Nature Talks

Amy Jones is a qualified teacher and Early Years and Outdoor Learning Specialist with over a decade of experience in education. Her background includes several years teaching in Reception, where she developed a strong passion for outdoor learning, child-led exploration and creating environments that inspire curiosity and communication. She has also led professional development for practitioners, with a particular focus on early years practice, mental health and wellbeing, and outdoor learning. Amy is also the founder of Play Outdoors.Joanna Feast is an education consultant specialising in PSHE and wellbeing culture, and is the founder and director of Epiphany ETC Ltd. Joanna’s focus is on promoting and training adults on PSHE, wellbeing and health education in schools, aligned organisations, charities and businesses. She is also a director of Gabriels Wellbeing and Education, an outdoor learning charitable organisation, and of Clean Well-Being, through which she teaches therapeutic movement and exercise.

• AcknowledgementsPart 1: The foundationsChapter 1: Setting the tone for communication and language development‘What is this? Why is it spiky? It feels a bit prickly’Why communication and language matterSetting the scene for language and communication development in the outdoorsLanguage learning outdoors: an under-researched topic?Exploring inequalities in language and communication development‘Closing the word gap’: suggestionsSuggestions for practitionersThe case for supporting communication and language development in the early yearsUsing this book in your practiceWho is this book for?What is covered in this book?A note from the authors‘Nature Talks’: guiding principlesChapter summaryChapter 2: A nature play-based approach to language and communication skill developmentA play-based approachTaking an evidence-based perspective to playThe brain and playThe role of the adultHow play supports communication and languageHow does outdoor play support language and communication?Creating a communication-friendly spaceWhole-child benefitsThe changing nature of languageBringing a play-based approach to lifeHealth and safety, risk and explorationProfessional confidence and competenceSex differencesLess-served communitiesChapter summaryChapter 3: Supporting communication and language through high-quality interactionsWhat is meant by communication and language?CommunicationLanguageWhy are communication and language important to children’s development?How vocabulary supports effective communication and languageTiered vocabularyInteractions: why they matterQuality interactionsThe building blocks of quality interactionPhysical space and movementShared attentionRepetitionInterplayActive listeningPutting it into practice: the ShREC approachA toolkit for high-quality interactionChapter summaryChapter 4: Awe, wonder and play schemasCuriosity outdoorsAdults look, but do they truly see?Whatever the weather: meaningful contexts for talkHow do we talk about the weather with children?Rethinking the weatherOutdoors as a resourcePlay schemasPlay schemas for communication and languagePlay schemas and child developmentNine common play schemasHow might play schemas support language?Example language from schematic playHow to support children with their language and communication: what practitioners can doChapter summaryChapter 5: The childWhat affects ‘the child’ and how can this be applied to language and communication development?Brain development and plasticityPsychological safety and learningPromoting safetyBeing safe outdoorsUnderstanding children’s behaviour in terms of traumaSupport for practitionersTrauma-sensitive languageHow children use play to process emotions and their experiencesPsychological projection and young childrenChapter summaryChapter 6: Child developmentHow best to support children’s developmentUnderstanding the wider determinants of health: contextualising children’s experiencesPrenatal language exposureRecognising the evolution of communication and language development modelsThe Communication WheelHow the Communication Wheel works in practiceRealising and supporting developmental milestones: reference points within ‘typical’ language and communication developmentAppreciating the complexities of ‘typical’ developmentIdentifying difficulties in communication and languageAssessment as support: responsive monitoring and early identificationSignposted resourcesEarly interventionChapter summaryChapter 7: The role of the adultWhy adults can make a differenceThe diverse role of an adultAn enabling environmentAdjusting the approachPrinciples of effective practiceReflective practitionerInteracting… or interjecting and interrupting?Chapter summaryChapter 8: Outdoor spaceWhole-child development and the outdoor environmentHow movement can support children’s communication and language developmentIdeas to bring this to life in your setting/practiceDesigning a communication-friendly environment outdoorsA communication-supportive environment: the physical environmentThe Communication Wheel in the physical environmentPreparing the environmentAuditing and developing the spaceWhy develop the outdoor space?Auditing the outdoor spaceCreating spaces and finding solutionsProviding varied experiencesCaring for the environmentChapter summaryChapter 9: Equipment and resourcesUsing your environment as the starting pointResources for playLess is moreChoosing with intentionContinuous and enhanced provisionBringing the inside outResources to support play provocations outdoorsBooks, songs and rhymes as essential resources for communication and languageBooksSongs and rhymeWhy songs and rhymes promote developmentCreating a basic kitCore materialsEnhanced MaterialsPractical considerationsChapter summaryChapter 10: Seasons and weatherWhy outdoors all year round?Clothing and practicalitiesEssentials for practitionersAn all-weather kit: suggested layeringThe core kit (to be adjusted based on weather conditions)Warmer monthsColder monthsReframing languageCreating an almanac: a seasonal guide for practitionersAutumn (September, October, November)Winter (December, January, February)Spring (March, April, May)Summer (June, July, August)WeatherInteractions and the weatherChapter summaryChapter 11: Senses in the outdoorsThe outdoors: A multi-sensory environmentWhat are the sensory systems?Sensory perception and processingThe sensory aspects of outdoors: are they linked to reducing physiological stress?Sense of sound: noise levels and communication and languageNoise outdoorsAttention and focus: our senses and communication skillsExecutive function and communication outdoorsMovementNeurodiversity and sensory differences/sensitivitiesSensory play: why is it important and what impact can it have?Sensory stimuli from nature and outdoor environmentsChapter summaryPart 2: ProvocationsNature Talks: Creating nature-based play experiences to support communication and languageWhat are ‘provocations’?What is an ‘invitation to play’?How ‘provocations’ and ‘invitations to play’ are linkedNature Talks: the design of the provocationsPractical application in settingsRevisiting, reusing and making connectionsSafetySupervision and the practitioner’s roleChoking and small partsNatural materials and foragingChapter summaryThe provocationsAutumnWinterSpringSummerReferencesIndex