A former early childhood educator draws upon her own past memories to create a new outdoor play and learning guide.

Linda O'Donoghue promoted playful learning and outdoor play for all ages during her time in the early childhood education (ECE) field. Now a teacher and learning advisor at Okanagan College, she has co-published the Outdoor Play and Learning Facilitator's Guide, designed to support early childhood educators in implementing ways of using the outdoors to support the children they teach.

O'Donoghue grew up in a small town in B.C. and has many memories of playing outdoors, such as creating a store of leaf bouquets and selling the bouquets around the neighbourhood. She reflected on her memories and time as an early childhood educator when working on the guide.

"Loose parts and natural materials are not a new concept for children and their play,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his story is one of many I hold as precious from my childhood that exemplifies the beautiful imaginative play that children engage in when provided time, freedom, and simple materials that are open-ended.鈥�

O'Donoghue worked together with ECE instructor Deidre Craig of Saskatchewan Polytechnic on creating the guide. Outdoor play was a huge part of both educators' childhoods, and it led them into careers supporting children and families.

Craig said she delighted in hours and hours in the outdoors, only coming inside when she was called for dinner or when the lights came on.

"Sometimes, those outdoor adventures became family adventures as we camped and hiked through the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and I experimented with rocks and sticks and moving water," she said. "These places and spaces provided a sense of belonging in the 鈥榖igness鈥� of the world."

The guide was funded by the Government of Canada and the province and addresses the professional learning needs of early childhood educators around B.C. by creating accessible learning. The initiative will directly impact more than 300 educators, as well as children and their families.

The B.C. Ministry of Education and Child Care and partner organizations, as well as childcare facilities around the province, partnered on the project as well. One-time federal funding was also provided by the 2021-25 Canada-British Columbia Early Learning Child Care Agreement.

Okanagan College Dean of Health and Social development Patrena Mackie said the college is proud of O'Donoghue and Craig and congratulated them on their work which will be a huge resource for the college.

"This is an exceptional piece of work that will be a wonderful resource for our early childhood education department as well as ECE [instructors] working with children and families wherever they are,鈥� she stated. 鈥淚t highlights our dedicated employees and their lifelong learning journey as they support students and communities."