“Children’s access to outdoor play has evaporated like water in sunshine.”
—Mary Rivkin, Author of The Great Outdoors
Research finds that the absence of outdoor experiences has been detrimental to child development. Often, many parents are not able to get their children outside for long periods of unstructured play on a regular basis. Preschool educator, Margie Pines has developed enrichments classes that address this very issue!
Introducing Ta’am Teva! A program where children can experience and appreciate nature through a Jewish lens while they play outdoors in an intentional, supervised setting. Scroll down for class schedule and registration details! Time spent outside benefits children cognitively, physically and emotionally:
Cognitive Benefits
Research shows that time in nature helps children with executive function skills like the ability to focus and concentrate. Vigorous exercise also enhances brain development by encouraging the process of neurogenesis.
Physical Benefits
Children are multi-sensory beings that need time to run, explore and connect with the world outside. Important gross motors skills like coordination, endurance and agility are much easier to develop in an outdoor environment.
Emotional Benefits
Spending time in nature has a calming effect on adults and children. It helps develop skills to cope with stress or anxiety. A recent study indicates that children who spend more time in “green spaces” during the ages of birth through 10 are far less likely to develop mental health disorders during adolescence and into adulthood.
To learn more and to register please visit https://taamteva.org/.
More about Ta’am Teva program director Margie Pines!
Margie Pines is an accomplished early childhood teacher with over ten years of classroom experience. She received the 2017 Sue Pinsky Award for Excellence in Jewish Education from the JUF. Margie has been the Outdoor Specialist at Z Frank Apachi’s Pre School program for the past five years and is currently working on an Early Childhood Nature Certificate through Antioch University.
Research Sources:
- The Great Outdoors Advocating for Natural Spaces for Young Children by Mary Rivkin Published 2014 National Association for the Education of Young Children
- https://www.juf.org/news/local.aspx?id=442307
- https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/142/3/
*This blog article is sponsored by Ta’am Teva. Thank you for your support!