About Us

About Outdoor Natural Play

Rooted in Nature. Built for Learning. Inspired by Children.

At Outdoor Natural Play, we believe that the best learning doesn’t happen at a desk—it happens in nature. That’s why we design and build natural cedar furniture that invites children to explore, move, imagine, and learn outdoors. Our handcrafted pieces are grounded in early childhood education theory and shaped by the real needs of educators and children in outdoor classrooms around the world.

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Our Educational Philosophy

We’re proud to support play-to-learn pedagogy and align our designs with the philosophies of Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Play to Learn, and forest school practices. These approaches recognize the power of play, movement, and the environment as essential components of how children grow and learn.

Our products are open-ended, sensory-rich, and intentionally child-led—designed to support:

Reggio Emilia’s “environment as third teacher”, fostering exploration and reflective thinking

Montessori’s emphasis on independence and practical life skills, with furniture scaled for young learners

Forest school principles, encouraging risk-taking, resilience, and a deep connection to the natural world

Play-to-Learn philosophy, which positions play as the central vehicle for all early learning—where children develop literacy, numeracy, self-regulation, and problem-solving through joyful, hands-on exploration. In our outdoor environments, play is not a break from learning—it is learning. When children mix, build, pretend, negotiate, and discover, they’re developing the physical, emotional, and cognitive foundations that last a lifetime.

We believe that when children manipulate real materials in real environments, they build not only motor skills, but also confidence, communication, and creativity.

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Designed for Real Learning, Outdoors

All of our products are crafted from North American Western Red Cedar and Eastern White Cedar, chosen for their natural durability, rot resistance, and tactile appeal. Every piece is built with rounded edges, solid joinery, and GRK-certified hardware, ensuring both safety and strength in any season or setting.

We prioritize loose-parts design and open-ended functionality so educators can adapt our pieces to fit the evolving needs of their programs and children’s imaginations.

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Why Outdoor Furniture Matters

Research confirms what educators have long known: Children thrive outdoors.
Natural play environments promote:

• Greater physical development and coordination

• Enhanced social skills and cooperation

• Deeper attention spans and cognitive flexibility

• Emotional resilience and self-regulation

Our outdoor furniture is more than beautiful—it’s a powerful tool for whole-child development.

“The more risks you allow children to take, the better they learn to take care of themselves.” – Forest School Learning Alliance

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Built to Last. Designed to Grow.

Whether you're building a backyard classroom, outfitting a nature preschool, or revitalizing a daycare yard, our team is here to help you bring your vision to life. We offer both standard and custom-built pieces, always crafted with care, sustainability, and child development at the center.

Join the educators, designers, and families who trust Outdoor Natural Play to support joyful learning, outdoors.