Earlier in the month I wrote about Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Of the 8 intelligences proposed by Gardner, perhaps the first one that jumps out as being used on the preschool playground is the naturalistic intelligence. Children who have high naturalistic intelligence learn best through observation and participation in their natural surroundings.
A child with a high level of naturalistic intelligence on the preschool playground may enjoy learning through observing bugs and animals, taking a closer look at plants, taking care of a garden, rock collecting, observing the weather, interacting with water or sand, or anything else that involves nature.
These types of activities help the children to learn about many important concepts. For example, taking care of birds on the preschool playground helps children to learn about needs and wants, compassion, and science concepts. Taking a closer look at a butterfly teaches children about patterns and flight. Watching plants over time teaches children about growth and life cycles. Organizing and sorting rocks teaches math concepts.
As always, there are so many learning opportunities on the preschool playground! To see some of our natural preschool playground equipment, check out our water log troughs.
Picture Source: http://www.sxc.hu/
