The natural playground provided toddlers with ample opportunities to explore and demonstrate their imagination, creativity, risk-taking, hard work, persistence, and decision-making skills. Through these activities, toddlers shared experiences and encouraged each other, leading to peer education. This direct contact with nature expanded their common sense and enhanced their connection and relational skills.
Toddlers became experts at balancing, enjoying activities like walking, crawling, climbing, and jumping as they faced challenges on the playground's edges. As younger toddlers joined in, they learned from the older ones how to move, play, and develop their balancing skills. For example, Saylor challenged herself to walk quickly on a large log, managing her balance by walking slowly or crawling when she felt unsafe. Similarly, Quinn worked on climbing both big and small logs with the right techniques, practicing safe jumping as well.
Tunnel climbing was particularly popular, with toddlers lining up to climb one after another. Dante, who initially needed help, proudly declared, “I did it!” His determination to climb independently grew, and he faced the challenges of height with perseverance standing at the top. Tirhas extended the challenge by encouraging jumping from the tunnel without assistance. Amaira, Austeja, and Ophelia completed the challenge comfortably, while others needed minimal help. Tirhas offered a gentle hand to encourage them to jump. Austeja, standing on top of the tunnel, exclaimed, “I am big,” enjoying the sense of accomplishment and the view from above.
Toddlers also challenged themselves on the higher logs, moving with anticipation to reach from one end to the other. They often needed help to transition to lower logs and began calling for assistance when needed. Ophelia, a confident climber, found it challenging to move to a lower level independently. Tirhas guided her on safe movement, but Ophelia decided to jump down from the big log and climb the lower one to continue walking and jumping on her own.
The monkey bars became another area of interest. Educators initially assisted with grasping the bars and swinging, but toddlers soon began to climb from the side and swing independently. Tirhas introduced a wooden stepping stone, making it easier and more inviting to explore. Lucy, now able to swing longer more freely and safely, by asking friends in front of her to move. Delilah intended hanging like a “sleepy sloth” and worked hard to achieve her goal. With guidance from Vanessa, who demonstrated different hand positions and foot placement, Delilah succeeded in hanging from the bar, feeling proud of her achievement.
Kayden is the star when it comes to riding a cycle, demonstrating impressive knowledge and technique in controlling it under various circumstances. He takes his friends on a cycle ride and managed the added weight with ease. One day, he asked Tirhas for a bigger cycle so he could take Amaira along. When Tirhas inquired about how he could use the barrel and small cycle together, Kayden cleverly figured out that he could hook the barrel to the cycle and have Amaira ride in it. Proudly, he showed Tirhas his solution with a big smile, saying, “Look, Tirhas!” Later, when it was time to park, Kayden faced a new challenge as parking with the barrel was trickier than with just the cycle. Despite this, he skillfully navigated the situation, knowing exactly how to turn his wheels to back up straight and park the cycle perfectly.
