Reading, Writing, and Running: Literacy Learning on the Playground

Although providing print‐related props in early childhood learning centers is a well‐established practice for increasing young children's literacy experiences, providing opportunities for literacy development during outdoor play is not as common. Teachers can quickly address this missed opportunity with a few simple additions to their outdoor play area. These practical and economical outdoor activities described in this article require negligible or no expense, minimal preparation, and little clean‐up. In contrast, they provide abundant motivation and continuous inspiration for reading and writing. These suggestions, which are accompanied by a list of books for outdoor reading, are meant to serve as a springboard for other original ideas. Because the only boundaries are one's own resourcefulness and creativity, there is no limit to the number of possibilities for taking literacy learning outdoors.