03/21/2026
Don't underestimate the power of unsupervised outdoor play! When I say unsupervised, I don't mean I'm not watching them🫣. What I mean is that I don't micro-manage what they are doing. All I do is observe and coach from a distance, as long as they are being safe with themselves and others.
For context, in the video, the kids were playing with things that were left out in the rain. The red sensory table didn't have anything in it but a couple sticks and some rain water from the night before. They started to "feed" the crab 🦀 with gravel, running back and forth to fill a little wagon with more gravel and throwing them in as they watch the water splashed. I let them filled the table until it's about to spill over, which also happened to be almost time to go back inside for lunch, so I told them to start emptying the gravel and put them back to where they got them from.
I found some orange traffic cones and gave it to them to use as a sifter. Well, that turned into what you see on the video. I didn't record it fast enough, but they were using such big words like "I wonder what would happen if....", "how did the rocks stay in the cone?", "can you help me with...", etc.
I could've said "No, don't move the gravel!", "No, don't play with the rain water", or "Why not just play with xyz". Instead, I sat in the middle of the backyard, and tell them to "Go, just play! I'll be here watching. Remember, we have to clean up the backyard when we're done."
They learned so much and "all" they do is play outside.
Let me know what you think! 🤔
How do you let your kids play when they're outside? Do you stand right next to them, or do you let them explore on their own while you observe?
