Boys and the outdoor environmentA Case Study to see how it can improve behaviour and thus their

learning

Little Star Nursery,Farrington Gurney

‘Boy….a noise with dirt on it’

Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable.

PlatoContext• Little Star Nursery is a small rural setting, registered for up to 24 children

attending at any one time between the ages of 2 and 5. At the time of this study we have 25 boys and 12 girls on our books. The majority of children attend on part time basis.

• The impetus for this study has come really from two directions. We have, as a nursery, accepted that boy’s play be supported as different from girls, we allow gun and war play, superheroes, goodies and baddies. This has come from readings (for example Penny Holland and the DFES publication ‘Confident, capable and creative: supporting boys’ achievements) and training and feedback from BANES Early Years conference ‘Getting it Right for Boys’. The other direction is the time and value that we place on being outside, both in the nursery grounds and beyond the walls of the setting.

What do I want from the study?

Proposing this project to colleagues at nursery “Does outdoor play improve behavior and therefore learning?” the simple answer resoundingly was “yes”, a short project perhaps. But I want to unpack this into:

• To what extent access to the outdoor’s environment both in the nursery setting and beyond can develop boy’s minds, attitudes and abilities

• The quality of the play that takes place• The role of the practitioner and how this type of

learning is transposed to the school environment

The focus for this study is a group of principally 4 boys but it will look at the broader inclusion of all at the setting.

It’s in their nature“Some parents say it is toy guns that make boys warlike. But give

a boy a rubber duck and he will seize its neck like the butt of a pistol and shout "Bang!"

George F. WillAmerican editor and news commentator

• What is “natural play” for boys?• Observing a typical day in the nursery I witness:• Squabbling (over the best digger)• Running, shouting• Throwing• Moving

What are the practitioners doing?• Instructing (albeit in the nicest way: “and wht

shouldn’t we run inside...?”)• Reprimanding: “You mustn’t squirt water at

people”• NOT engaging, not being able to talk to any of

the children effectively over the noise and distractions

• Looking for alternatives “I know, why don’t you go and burn off some of that energy outside?”

(to which suggestion the boys clamour for the door)

What really is going on here identifies the 2 initial strands of my enquiry to explore through case study evidence:

• Indentifying what learning potential there is in boy’s “natural” chosen type of play

• The role of the practitioner in identifying and supporting positive play.

• While we accept that we must support boys in weapon and super hero play (Holland 2003, Paley, 1984) putting this into practice to be able to ‘observe, support and extend the play’ (Bruce, 1997: 97) is not always so easy.

• Take the scenario of the 3 boys observed running in the nursery room. It is unsuitable play for the indoors environment: chaotic, noisy; destructive and potentially hazardous as chairs get knocked over, children trip and other less boisterous children in the nursery feel a little intimidated by the play; adults find supporting other members of the group difficult as talk cannot be heard over the volume of the energetic play.

Now take this play outside

• Using a chair as his prop, this boy has extended his cowboy play outside, fashioning his gun from his fingers. He is engaging is sustained conversation with the staff member on the other side of his gun!

• Interestingly enough, the group that previously was disrupting other play previously inside now dispersed with 2 of them inventing their own game of “cowboy raking”, leaving the third to develop his play alongside a staff member.

Making it real

• “Every genuine boy is a rebel and an anarch. If he were allowed to develop according to his own instincts, his own inclinations, society would undergo such a radical transformation as to make the adult revolutionary cower and cringe”.John Andrew Holmes

• A QCA report of 1998 (Can do better: Raising boy’s achievements in English) recognized that boys are not being praised for what they are already doing well

• I want to look at how, by identifying what some of the more apparently destructive and boisterous boys are doing well can support and lead this play positively and develop learning potential.

• Play needs to matter as in boys’ literacy action comes first and their story later (Pahl: 1999)

• ‘Child initiated activity has many characteristics in common with play, as it is wholly decided upon by the child, based on the child’s own motivation, and remains under the child’s control….It is guided by certain expectations within an Early Years setting regarding responsible use of space, time and purposes’ (Learning, Playing and Interacting, 2009)

• “…fantasy play is the glue that binds together all other pursuits, including the early teaching of reading and writing skills” Paley (2004):

• …….and no stage is better for this performance than outside.

