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To create space for children to play is to create space for children to make sense of the world, to work through feelings and explore ideas. As Maria Montessori stated, "play is the work of the child". Free play makes our co-learning process possible as we collaborate and explore, building knowledge and relationships through the play and investigation that the environment invites. Facilitators will prepare thoughtful activities and provide a loose structure for the day, but plans may flow and change to suit the needs of the group.

Play-based learning encourages risk-taking, open-ended investigation, problem-solving and experimenting. It leads us to imaginative thinking, and to questions that promote curiosity and wonder. It calls for us to step into different roles, to consider new stories and perspectives.

We can engage the senses and the body and hold space for all the emotions that play can create. While play can often be a delightful & joyful experience, it can also be a way for children to work through frustrations or investigate complex issues. The space for unstructured play can lead us to boredom too, which although uncomfortable, offers pause to reflect, regulate, and create mental availability for new ideas.

Facilitators may act as play participants throughout the day, offering guidance or redirection when appropriate, but also must know when to step back, observe, assess, and give space for play to happen freely.

Having an outdoor program means that relationship with land is at the center of what we do. To have a sense of place centered in our programming means that we recognize the stories that have shaped this place, especially the ones forgotten and forcibly erased, the here and now of our experience on this land, and how our presence here can impact the future.

As we spend time on City of Chicago park land, we are in the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations, as well as many other tribes that also call this area home. Our land acknowledgement is ever-evolving as we explore how to effectively honor a commitment to truth-telling, understanding our impact, and celebrating anti-colonial resilience.

We love the land through knowing it, becoming familiar with the ecosystems where we spend time. We are learning to be good stewards of the land and members of our community, practicing reciprocity in our relationships and learning how to best hold space for ourselves and others.

Our daily learning is centered around the changes that happen at our meeting site through the seasons and throughout each day. In spring, we see violets, nettles, bluebells, all the spring ephemerals blooming. We jump in puddles and taste the rising maple sap. We follow insects in the summer, watch Praying Mantises hunt and Monarchs feast on Milkweed. We feel the fullness of summer fall away, we examine the death and decay of the fall. We observe how animals adapt to survive the winter. We go where the seasons take us, and use all of our senses to attune to those rhythms.

We aim to eliminate the hierarchy that a teaching role typically creates. Educators are not “experts” but are co-learning and playing, asking questions and exploring ideas collaboratively. The adult’s role is to observe and assess closely, provide activities and materials that inspire engagement, build community, and “set the stage” for meaningful and imaginative interactions.

Adults may be play participants, offer guidance, redirect and set boundaries when appropriate, but will also step back to observe, assess and allow children to play freely. Facilitators provide support for children to follow and expand upon their own curiosities, creating a safe and nurturing environment to play, take appropriate risks, and learn together. 

Woodpeckers serve as a powerful teacher for our nature play group, embodying the value of woodland density and biodiversity. Their unique foraging habits create nesting cavities that not only benefit themselves but also provide homes for various other species, illustrating the beauty of sharing space. This mirrors the group’s mission to foster an environment that values diversity and explores coexistence in urban environments, where different communities learn to thrive together. By pecking away at trees, woodpeckers aerate the bark and aid in the decomposition of dead wood, enriching the soil and supporting new plant growth—an essential lesson in nurturing our surroundings.

In the context of the nature play group, woodpeckers inspire children and families to explore their urban landscapes and appreciate the intricate connections within ecosystems. They exemplify how we can carve out our own niches while contributing to a vibrant environment. By promoting outdoor play and exploration, the group encourages participants to embrace nature, fostering a shared responsibility for preserving and enhancing the spaces we inhabit. In doing so, we cultivate a community that values the interconnectedness of all living things, just as woodpeckers do in their woodland habitats.