Resources for Outdoor Classroom Day

When is Outdoor Classroom Day?
May 17, 2018

What is Outdoor Classroom Day?
Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play. On the day, thousands of schools around the world take lessons outdoors. In 2017, over 2 million children in over 100 countries took part. (from https://outdoorclassroomday.com)

Why Outdoor Classroom Day?

Children in some school districts have less time outside as time for recess has been cut back in order to spend more time on academics even though we know that recess and outdoor time is important for physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. Outdoor learning increases engagement, reduces inappropriate behaviour and allows students to engage in meaningful, relevant, purposeful active learning.

Outdoor learning boosts student and teacher well-being

Outdoor learning boosts children's development - a BBC article

Importance of outdoor education in adolescence

Children Using Nature for Self-Regulation in Urban Environments

A Research-Based Case for Recess

The Death of Recess in America

Almost Half of Preschool Children do not Play Outside Each Day

Last Child In The Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder


Resources

Resources from the Outdoor Classroom Day website which can be sorted by age group and subject area

Natural Curiosity: Building Children's Understanding of the World Through Environmental Inquiry - a free downloadable book for Kindergarten to Grade 6

Ready Set Wonder: Nature Prompts for the Early Learning and Child Care Educators - a free downloadable book from the Back to Nature Network
(also available in French at http://www.back2nature.ca/readysetwonder-version-francais-de-attention-prets-a-lemerveillement/)

Into Nature: A guide to teaching in nearby nature - a free downloadable book with lesson ideas for students in kindergarten to grade 6 from Back to Nature Network
(also available in French at http://www.back2nature.ca/teachers-guide-into-nature-french/)

101 Nature Study Ideas

25 Mighty Girl Books about outdoor discovery

9 books that will inspire your little animal to get out of the house and into nature

7 books to inspire nature play

What are your favourite resources or activities for outdoor learning? What will you and your students be doing on Outdoor Classroom Day?

Children using Nature for Self-regulation in Urban Environments

Late last week I retweeted and commented on this photo from a kindergarten teacher.  It seemed to resonate with people as they retweeted, liked and shared it.  The original tweet showed a kindergarten student engaged in play with her shadow, trying out different poses on a beautiful sunny February day.

As I was walking down by the riverfront enjoying the unusually warm weather this weekend, I got to thinking about how much I enjoy using nature to help me stay calm.  Even though I live in the city on a very small lot with almost no yard, I can easily walk to a nearby park or head down to the riverfront to destress.

I enjoy reading other teachers' blogs where they talk about heading to the forests, streams and other natural areas near their schools with their students.  But as I walked along, with busy traffic on one side and green grass and the river on the other side, I wondered about our students in our highly urban schools with small playgrounds, often with lots of asphalt and very little green space.  How can we help these students, who are often living in stressful environments, to connect with nature and use nature to self-regulate?  

Certainly the student in the tweet above seems to be engaged in nature play even though there is no greenery in sight.

One of my favourite inner city nature lessons with kindergarten and primary students was to go outside and read "It Looked Like Spilt Milk" by Charles Shaw and then have the students find a comfy spot to lay down, look at the clouds in the sky and invite them to talk with someone nearby about what they saw.  This was an activity they could return to later, on their own or with a classmate,  and I found it was one way that students could find a way to engage in quiet solitary play even in a busy outdoor environment.

www.amazon.ca

One blog I read listed a range of benefits to nature play including:

* Greater physical activity (4)
* Greater mental health and emotional regulation (4)
* Improvements in motor skills (4)
* Healthier blood pressure and cholesterol levels (5)
* Being more fit and lean (6)
* Have stronger immune systems (6)
* Have more active imaginations (6)
* Play better with other children (6)

Children who help in school gardens improve in scientific learning and have healthier eating habits! (4)  Just contacting nature (like seeing trees out your window) can reduce stress and lead to fewer illnesses. (2) (see references below)

How can we help students in highly urban schools connect with nature?  Here are some overhead photos of some of urban schools for your inspiration:

A former elementary school (now closed)

A newer downtown school

1:Landscape as Playscape
2: Healthy Nature, Healthy People
3: Forest Schools In England and Wales
4: http://www.londonsdc.org/documents/Children%20and%20Nature%20-%20Literature%20Review.pdf
5: Children in The Outdoors
6: Quality Outdoor Spaces for Children
7: Back to School; Back Outside**
8: Education Scotland