08-18-2024 Back to School - Flipbook - Page 10
10 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Sunday, August 18, 2024
Unstructured Outdoor Play Boosts Confidence And Learning
By Katie Turner, Contributing Writer
I
t’s about 2 o’clock on a humid Wednesday
afternoon, and a little boy around the age
of 8 trots up from the stream bed holding a plastic baggie containing a (surely
disgruntled) fish.
“Look what we caught!” he yells as he
jostles the bag in front of the camp director.
“It’s a fish!”
Appropriate ‘oohs and aahs’ are given,
and the child quickly scurries back down
the embankment to set the minnow free and
attempt to capture another unwitting forest
critter.
“Just a typical day,” laughs James Frank,
the founder and director of Lure of the Wild,
an outdoor camp in Catonsville, Maryland
that is held in Patapsco Valley State Park.
“This is what we do; we allow them to explore, get dirty and sweaty, and learn on their
own terms.”
Many camps and after-school programs
center around sports or academics, but Lure
of the Wild, which also holds days-off and
winter/spring break camps during the school
year, has an entirely different approach.
Rooted in the educational philosophies of
Fred Rogers, Peter Gray and others, Lure of
the Wild believes that children learn best
through free play, especially in mixed age
groups and outdoors.
Problem-solving and critical thinking are
embedded in the experience.
“Let’s say one of the kids catches a bug and
asks what kind of bug it is. We will respond
with our own questions,” says Frank. “What
do you think it looks like? Why do you think
it has those features? If you had discovered
this bug for the first time, what name would
you have given it? It is amazing what they will
come up with.”
He explains further that kids who are
building forts are learning about engineering, while kids who are finding salamanders
under rocks are learning biology. By organizing their own imaginative games, they are becoming more creative, solving problems and
learning to work together – all with minimal
influence from adults – which fosters selfconfidence, risk-tolerance and self-control.
“Think back to your earliest childhood
memory of being outside,” says Frank. “How
did you feel? What did you learn about yourself?” In most cases, people recall times when
there was not an adult present, or the adult
was not actively involved in the activity.
“Our counselors are trained to observe,
not intervene,” explains Frank. “We do have
rules around safety, but we want to allow the
children to self-direct their activities because
that is where the real magic happens.”
While organized sports are a great way to
get their kids moving and away from screens,
Frank, who has been a coach for recreational
soccer, says there are some downsides.
“There is so much emphasis on competitive team sports and organized activities
these days,” says Frank. “But in a lot of ways,
these are doing our kids a disservice. They
are more prone to injuries, and they are more
prone to burnout.
“Kids are so used to running around on
flat fields and smooth surfaces. They stop
paying attention, or they repeat the same
movements over and over – and that is how
injuries happen,” said Frank, who as a coach
focuses more on fun than drills and skills.
“Out here, they have to think about each step
they take. There are rocks, roots and slopes to
watch for. It really forces them to think about
and listen to their bodies.”
And the physical activity comes naturally, says Frank. “There is a small loop with
some steep ups and downs in one area of the
park. The kids call it the ‘roller coaster’. It is
about a tenth of a mile around, and one day
Above: Lure of the Wild, an outdoor camp in Catonsville, Maryland that is held in Patapsco Valley State Park, believes that children learn best through free play, especially in mixed age groups and outdoors.