Supporting children's development

The exercise habits developed in childhood affect a person’s physical development and thus also their overall quality of life. Positive exercise experiences in one’s childhood increase the likelihood of continuing a physically active lifestyle also in adulthood. Activities that support physical development are just as important for children’s mental development, especially outdoor learning, which puts both body and mind to work. Our goal is to use our products to create an environment that is a source of joy and a healthy life.

Outdoor training

Nature is a learning environment that gives you the opportunity to put both your body and mind to work. Outdoor learning helps to establish contact with the environment and the nature around us, to gain new knowledge through playful activities, support physical and motor development, while also improving the ability to concentrate. Children learn through what they can experience directly.

Observation, learning and experimentation are the main methods of outdoor learning. Positive outcomes indicate that children are calmer, more positive, able to concentrate better, more sociable and more respectful of each other. Nature has a calming effect, so communication is more relaxed and joyful. At the same time, nature also inspires, motivates to explore, experiment, and to test yourself. Children’s coordination is improving, play is becoming more diverse and creative, children are more skilled and also healthier.

There is a connection between health, learning and play, which we also take into account when developing our products. One good playground gives a child all the opportunities they need outdoors:

To observe, evaluate one’s options, find challenges, gather courage, draw conclusions.
Learn in order to gain new knowledge, experience curiosity, look for answers.
Experiment in order to test yourself, overcome yourself, enjoy your achievements.

Achievements and experience of success increase the child’s confidence, the courage to put themselves to the test again and again, achieving more and more each time. This strengthens the physique and sharpens the spirit.

Indoors, you study the facts. Outdoors, you learn how to make connections. This is a summarised difference between outdoor and indoor learning. Outdoor learning is a welcome and necessary addition to the traditional learning environment.

There are countries in the world where outdoor kindergartens are a common and recognised form, such as the Scandinavian countries. They are based on the principle that everything that can be done outdoors gets done outdoors. Our desire and goal is to give a boost to outdoor learning around the world.

Physical development

How a child’s physical development is affected by climbing around on a playground, what they feel and how their body reacts, can be observed by looking at what happens at different types of attractions:

When descending a slide, the level of endorphins and adrenaline rises in the body, causing the child to climb up and down the slide over and over again. The leg muscles receive a heavy workout with the same applying to the body muscles when attempting to maintain balance on the slide while the child’s coordination and sense of balance also develop.
When climbing and scrambling, the main work is done by children’s arm and leg muscles. In addition to growing strength, climbing also teaches children to assess risks and plan their next steps.
In order to gain momentum on a hanging swing, both arm and leg muscles must be put to action in a skillful cooperation, while using the abdominal and back muscles to maintain balance.
The best way to develop a sense of balance and coordination is on the spring swing which alternately activates the flexor and the extendor muscles of the hands and body.
In addition to the force of gravity, the child also has to cope with the centrifugal force on the carousel. This requires a quick ability to adapt and react, and to control the body according to the speed and amplitude.
The sandbox develops the child’s creativity, but the body gets its workout here as well. The work of the fingers develops motor skills while sitting or squatting in one position for a long time helps the child to develop a better sense of their body while trying to find new and more comfortable positions.
Beams and health trail elements are like a gym in the wild. In addition to developing balance, coordination and dexterity, using them to perform exercises gives a good workout to all major muscle groups.
The net attractions can accommodate more children at the same time, teaching them how to take each other into account, in addition to developing the physical abilities of the climbers.
When you start jumping on a trampoline, your leg muscles get the first workout, but as your momentum increases, the muscles in your whole body must be tightened to keep you balanced in order to protect the bones and joints when landing. Both your blood supply and endurance will improve.

Mental development

A child who wants to learn needs the support of an adult. Gaining new knowledge creates additional interest, and questions must definitely get answered. A child who knows national flags is very likely to look at geographical maps as well. A child who knows car brands will soon become interested in traffic signs. A child who likes a memory card game will very likely be sitting behind a checkerboard or chessboard soon. The role of adults is to guide children, and here are some ideas:

AGE GROUP 3 – 4

rotational exercises plus general and fine motor activities;
dynamic eye adjustment exercises (with a ball);
jumping on a trampoline (only with a safety padding) and daily rolling exercises for 5 – 10 minutes.

AGE GROUP 4 – 5

In addition to the exercises for the younger age group:

exercises for reading abstract terms (words, symbols, car tags, flags);
walking on a stripe (younger children) or on a beam (older children);
ten flash memory cards have ten words (5 words x 2 cards). The number of words is increased every week. This is a classic memory game that grows as the learning process continues – cards are added every week.

AGE GROUP 5 – 6

In addition to exercises for younger age groups:

short word reading exercises;
functional thinking exercises (e.g. asking children what flag has a circle, which one has a cross, etc.);
pairing exercises (France / Eiffel Tower; Egypt / pyramids; Australia / kangaroo…);
if possible, we should teach children the anthems.

AGE GROUP 6 – 7

regular pre-school program;
all exercises for the age group 5 – 6, with more countries and capitals added;
riddles

Used materials:

NTC learning system (Ranko Rajović, MD), Children and movement (Marion Piisang, Tallinn University, Institute of Health Sciences and Sports), Outdoor education (B.Brügge, M.Glantz, K.Sandell).