Nature-Based Play- Child’s Creativity, Skills, and Cognitive Development
Nature Based Play in Children
Why Outdoor Learning Matters for Every Child
Lydia Mackie, Harvard graduate and early childhood educator with years of classroom and outdoor teaching experience, has seen how nature changes children’s behavior and language. “I noticed that behavior was a lot better when I was outdoors and that children were just eager to get outside to learn,” she recalls.
Outdoor learning is valuable for every child, but it can be especially impactful for children with additional sensory needs. “It’s really great for my students with autism as well, because they have a lot of sensory needs often,” Mackie explains.
The Science Behind Outdoor Learning
Research shows that outdoor play isn’t just recreation — it’s developmentally powerful. There were over 36 studies performed across 12 countries on the effectiveness of nature-based play for children. These studies emphasize the importance of nature-based play for a child to develop their sensory skills, motor skill development, emotional self-regulation, nature-relatedness, and better rates of creativity. Another study in Frontiers in Psychology confirmed that outdoor settings enhance attention and communication across diverse groups of children.
For kids with autism or sensory processing challenges, these benefits are often magnified. Natural textures, sounds, and open space can provide calming alternatives to overstimulating indoor environments.
Outdoor Activities That Support Language and Sensory Needs
Nature Texture Walk
Collect rocks, leaves, or sticks and let children describe how they feel: “This leaf is smooth. This rock is rough.” For children with sensory sensitivities, this provides safe exposure to different textures.
Observation Corners
Sit quietly and watch ants, worms, or birds. Mackie suggests replacing labels with prompts: “Instead of saying, ‘That’s a worm,’ you can say, ‘The worm is moving slowly. Where do you think he’s going?’”
Water Play
“Pouring water is language,” Mackie says. “You can say, ‘I’m pouring fast, you’re pouring slow,’ and compare what happens.”
Water also provides a calming sensory input for children who need regulation.
Stroller or Sidewalk Sound Hunts
Even a city walk can become a language lesson. Ask, “What do you hear?” If your child doesn’t respond, model it: “I hear a bird. Tweet tweet.”
Pretend Play With Natural Objects
Rocks can become “money,” flowers can be “food.” Pretend play encourages sentence building while engaging imagination.
How Parents Can Model Language Outdoors
Mackie teaches parents three simple techniques, widely used by speech-language pathologists:
Self-talk: narrating your own actions (“I’m scooping dirt into the bucket”).
Parallel talk: describing what your child does (“You’re pouring water into the cup”).
Open-ended questions: encouraging longer responses (“What do you think will happen if we mix the water and sand?”).
“Self talk is when you describe the things that you’re doing… parallel talk is when you narrate what a child is doing… open ended questions are when you ask children questions that there’s not just one answer to,” Mackie explains.