2.1 Explain The Requirements Of The Natural Environment

Rich environments indoors have an immediate effect on the quality of children’s learning and development. A rich environment is comfortable, interesting, attractive and appropriate for the child or children who use it. For some children it becomes like a second home where they eat. A suitable environment for a young baby will be very different from a suitable environment for a four or five year old although some things will be the same. Environments should be attractive and make children feel safe and secure and happy to be there and they should also be places where children can confidently play and learn.
Indoor space needs careful planning and needs to be flexible to accommodate children’s changing interests and needs. Resources should be
Children who spend most of their day in one environment need surfaces that respond to them, not hard surfaces that they must conform to. Sand, water, grass, rugs and pillows, and the lap of a caregiver respond to a child’s basic physical needs.
Flexible materials and equipment. Children can use sand, water, or play dough in a variety of ways, depending on their maturity, ability, past experience with the materials, interest, and involvement. A jigsaw puzzle, on the other hand, has only one correct solution. Legos® and tinker toys have specific physical qualities that must be adhered to, but are also flexible enough to allow a range of creative activities. Programs should include lots of materials that have an abundance and variety of uses to give children a sense of creativity and control .
Simple, complex and super complex units.Learning materials can be simple, complex, or super complex. Simple materials are those with essentially one function, complex those with two, and super complex, those with more than two. For example, a pile of sand, is a simple unit. If one adds a plastic shovel to the sand it becomes a complex unit. Adding a bucket of water or collection of toy animals to the sand and shovel creates a super-complex unit. The more complex the materials, the more play and learning they
Ideally they should have access to outdoor space on a daily basis, regardless of all except the worst weather. Being outdoors allows them to move around without many of the restrictions of being inside. They can fill their lungs with clean air and use all of their senses to appreciate the colours, different noises, the sense of space and of scale. Being outdoors supports confidence and allows opportunities for big scale play, problem-solving and creativity in the company of other children. Physical activity is really important. So is calculated risk taking. In the outdoors, children’s use of language is five times greater than indoors. Resources don’t need to be expensive. Old tyres, some logs and crates will stimulate imagination and can be used in a number of ways.The outdoors supports active learning and when balanced with quiet areas for reflection can really enhance children’s learning. For children, outdoor play is as important as indoor play. Playing on large play equipment helps children develop large motor skills such as running, climbing and riding tricycles or other wheel toys. With adult guidance and supervision on a playground, children can learn to experience risk taking and develop risk