Course material

1. Answers: Description Of The Playscape The place spaces will be
Answers:
Description Of The Playscape
The place spaces will be based on an area of 500-square metres that contains both indoor
and outdoor spaces and facilities. There will be one main door for the playscape for both
entrance and exit. The playscape has four major zones and one of these four zones is
subdivided into two zones. The left side of the Zone 1 is built with completely natural
elements such as trees, mud, grass, stones, logs, wooden sticks, sandpit and twigs. The left
side of zone 1 is aimed to enable the children to play in a natural outdoor environment. The
entire zone 1 is based on an outdoor environment, where the children can participate in
physical activity-related games. The right side of zone 1 is developed to enable the children
in water-related playful activities. On the right side of zone one, an artificial fountain is
placed that can simulate the water flow of natural waterfalls. This area is filled with
greenery, water and stones so that the student can play with any of these natural materials
while being exposed to the water.
Zone 2 is designed to provide a confined area for the children with that they can play with
various natural components and explore the different phenomena of these elements. In this
area, a large size table is provided where different natural components are presented with
the seating arrangement. Here the children can seat at the table or can use the chairs to play
with sands, clays, and stone piles. The wood sticks, string even feathers are also placed in
this zone with the back, and board. The materials are built with soft hazard-free materials
and the woods are highly fragile and not sharp.
Zone 3 is allocated with two tables filled with fruits and vegetables. One table is filled with
different fruits namely watermelon, apples, cherry, grapes and others. Another table is
allocated for the vegetables that include pumpkin, radish, latus, broccoli and other
vegetables. Both fruits and vegetables are placed in the sand tray, where the children can
find new types of vegetables and fruits that are hiding under the sand. Zone 4 is full of
colourful flowers and structures. From the floor colour to the lighting and tent design a
bright colour combination is used. This zone is planned to provide a magical experience to
the children.

2. Ideas Behind The Model
The core idea behind this playscape is Nature Play and therefore, every zone of this
playscape is built with natural elements such as trees, stones, waters, clay, sands, fruits, and
flowers (Moser, 2018). Within the core frame of nature play, five key theories are utilised in
this model. The first theory is the Natural Environment Place Belongings. Zone 1 is
specifically designed in a way so that the children can be exposed to grass, trees, mud,
stones and tree logs, where they can play within the natural outdoor environment while
developing the sensory experience through “structure, textures, colours and scents”.
Zone 2 enables the children to play with different natural elements in an indoor
environment where they improve their cognitive ability and intelligence through observing
the scientific phenomenon of a natural element. For solid fragile elements, wooded sticks
are provided, as semi-solid element clay is provided that the children can use to make a
different shape (Wojciehowski & Ernst, 2018). Different coloured feathers are also provided
to develop the understanding of floating and weight, where a blackboard is provided so that
they can draw as per their observation. In this zone, the children can understand the basic
scientific phenomenon and utilize their creativity and the students can draw any natural
element and any ideas regarding these natural elements.
The water fountain and bucket are provided in zone one so that they can develop their
sensory experience by engaging themselves in water-based play. The soothing flow of water
enables the children to understand one of the keys and precious elements of the natural
environment (Ouvry & Furtado, 2019). The concept of “Food Items and Learning Material”
is used for zone 3, where the children can play with different types of fruits and vegetables.
The fruits and vegetables are presented with the sand so that the children have to explore
through the sand for finding particular food elements. The tools are provided to understand
the detailed structure of the food materials and how the materials interact with solid
equipment. Zone 4 is developed to “Provoke Wander, Curiosity and Intellectual Challenge”
(Inoue et al., 2019). Here different natural phenomena such as light colour, reflection, and
shadows are presented in an interactive way so that the children can explore across the
zone while finding different attributes of light, shadow and reflection.
Role Of The Environment To Transform Playscape
The natural environment based playscape development helped to enhance the awareness
regarding the holistic approach to early childhood learning and development. The nature-
focused design of the playscape helped to develop more interest in the FLIGHT framework
and the process of implementing the FLIGHT framework by exposing the children to the
natural environment. The nature play theory and implementation in this mini-model helped
to transform the understanding of the learning-oriented playscape and it enhanced the
knowledge about the significant contribution of natural elements to the cognitive,
intellectual, emotional, social and physical development of children.

3. Flight Framework And The Playscape
Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework, which is known as the FLIGHT framework
promotes a learning and care framework of early childhood through holistic goal-based
curriculum activities that enable an active, creative, expressive, observational and
interactive experience of children with the environment (Whitty et al., 2020). The playscape
designed in this model includes all the environmental elements in which the children can
develop their understanding through sensory organs and activities while exploring,
examining, observing and interacting with natural elements. This Mini-Model is designed to
ensure that the children can have holistic development in physical ability, cognitive
awareness, intelligence and socio-emotional components.
References
Inoue, M., Elliott, S., Mitsuhashi, M., & Kido, H. (2019). Nature-based early childhood
activities as environmental education?: A review of Japanese and Australian
perspectives. Japanese Journal of Environmental Education, 28(4), 4_21-28
Moser, H. (2018). Nature play is the developing brain's superfood. Educating Young
Children: Learning and Teaching in the Early Childhood Years, 24(2), 45-48.
Ouvry, M., & Furtado, A. (2019). Exercising muscles and minds: Outdoor play and the early
years curriculum. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Whitty, P., Lysack, M., Lirette, P., Lehrer, J., & Hewes, J. (2020). Passionate About Early
Childhood Education Policy, Practice, and Pedagogy: Exploring Intersections Between
Discourses, Experiences, and Feelings... Knitting New Terms of Belonging. Global Education
Review, 7(2), 8-23.
Wojciehowski, M., & Ernst, J. (2018). Creative by Nature: Investigating the Impact of Nature
Preschools on Young Children's Creative Thinking. International Journal of Early Childhood
Environmental Education, 6(1), 3-20..