Meet my Fireman Sam addict....• This 3 year old is obsessed with Fireman Sam and also

water play. He has challenging situations with his home life, as parents are going through a break up and behaviour is causing problems both at home and at nursery, especially amongst his peers.

• His acceptance of instruction and boundaries are poor.• Thus we see him transporting water around the

nursery inside and whilst often showing initiative and imagination causes problems to other children’s space and play (for example ruining play doh, home corner play)

• …………..He needs to be outside.

Given the right resources, support and encouragement, Peter created his very own fire engine that he shared with friends

• A handy clothes drier became the perfect fireman’s ladder for the engine

• (CD, PD)

• Mathematical thinking was employed in working out the best length hose in connecting the hose to the “water supply”

(PSRN)

• A friend lends a helping hand as they try to use the make shifty ladder to climb aboard the engine and attach the hose pipe

• (PSED, KUW)

• The project was finally completed. He proudly put out the fire with his hose and called to other staff members telling them about his creation and his play

(PSED, CLL)

This theme was then carried on a few days later with a wider group of boys (all of whom are specific focus of

this study).

• Solving the problem themselves of the muddy puddle developing when they hosed down the wall by moving a container to fill

• Play developed further in inventing a camp fire that had to be put out

• “Don’t touch it or your fingers come off”

• “If you put water on it it won’t burn you”

Other examples these boys have acted out:

• Being real painters• “We’re making brown”• “That’s the roof”• “We could be Tony”• “Who’s Tony?”• “He’s mummy’s

boyfriend. He painted the flat. We’re getting messy because we’re doing our work like Tony”

• Being Workmen• (about the cement):• Slodge it on. Yes slodge

it on. We’ll wait until it’s sticky and then go and get it. We’re dumping it”

• Being dustbin men

Other examples of being able to do what comes naturally so much easier outside that otherwise

may be chastised inside can be seen as:

• Throwing.........climbing..............digging

Collaboration

• “There is more time to be kind. To solve problems by playing in different ways, to include more kids and let them have a say”

• (Paley on play, 2004: p.54)• “Social relations, real relations of people,

stand behind all the higher mental functions and their relations”

• (Vygotsky, 1997: 106)

• The ethos at Little Star is that “everyone can play” but general observations of certain boys at nursery are of:– Squabbling– Fighting

Can play outdoors provide the right environment for positive relations and social interaction to work?

• All 3 of the boys in this series of pictures presents at differing levels and at different times, certain challenging behavior, but here they have all worked together to construct their den, collaborating, calling on an adult only when they want help. They then created their own private space to talk and “be”, in which they did without any adult intervention.

• Being outside has given the children a neutral space for play

• The choice of resources (a mix of milk crates, wooden posts and a tarpaulin) are non prescriptive

• There are no squabbles over “the best toy” as they all need to share the resources to create the den.

• In this example the children have learnt what is needed in play to make this particular play work (Bruce, 1997: 97).; they are learning the rules of play that they will be able to apply to their own behaviour later in life (Bodrova, 208:361)

The wider world beyondThe concept of a “free space” in which to learn

can be witnessed to a greater extent off site.

• It was a 2 year old who instigated this game of aeroplanes whilst walking in the nearby fields. All of the other (older) boys joined in, boys who would not have chosen to follow this younger child’s play in the confines of the nursery

• Writing at tables was something this boy would never freely choose to do at nursery and yet with no pressure or expectations here in the park he embarked on a drawing and a lengthy narrative about his house.

• This environment enforces the ideas of respect for their environment and others around them. The encounters really are “real life” situations: they know the importance of crossing the roads, they learn first hand about the effect of stinging nettles or getting wet, they see real diggers, tractors, wildlife, plants flowers and people.

