Physical Activity

Summer Play: Beat the Heat

Outdoor play, Physical Activity
Children enjoy free play with a water hose.
Temporary shade canopy has been installed to priovide temporary shade at Chapel Hill Day Care Center, NC.
Homemade fruit juice popsicles cool children on a hot day at Heron Pond Montessori, Kitty Hawk, NC.
Children enjoy homemade fruit juice popsicles in the shade at Heron Pond Montessori, Kitty Hawk, NC.
Children enjoy a range of water play, from water guns to full body imersion at Heron Pond Montessori, Kitty Hawk, NC.

Summers are hot. Here are some ideas for beating the heat and making the most of our hot summers.

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More on Physical Activity with Diane Craft

Physical Activity, Programming
Diane Craft, PhD leads an outdoor interactive session titled, "Outdoor Active Play."
Diane Craft, PhD. presents at the 9th Annual Natural Learning Design Institute.
Diane Craft, PhD facilitates an outdoor interactive session titled, "Outdoor Active Play."

Dr. Diane Craft spoke at the 9th Annual Natural Learning Design Institute and shared innovative, but practical, ideas for increasing physical activity levels in young children.

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Winter Play

Outdoor play, Physical Activity, Programming
A boy plays with a truck in the snow at the Wellesley College Child Study Center.
A child shovels snow for fun at the Wellesley College Child Study Center.
Children catch snowflakes on their tongues at the Wellesley College Child Study Center.
As the sun and physical activity warm the children they shed their hats and mittens. A bare fig tree makes a great hat rack.
Water frozen with food coloring make colorful ice blocks that are fun for play.

As temperatures start to drop, so does our motivation to go outside and play. A greater effort is required to prepare children for outdoor play, but with a little planning and the proper clothing it can be well worth the extra effort. As our friends in Sweden say, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.”

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Grass Mazes

Design guidance, Physical Activity, Plantings
Grass mazes have come in a variety of forms and sizes. (Building Blocks, Charlotte, NC)
A girl enjoys the sensory experience the grass maze of Miscanthus sinensis 'Adiago' affords at Genesis Academy, Burnsville, NC.
Exploring a dormant grass maze in cooler months.
Calamgrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' (Feather reed grass) contrast with Verbena bonariensis. (Courtesy of Hoffman Nursery)
Beautiful burgundy-red foliage of Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' (Shenandoah switch grass). (Courtesy of Hoffman Nursery)
Striking pink seed heads of Pennisetum orientale 'Karley Rose' (Karley Rose fountaingrass). (Courtesy of Hoffman Nursery)

Grass mazes are composed of informal arrangements of ornamental "clumping" grasses. Grass mazes support chase games like tag and hide-and-seek, and provide space for intimate conversations, rest, and reflection. Design guidance for grass mazes is provided.

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