.

{Outdoor Play Party: The Benefits of Old-Fashioned Outdoor Play}


Old-school outdoor play! There's a lot to be said for it:



Swinging: Develops balance, coordination, spacial awareness & proprioception (knowing where your body parts are in space and what they're doing without seeing them), strengthens muscle development, and provides stress relief.



Hopscotch: Develops social skills - negotiating rules, taking turns; gross motor skills and agility; balance and coordination; counting and learning to read numerals.


Rolling down hills: (even small ones!): Develops spacial awareness and proprioception, balance, coordination, and gross motor skills, and aids sensory development.


Running, leaping, jumping over hurdles: Develops fitness, gross motor skills, coordination, and strength.



Not to mention, the exercise will help your kids grow healthy hearts and bodies, have reduced stress levels, and help them sleep better at night!




The last edition of the Outdoor Play Party brought us 39 ways to play outdoors. I loved the simplicity of Little Wonders' Days' Painting Sticks post - what a lovely, relaxing way to spend the day outdoors with your children!


 painted sticks via Little Wonders' Days

Link up your outdoor play posts below!
- Any kind of children's outdoor play-related posts are welcome! (Any other types of posts will be deleted to ensure we keep this focused as a resource for outdoor play ideas.)
- Please just include a link back to this post (either in your post or sidebar) to help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play!
- Please feel free to grab the Outdoor Play Party button from the sidebar and/or include a text link back.
- Each time we will feature an activity from the previous party. By contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished. 
Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us every other week! The linky goes live every second Friday at 12:01 GMT+1.



Resources:

Photobucket