Outdoor play is an essential and integral part of free play, perhaps even the most vital part. The outdoor environment is an open and ever-changing context of freedom. The influence of nature is beneficial for children in all areas. The sun refreshes and enlivens people and the natural environment is never the same, it is constantly transforming. Playing in nature offers children rich and multi-sensory experiences, while at the same time giving them the opportunity to make all the noise they want during intense physical play. They can run, jump, take risks, fight, test their limits, strength, balance and coordination. It is the ideal environment to explore and learn the secrets of nature in the most meaningful and direct way.

  The main objective of this project is to improve the quality of learning of pre-school children through innovative outdoor learning environments.

   The Curriculum for Kindergarten stresses that play should be highlighted as the "core of the whole programme". Play is mentioned separately from drama, writing and drawing as a stand-alone activity, but also as a medium that can be used in all learning areas of the programme. Play, whether spontaneous or organized, continues to have the same dynamic in the kindergarten, but also the same primary role for the child; play is not only recreational, but is recognized as an activity that enables children to express themselves, communicate, collaborate and learn.

   The Curriculum sets out a common framework for the organisation of learning in kindergarten on the basis of the following principles, with an emphasis on play:

• Children's natural curiosity to discover and understand the world around them and play form the basis for the organisation of learning situations in the context of investigations that promote the development of metacognitive skills.

• Through authentic and developmentally appropriate learning experiences based on inquiry-based learning and making use of play, the aim is to develop a correct attitude towards scientific thinking.

• The learning situations organised should be of high quality and responsive to the needs and abilities of the kindergarten children, based on inquiry and play, promoting cooperation and taking into account the socio-cultural background and the differentiated needs of children in the context of inclusive education.

   Through the basic principles of the curriculum, the importance of play is highlighted, as an early childhood education programme is considered effective when children are given opportunities to develop and express their ideas and feelings in playful ways.

   Based on the Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and in accordance with the principles of playful learning, children develop intrinsic motivation for learning and are actively involved in activities when they contain playful features or have a playful disposition. 

   On the basis of these principles, appropriate learning situations are organised taking into account 6 key features of play, which give the learning process a playfulness:

1.  focus on the process rather than the result, 

2.  intrinsic motivation, where the joy and enjoyment of play are the main factors in a child's participation in a learning situation,

3.   metaphorical properties, where the actual meaning and function of things can be distorted,

4.  movement, which is often inherent in a playful activity and provides children with the motivation to carry out alternative modes of action, 

5. rules that take account of children's knowledge, cultural background and experience, and are flexible so that they can be negotiated by the children themselves, 

6. opportunities for exploration and experimentation, stimulating high levels of intellectual activity.