Everything you need to know about Starting outdoor nursery
- Mellissa McNaughton
- Sep 9, 2021
- 4 min read
My daughter Willow turned three a few months ago now and as much as part of me would love to keep her at home and spend all our time just her and me I know that for her own development and social skills she needs to go to nursery. We don'
t really have any other children her age we see often and she has no siblings so most of her time is spent socialising with adults. Willow tells me often that she wants some friends so her dad and me made the decision to look into nursery for her.
We weighed up the pros and cons of a standard indoor nursery setting and for us there were just much more cons than pros. There happens to be an outdoor nursery in the nearest village to us which is super popular in the area and I put out the feelers to see what it was all about. We were lucky that we got her in for two days a week which is perfect as It gives me a little break and her dad and I a little time together as well.
She has been for her first week now and is absolutely loving it. She says she has lots of friends and is just enamoured by her key worker.
What is an outdoor nursery?
An outdoor nursery is a nursery where the children are taken outdoors into a natural environment like the woods every day. Some nurseries have a partly indoor and partly outdoor approach and some like the one we are sending Willow to are fully outdoors no matter the season or weather. Currently there are around 30-40 outdoor nurseries in Scotland and they are popping up all over the UK as more and more people are realising what a great thing they re for children.
What are the benefits of an outdoor nursery?
The first and one of the biggest benefits is that children are active all day when at these nurseries. Three and four year olds have boundless energy and allowing them to explore and use up this energy, even if it is only a few days a week is so important in keeping children fit and healthy. Another massive benefit is that the children don’t have toys at these kinds of nurseries so that means they are free to use their imagination all day long. I myself was brought up in the countryside and thinking back on my early childhood I don't really remember the toys I played with but what I do remember is the days spent outside pretending to be animals in a farm and the trees I climbed and picking brambles in the summer to make home-made jam. I remember climbing up hills and rolling back down them over and over and having races with my brothers and splashing in puddles. These are the kinds of memories I want for Willow too and an old fashioned childhood experience is what on outdoor nursery offers.
What will I need to buy for Outdoor nursery?
As with any new school or nursery experience there are some essentials that you will need to pick up if you are sending your child to an outdoor nursery below is a list of the things we have got Willow for her time at nursery,
We picked her up this as we need a bottle that was strong and easy to open but when closed did not leek. It has a button on the side which makes the drinking spout pop up and then you just push it down to lock it again.
This was a similar sort of idea, super easy for her to open and nice and strong for outdoor use. This also has an insert so you can keep food separated if you want and a fork as well for pastas and things like that.
What can I say a really good quality waterproof jacket, this will be getting worn almost every day her in Scotland in or out of nursery.
They spend a lot of time at her nursery on wet grass and sliding down muddy hills so I needed some waterproof trousers. These are just fine for the job and are super lightweight and comfy too.
She needed a good pair of wellies for nursery and in general, these have lovely non slip soles and are all lined inside. Very comfy.
Willow is on her feet most of the day at nursery and we also love to go for walks as a family too so some waterproof walking boots were a must and we picked these up on the Sports direct sale for half price. She loves them too as they are really comfy.
These things are only for the warmer weather, I will do an updated list once we pick out her autumn winter bits probably in the next month or two.
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