As school enrollments increase, schools will need to expand their facilities and playgrounds. School construction and expansion is a part of the "hidden curriculum" of schools and affects children's learning processes. When school expansion is combined with the move from half day to full day kindergarten and increasing the time children spend at school, outdoor space for free play is reduced. Results of a British research study called "Special Places: Special People--The Hidden Curriculum of School Grounds" showed the importance of external environments for shaping children's learning and values. Findings included children's preference for natural environments over built environments and manufactured equipment, and the discrepancy between children's and adults' attitudes toward the value of external environments. American educators and administrators would do well to consider the extent to which children have freedom of access to external environments and to control this "hidden curriculum" for the benefit of the students. (JPB)