Children in the natural world

Abstract

This chapter builds on the ideas presented in the first edition of this text. It reinvestigates the literature that identifies nature as a hwnan construct, and discusses the evolving relationships between hwnans and nature. It describes the erosion of children's connections with the natural environment and presents an argwnent for inclusion of nature in early childhood settings as a critical element contributing to children's health, wellbeing and development. A range of pedagogical strategies supports this argwnent. The chapter concludes by drawing links between children playing and learning in nature and the imperative of embedding education for sustainability (EfS) into early childhood settings.