So back to my original plan of reflecting on designs that are empathic, and take in to consideration a wide range of what being a child is.
As I have written and talked about often before, one of the main reasons for me stepping away, personally, from the phrases “play-based” and “child-centred” education is that far too often we have normative views of what play and child are - and that this can therefore lead to non-inclusive play and learning environments no matter how well-intentioned we strive to be.
This is why I use the term play-responsive - where we adults need to observe the actual play to know how to respond as educators. And have been inspired by Biesta to use the term world-centred education, because the world is constantly changing, and what the children need to learn to be able to interact, participate and thrive in this world is therefore also changing. The children and play are always top of the agenda - because it is autonomy that I am striving towards - ensuring every single child can experience it - knowing that my interpretation of autonomy is
the ability to be our authentic selves together with others
Children who visit our spaces have all sorts of different needs, have different experiences and are evolving physically, emotionally, cognitively, socially and spiritually in different ways. We need to be designing spaces for well-being to ensure that those children who have negative childhood experiences can heal, and for those children who experience preschools/schools negatively (for a variety of reasons - autism, ADHD, physical disability, bullying etc) also have space to recombobulate and manage their day.
My post Empathic Design focuses mostly on the indoors - lighting, colours etc that can impact children.
The same can be considered for our outdoor spaces.
Colour - let’s avoid all the bright spaces - sure we can visit a playground that is bright and vibrant in its colour choices - because sometimes we need that spark of energy that come with reds, orange and yellow - and the contrast of primary colours - shouting out to us - “play here”. But every day? Sometimes we want/need the environment to whisper “play here” and we can find small corners, and natural colours that quietly invite.
Space - just like the indoors I think flexibility is important - this provides children with choice - and this is important for children to feel empowered - and also it allows the space to be big and loud when desired, but also small and quiet. It can provide opportunities for children to play in large groups, but also privately by themselves or with 1 or a few others.
The space should not feel too exposed - which I think too many school yards in particular feel, on the whole I think preschools are better at creating spaces for privacy and where children can feel safe.
Nature - as mentioned in my previous post biophilia is a key concept for when it comes to well-being. If your space is small and mostly concrete - then boxes filled with plants - vegetables to grow, flowers to attract bees and butterflies, or even small trees/bushes. And why not on wheels - so that these can be moved around to create small spaces for reading, block building etc and calm, at the same time being able to push them to the edges to create a big open space. The smaller the space the more flexible is better I think.
I have worked at spaces that did not have much room for nature in our outdoor space, so it became a conscious effort to ensure all the children had access to nature through weekly trips to the forest or other natural landscape, or play spaces that were heavily nature inspired.
Nature comes in the colours that are recommended for well-being!! Then the sound and smells and touch etc also add to that.
Also think about lighting - on bright sunny days what kinds of shade are we offering. Human made furnishings mostly have non-complex shadows, while trees offer a complexity that is soothing, sometimes mesmerising. Reflections off water can also be mesmerising - a large tray or bowl of water offered for water play that catches the sun and reflects onto something else is something to consider.
Adding semi transparent walls/hangings/objects also can add interest to the space - these can be coloured, and therefore add a splash of interest - or why not hang up prisms from the trees so that rainbows twinkle - rainbows seems to have magical properties when it comes to play and feeling good - not sure how that works, but there is that general sense of feel good wonder attached to them.
I think shared spaces for wonder is important - it can create a sense of community where everyone feels welcome - rather than simply interest based designs.
And just like the indoors, spaces to retreat when needed. This can be small dens, enclosed areas, behind a bush, or hammocks that envelop. (see previous photos for suggestions)
I had photos planned for this - put it made the post too long to be shared… so you will just have to wait for another day to see something about light.
Hope this inspires some reflections about your outdoor space - especially if you are in the process of a big or small renovation.
as always if you have questions, comments and experience - please share them