Access to technology has created a generation of children who are more plugged in than ever before - often with negative consequences. Unrestricted outdoor play reduces stress, improves health, and enhances creativity, learning, and attention span. In Nature Play at Home, Nancy Striniste gives caregivers the tools
There is a growing movement - inspired by Richard Louve’s The Last Child in the Woods - to reconnect kids with nature. Public play areas filled with natural materials that kids can manipulate at will are one of the leading solutions. Nature Play at Home brings the theory to the backyard and provides parents with hundreds of ways to use natural, sustainable materials to create engaging outdoor spaces that allow children to experience the wonders of nature. With inspiring ideas and step-by-step projects, this book makes it easier than ever for parents to create the key components for successful nature play: areas for creative and active play, areas for retreat/enclosure, materials that promote make-believe, facilitated interaction with wildlife, and much more. AUTHOR: Nancy Striniste, founder and principal designer at Earlyspace, is a landscape designer and former teacher. Nancy’s passion is for creating spaces that nurture and heal - both the earth and the people on it. She received her Master’s Degree in Sustainable Landscape Design from George Washington University. She has studied design and children’s spaces at the College of Design at North Carolina State University, Tufts University, and Harvard Graduate School of Design. Nancy is a co-founder of Arlington CANN (Children and Nature Network), a founding board member of NoVA Outside, and a member of the Community Built Association. She serves on the Natural Playspace Workgroup of the Maryland Governor’s Commission for Children and Nature. 400 colour photographs, 24 illustrations
