Take Me Outside Day

Today is "TAKE ME OUTSIDE DAY" here in Canada.  Take Me Outside (TMO) is a non-profit organization committed to educating and creating awareness with Canadians about our connection with nature and our time spent outside. As a teacher, I enjoyed spending time outside with my students and found that I got to see a side of them that I would have missed had we only done our learning indoors.

To participate in Take Me Outside Day you can:

1. Get outside with your class!

2. Let Take Me Outside know that you are participating by filling in the online form.

3. Complete the TMO Challenge - they have separate ones for students, parents and teachers.

4. Share your outdoor learning experiences on social media #TakeMeOutsideDay

5. Spread the word - let students, parents, colleagues and the media know why outdoor time is essential for healthy students.



On the TMO Challenge page, they note: A connection to nature and time spent outside is invaluable to building optimal mental, emotional, social and physical health for every child and youth. Research supports the links between a child’s connection with nature and their health. Increased outdoor time can be directly connected to improved physical activity levels, higher academic achievement, decreased child injury rates, increased attention spans, positive social interaction and increased engagement at school, home and in the community.

In addition to the resources on the TMO page, here are others you may find helpful:

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

Next steps

When writing report cards for students, we conclude each subject area with 'next steps.'  The Ministry of Education in Ontario has recently released Growing Success: The Kindergarten Addendum which addresses Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting and it states that  Next Steps in Learning refers to ways in which the child can move forward in developing knowledge and skills, in relation to the overall expectations, both at school and at home. Developmental stage, learning trajectory, and/or other individual processes of learning should be taken into account when determining next steps in learning.

Since we believe that as educators we need to think about next steps for learning for students, I think we also need to think about our own next steps. At different times in my career, I have had to reflect and determine my next stage and learning trajectory.  Staying at the same school in the same grade assignment doesn't fit my restless nature.  I've been fortunate to teach a range of assignments in a range of settings - from open concept school to a classroom in a portable out by the parking lot.  I've taught in urban, suburban and county schools; in small schools with barely 200 students to large schools with over 800 students.  I've had my own homeroom classroom, taught 'rotary' when I was the primary literacy teacher for 14 primary classrooms, and then moved on to work at the board level.   I worked as an instructional coach for primary math and primary literacy - travelling from school to school supporting teachers and administrators with implementing balanced literacy, small group instruction and hands on mathematics. 

Taking a group of educators to Fighting Island for Outdoor Education 

Facilitating conversations during in-school collaborative inquiry

After school math workshop - doing the math!

At the end of this month, I will be retiring and moving on to my 'next step.'  Only 7 more work days and then I will be moving forward to new learning and a new stage.  I am only one year in to my studies at UWestern on my Educational Doctorate, so there will be that new learning and I intend to continue to teach online for Queens.  I wonder what other new learning will be part of this next stage?