3 Tips to Welcome Visitors to Your Outdoor Classroom

How do you welcome visitors to your Outdoor Garden space? What do you want visitors to feel upon arriving in your Outdoor Classroom? Are you going for a “wow” factor, a place for learning or simply to for visitors to feel connected to Nature? Do you have a sign that invites visitors in? Is it clear what they should do once they arrive in your Outdoor Classroom?

3 Tips to Welcome Visitors to Your Outdoor Classroom   

TIP 1: THE WELCOME SIGN: There is nothing more inviting than a Welcome sign! A Welcome sign is an invitation. A Welcome sign gathers the community. Welcome signs come in all shapes and sizes, as do communities. Strong communities begin with a welcome sign and are held together with a common interest. A Welcome sign invites visitors to the outdoor space and leads them into a new space for learning and teaching. Welcome signs are like the front doors of a house and often give visitors their first impression of your Outdoor Classroom.

TIP 2: NAME FOR YOUR OUTDOOR SPACES: Does your Outdoor Classroom have a name? Do you have special places within your Outdoor Classroom that the children are drawn to? If so, with your children, think of a fun playful name for these places. For example, “The Rockery” or “The Forest Den” or “Bird Sanctuary.” Give outdoor spaces a fun name and make a sign.

TIP 3: ADD MAILBOXES: Do you want to invite visitors to have an interactive experience within your Outdoor Classroom? Do you imagine kids and parents walking gleefully through with curiosity about what is around the corner? Add mailboxes all around your Outdoor Classroom! Put a nature-based children’s book inside, a puppet, or some directions for the visitor.

These are wonderful invitations for learning outdoors. Share how you invite visitors to your Outdoor Classroom in the comments below and join the conversation with our Facebook Group. 

Want to play more with your Outdoor Classroom? Check out the Seeds of Inspiration for Outdoor Learning Card Deck and have new ideas at your fingertips to Cultivate your Nature-Based Curriculum and Outdoor Classroom.

Happy Gardening,

Victoria