Playing & Learning Outdoors wins national award!

October 24, 2014 by Jan White 6 Comments

Well, it won!  The recently-new second edition of Playing and Learning Outdoors, as described in my earlier post when it was short-listed, has been selected as the winner of the Staff Resources category of this year’s Nursery World awards.  I wasn’t able to attend the Gala Dinner event at the end of September, but the shiny trophy and framed certificate are proudly waiting on my mantelpiece for my children to see when they are home next.  I think this is the first actual trophy I’ve ever won (my son has more than 20 from his childhood football career!).  I’m very chuffed to have this recognition for the book, and grateful for all the ongoing positive feedback I get about how it has helped both students on courses and practitioners who are thinking about their provision outdoors.

Thanks in particular to Julie Mountain (of Play, Learning, Life) and Juliet Robertson (of Creative Star Learning) for their written recommendations for the award, and to Routledge for both submitting the entry and publishing both editions in the first place.  While you’re thinking about good books for outdoor play, check out Julie’s book The Little Book of Free and Found, and Juliet’s Dirty Teaching: A beginner’s guild to learning outdoors – both are wonderful additions to the resources to support effective and satisfying learning through play outdoors.

This is what Julie has to say about the book (she originally wrote this review for her own blog site):

Playing and Learning Outdoors – review

“This is one of the most valuable books in my very substantial ‘outdoor learning and play’ library and I was delighted by the arrival of a second edition, as my first edition is pretty dog eared by now. What makes this book so special is the combination of Jan’s phenomenal knowledge and understanding of this subject, her undimmed delight in it and her generosity in sharing what she knows.

Generosity and abundance are key themes of Jan’s and I love the way that this attitude permeates the book. For example, the potential of elements such as sand are explored thoroughly, examining the value of sand play in early years, offering ideas about good resources for sand play, suggesting ways to enrich the experience, identifying outcomes to look out for and then still more: lists of books, websites and blogs to read. Each chapter begins with an overview of what it covers and ends with suggestions for further research. In between, Jan’s informative and lively writing style engages the reader and clarifies complex pedagogical concepts.

I work with many schools and settings each year and this book is on my ‘must have’ resources list for each of them. Any setting aiming or claiming to provide high quality outdoor play experiences should have this book – not on a shelf, but open, well thumbed and with slightly mud spattered covers and full of hastily inserted post it notes indicating points of interest. It’s a book to be used, not filed. It’s also a book that works within any educational jurisdiction, focusing as it does on children’s key developmental imperatives rather than the narrow educational outcomes Governments (of any and all flavours) seek. Jan’s always been a huge advocate for connecting with the natural world and this is fully explored within the pages of this second edition.

The resource lists and ‘further information’ sections are invaluable references and I’ve found myself delving more deeply into the pedagogical approaches Jan describes in this book because of a intriguing or unexpected signpost to another resource. Impeccably researched, this second edition will provide experienced outdoor practitioners and new students alike with fresh insights and new sources of inspiration.

If you hear Jan speak you cannot help but become captivated by the scenarios she uses to illustrate excellent outdoor play in the early years. This book does full justice to her work and I’d highly recommend it to settings aiming to improve the quality of outdoor play and for practitioners wishing to develop their own understanding of the elements that combine to support high quality outdoor play.”

Thank you Jules and Juliet – and thank you Nursery World!