the Green Desk

The Green Desk is a resource for early childhood educators, childcare providers, administrators, and professionals seeking the latest information to create high quality, healthy outdoor environments for young children. Please feel free to share your questions and comments with us and we will do our best to address them in a timely manner. Responses will show up here as blog postings. If you subscribe to our RSS feeds or E-Newsletter, you will be notified when new topics are posted.

If you wish to email the green desk, please use the contact form and type GREEN DESK in the subject line. 

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Welcome to the Green Desk

Welcome to the Green Desk

The Green Desk is a responsive and dynamic platform for discussion, insights and guidance.

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Sensory Gardens

Design guidance, Pathways, Plantings

Sensory gardens provide intimate spaces where young children can be immersed in the scents, textures and colors of plants and related elements.

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Sand Play Areas: Design

Design guidance

Sand play is one of the most valuable natural behavior settings for children from toddlerhood through the early school years.  However, to stop sand from spreading across other outdoor learning environment settings, follow the simple steps provided.

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Edible Plants Resource

Edibles, Plantings

Learn about selecting edible plants in landscapes designed for children and families.

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Winter Play

Outdoor play, Physical Activity, Programming

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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Selecting, Installing, and Managing Plants

Plantings

A comprehensive guide to selecting, installing, and managing plants in landscapes designed for children and families within naturalearning.org.

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Autumn Children's Books and Outdoor Play

Children's Books, Outdoor play, Programming

Autumn is a magical time of year. Leaves change to brilliant yellows, oranges and reds. An abundance of natural loose parts fall to the ground and are now within reach. If inspiration is needed for creative outdoor play ideas, try connecting the stories and themes of children's books to autumn outdoor play.

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More on Physical Activity with Diane Craft

Physical Activity, Programming

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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Raising Funds and Resources for Outdoor Learning Environments

Fundraising

Naturalizing your center’s outdoor learning environment doesn’t require huge expenditures. There are a variety of ways to raise resources and funds for your OLE.

 

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Autumn Leaves for Play and Learning

Children's Books, Programming

The changing color of the autumn leaves is a great opportunity for exploring science, art and literacy with young children.

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