- Science
- Mathematics
- Creative Art
- Environments
- Brain Development
- Social and Emotional Development
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When you ask children to name their favorite part of the school day, many will say, “Going OUTSIDE!” This workshop will help you open the door and turn your learning environment inside out. Discover how to maximize outdoor activities in science, math, language, literacy, art, dramatic play, physical activity and movement. Learn how to open up new possibilities for stimulating children’s creativity, self-discovery, and imagination. Share the wonders of nature and the environment with children, even when your program has limited outdoor spaces and resources or is seasonally limited in outdoor opportunities.
- Teachers will discover how to structure the environment, allowing for the free flow of learning through play, and how to intervene verbally or with appropriate supplementary materials to extend the curriculum content to the outdoor environment.
- Children will cultivate an appreciation of nature and develop a sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.
- In addition to practicing their gross motor skills, children can participate in a wide variety of other activities that involve art, science, math, language, literacy, social studies and technology.
Participants will be able to:
- Understand the importance and beneficial effects of connecting children with nature, with animals, with the community, and with caring for the Earth.
- Learn how to plan and implement outdoor learning activities that sharpen children’s cognitive abilities and that build physical and social skills.
- Understand the value of unstructured outdoor play in promoting children’s observation, exploration and experimentation in the natural environment.
Let’s open the door and explore what is waiting outside for children to discover. Learn what tools and materials you can provide to promote scientific exploration as children observe and explore nature firsthand. Discover the possibilities of how to extend core standard instruction into the natural environment as the children learn through discovery and outdoor activities centered on content areas.
Sometimes, outdoor time is not as thoroughly planned as is time for the other areas of the curriculum, but making those plans may be easier than you think. This workshop will remind teachers of the naturally occurring learning situations that can easily happen in the outside environment. Such learning environments will also help children understand and appreciate the natural world. Activities in the endless, wondrous classroom that is the outdoors—such as exploring dirt, leaves, sticks, rocks, worms and bugs—will greatly enhance learning. Your plans can conform to whatever outdoor space is available. Developing a variety of engaging activities will encourage children to become more constructively involved during outside time. The outdoor area will become a challenging and stimulating environment for children of all age and skill levels and interests.
This workshop will be presented in PowerPoint discussion format while sharing simple, inexpensive ideas for incorporating new activities and challenges in the outdoor classroom.
- Louv, R. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, 2005, Algonquin Books; Chapel Hill, NC.
- Rivkin, M. The Great Outdoors: Restoring Children’s Right to Play Outside, 1995, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, DC.
- Wellhousen, K. Outdoor Play, Every Day: Innovative Play Concepts for Early Childhood, 2002, Delmar; Albany, NY.
- www.naturallearning.org
- www.childrenandnature.org
- www.greenhour.org
- www.greenheartsinc.org
- www.naturerocks.org
- www.morenature.info
Length of Session: 3 hours
Audio Visual: Power, Projection Screen
Group Size: Variable, according to individual needs
Room Set Up: Theatre-style or classroom style, based on hands-on materials
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