdoor time, rather than introducing sudden or enforced changes. Over time, you'll help to establish consistent, manageable habits that support their independence, resilience, and greater enjoyment of being outdoors – whatever the weather.
5. While screens can offer entertainment and educational benefits, they often reduce everyday social interactions - essential for helping kids develop important interpersonal skills. Create regular opportunities for face-to-face interaction, whether that’s walks with friends or visiting family, to help children practice their communication and active listening skills. Setting small tasks or problems for them to solve with friends also exercises their negotiation skills and emotional awareness, both of which are essential in childhood and later life.
Dr John Allan, Head of Impact and Breakthrough Learning at PGL Beyond
