It is widely accepted that play and ‘free play’ in particular, is beneficial to young children’s holistic development. However, there is a lack of evidence of the role that the natural environment can have in relation to young children’s play. This study examined the elements of ‘free play’ of children aged 4–5 years within a woodland university campus setting. The children chose to wear camera glasses which recorded both the gaze and speech of the individual. This provided a valuable insight into the ‘free play’ of the children and provided a rich data set to enable the development of an analytical framework which maps out the interactions which took place during the ‘free play’ within the woodland environment. Results showed that the children engaged in six key interactions including interactions with the natural environment as part of their play, including the use of sticks, leaves and branches as tools and props ‘as is’ (i.e. in its current form) and ‘as if’ (in conjunction with children’s imaginations). The framework highlights key aspects of their play which tended to be autonomous, child led and imaginary. Recommendations for future research include the use of the framework in alternative environments to explore the impact of different physical environments on the interactions of children within their ‘free play’.

游戏和“免费游戏”特别有利于幼儿的整体发展，这一点已被广泛接受。但是，缺乏证据证明自然环境对幼儿的游戏具有重要作用。这项研究调查了林地大学校园环境中4-5岁儿童“自由活动”的要素。孩子们选择戴上可记录个人凝视和言语的照相机眼镜。这为孩子们的“自由活动”提供了宝贵的见识，并提供了丰富的数据集，以使分析框架的发展成为可能，该分析框架可绘制出林地环境中“自由活动”期间发生的相互作用。结果表明，儿童参与了六个关键的互动，包括与自然环境的互动，这是他们玩耍的一部分，包括使用棍棒，树叶和树枝作为“原样”（即当前形式）和“仿佛”的工具和道具。 '（结合孩子们的想象力）。该框架突出了他们游戏的关键方面，这些方面往往是自主的，儿童主导的和虚构的。对未来研究的建议包括在替代环境中使用该框架，以探索不同物理环境对儿童“自由活动”中的互动的影响。该框架突出了他们游戏的关键方面，这些方面往往是自主的，儿童主导的和虚构的。对未来研究的建议包括在替代环境中使用该框架，以探索不同物理环境对儿童“自由活动”中的互动的影响。该框架突出了他们游戏的关键方面，这些方面往往是自主的，儿童主导的和虚构的。对未来研究的建议包括在替代环境中使用该框架，以探索不同物理环境对儿童“自由活动”中的互动的影响。