Child Care Centers Take Steps to Transform Outdoor Learning Environments
The Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) at NC State's College of Design is helping child care facilities in Wake County create a master plan for new settings that will promote child development. According to NLI Director Robin Moore, playing in natural areas builds kids' awareness of their physical abilities, helps children learn the cycle of life, improves their ability to concentrate, and teaches children where food comes from - the earth!
A three-year grant from the John Rex Endowment is supporting the NLI project to address the obesity epidemic in young children attending child care by creating a multidisciplinary intervention to transform child care outdoor learning environments (OLEs) into active, productive best practice demonstrations sites.
Read more in a recent article published by Advocates for Health in Action.