Learning by playing
That plays in any environment and especially outdoor spaces have an important role in the life and healthy
development of children is an unquestionable fact. Furthermore, child specialists also accept the fact that play has an
important role in facilitating the learning process. For the best way for a child to get information is practice rather
than theoretical instruction (Loebach, 2004). Plays provide opportunities for such practices. Depending on the type
of play, the activities, repetitions, and observations both support a child’s physical development and contributes to
his cognitive and social development. During the play, children should be away from parents’ interventions.
Because of the fact that children explore new things, imitate adult behaviour, test their capacities, and therefore
widen their worlds when they are free in their plays (Loebach, 2004). Many studies on this issue have shown that
play has important effects on child development and learning. Viewed from the environmental design perspective,
play is a very useful activity for children, and designing spaces which will be suitable for children, of good quality,
preferred, used for a long time, sustainable, and which will contribute to children’s development and learning is a
Modes of learning Types of experience with the nature
Ability of thinking and
problem solving
Cognitiv
e
Emergence of feelings
and emotions Emotional
Emergence of values,
benefits and moral
aspects
Moral There is no physical contact
with nature Symbolic
There is physical contact
with nature
Direct
The physical contact with
nature is limited and
programmed
Indirect
Habibe Acar / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 141 ( 2014 ) 846 – 853 849
very important issue