The role of the practitioner

• ‘Both children and adults must value and learn to understand what is needed in play. Otherwise play won’t work’ (Bruce 1997: 97)

• If we are to fully support the child in their play and thus manage their own behavior in the outdoors environment then crucial to this development is the role of the practitioner.

What do staff members think?

• “We have to watch a large area outside so can’t focus all our attention on one group of children”

• “But I don’t know anything about ‘Ben 10’ ”

• “I can’t trust them to play”

• Holland urges us to challenge our laissez faire attitude to boy’s play, to engage with their play rather than see the outdoors as simply “letting off steam”. She stresses the importance of the adult to engage in conversation, to be stimulated to also interact with the materials. Play must be more than just a measure of a level of development but as a ‘mechanism propelling child development forward’ (Bodrova, 2008: 359).

“So it’s all about talking with them, conversation isn’t it?”

• Observing and talking to practitioners in my setting it is clear that they fully support and see the benefits of boys being outside but the challenge is to really value, understand and support their play and learning.

• This may take effort and more energy, for as we have seen boys by and large do not learn effectively sitting at tables.

• It is called for the staff members to tackle and get engrossed in water play, super heroes or firemen, to join the boys in their own play so they have self worth and a confidence for learning to take on with them to school.

• ‘When children feel confident in the environment they are willing to try things out, knowing that effort is valued’ (EYFS Principles into Practice card 3.3)

• We need to slow things down, watch and listen to every child and take time to say something back “Not because you’re waiting for the correct answer, no. You want to hear them because they’re telling their little make- believe stories” (Paley, 2004: 55)

What’s happening at school?

• "One of the main functions of the reception year is to form a crowd of individual children into a class and tolerance of diversity is generally low. Classroom discipline is a very public activity and children who do not conform to the rules will be publicly marked as different."

• Professor MacLure www.mmu.ac.uk/news/articles/1132

• Through talking to reception teachers and questionnaires some of the findings are:– That outdoor play lessens as the children progress

through the reception year and as they move through the school

– That some boys can’t be trusted to play, as there is insufficient supervision

– None of the teachers had attended any training on boys and outdoor play

Our responsibilities as practitioners

• To value boys’ play and to make time for them; to listen and learn

• To guide them as “play partners” through the “rules of play” and appropriate behaviour

• To help transitions to school by informing parents of the quality of learning that takes place outside

• In doing so we hope to provide boys with the confidence in their own abilities as they move through the school system.

What we aim to do

• To create an outdoor “play policy” that includes the staff and children in deciding ground rules, levels of acceptable play and behavior

• To further develop learning potentials off site (use of the new bell tent and water proof clothing, forest schools)

• To be constantly supporting reflective practice, to evaluate our own opinions, prejudices and preferences in order to fully support and encourage positive slef esteem in the boys’ play

• To not forget the girls!!!• To try and develop stringer links with the schools in order to

validate outdoor learning to its fullest.

References• Bruce, T (1997) Adults and children developing play together, European Early Childhood

Education Research Journal (5 (1): 88-89• Bodrova, E (2008) ‘Make-believe play versus academic skills: a Vygotskian approach to

today’s dilemma of early childhood education’ , European early Childhood Education Research Journal , 16: 3, 357 - 369

• DFES, (2007) Confident, capable and creative: supporting boys’ achievements• DFES, () Learning, Play and Interaction• Holland, P,(2003) We don’t play with guns here. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill• MacLure, M & Jones, L (2009) Classroom behaviour - research Why it's hard to be good,

Manchester Metropolitan University • Pahl, K (1999) Transformations Children’s meaning making in a nursery. Staffordshire:

Trentham Books• Paley, V.G (1984) Boys and Girls: Superheroes in the Doll Corner. Chicago, IL: University of

Chicago Press• Paley, V.G (2004) A Child’s Work the importance of fantasy play. London: The University of

Chicago Press• QCA (1998) Can Do Better: Raising Boys’ Achievement in English. London:QCA Publications• Vygotsky , L.S. (1997) The history of the development of higher mental processes. Cambridge,

MA, Harvard University Press.