Beyond the Classroom: Nature Supercharges Learning
Outdoor play is tied to sharper thinking, steadier emotions, and better long-term mental health for children. When children learn, play, and explore in green spaces, they are exposed to a powerful combination: lower stress, richer sensory input, and opportunities to move their bodies and regulate their own energy. Experiences outdoors support focused-attention, resilience, and self control.
Saenen et al. (2023) found that children living in neighborhoods with more surrounding green space had faster reaction times on sustained and selective attention tests. This means that greenery around a child’s daily life was associated with a quicker, more efficient attention system. They even found some improvements in children’s short-term memory and processing speed. Interestingly, these advantages have a stronger connection with children whose mothers had higher levels of education. This suggests that in already high-achieving families, access to green space can provide an additional cognitive edge.
According to Lee et al. (2025), more outdoor play between noon and 6 p.m. predicted better working memory and decreased emotional dysregulation. These findings suggest that well-timed daytime outdoor play helps reset the brain systems to support focus. This means that well-timed outdoor play helps children attend to structured tasks and better able to absorb complex material.
At Campspire, our field trips and outdoor programs are intentionally designed around this research. We choose green, stimulating locations and schedule most outdoor play in the heart of the day, when it best supports emotional regulation and cognitive functioning. Campspire campers don’t just “run around”—they navigate trails, follow multi-step instructions, observe details, and also share during group reflection times. These experiences provide the kinds of repeated, high-quality outdoor exposures linked to faster, more focused attention and stronger self-regulation. Campspire is designed for families who want more than enrichment activities; they want their children’s time outside of school to actively enhance the attention skills that underlie long-term success.
