Preparing for Cold Weather Outdoor Play

Winter is coming quickly, but there are a few easy things that you can do now to prepare yourself and your students for outdoor play all winter long.

1.Understand the benefits of cold weather outdoor play.  Did you know that playing outside when it is cold can boost the immune system and stimulate the imagination? This newsletter explains additional benefits, and would be a wonderful resource to share with parents!

2.Have a good attitude! If you don’t want to go outside, then your students won’t want to either.  Try to reframe your perspective and make outside time an adventure.  This may mean that the group is looking for something specific each time that you go out, or maybe you take an experiment out with you.  Whatever motivates you to get outside will also help excite the children.

3.Collect all of the gear.  Take inventory of your students’ hats, gloves, coats, and boots and send home any necessary reminders.  You may also want to raid the lost and found or ask for donations of extra gear so that you always have enough.

4.Review your daily schedule.  Does your current outside time work for putting on and taking off all of that extra gear? If not, you may want to think about other times of the day that might be more practical for going outside.  Also consider when the sun will be the warmest, every little bit of heat increases the comfort level.

5.Have a back-up.  Some days will be too cold for outdoor play, so be prepared with a list of easy indoor activities that will use up some energy and work those large muscles.  Make sure that you have some fun music on hand for dance parties and find a space that will work for relay races and large group games.

A little bit of extra planning right now will help you make sure that you get outside whenever possible!