Understanding risk and when to take risks is an important skill that all children need to learn. It stands them in good stead for adulthood where
we make constant judgements and assessments regarding the safety of an activity. This judgement can be to linked to physical, emotional, personal or even monetary activities. These risks may be as simple as crossing the road or as complex as deciding to marry someone or invest heavily in a new business. Playing during childhood is a constant rehearsal for adulthood and during play we see the adaptation of strategies in order for children to succeed as adults.If we prevent children from taking these risks, we are not allowing them to fully develop their skills before adulthood.
The children need opportunities such as in this video of tonight’s excitement at Night OWLS! They need to jump off walls, to make sure they jump far enough away from the stone so as not to hit their heads. To make sure there are no other children jumping at the same time. To check the landing zone is relatively free of hazards and to ensure no other people are within flip zone of this wonderfully generous and bendy tree. Were the children were enjoying themselves and playing in their instinctively natural and spontaneous way? The children’s expressions and comments say it all. Check out the video on our facebook page, Outdoor Woodland Learning School.