Add Literacy Outdoors with Little Library Wonder Boxes

Learning Lab Garden Notes: October 27, 2017

It was a beautiful Fall day here in Beverly, MA and a perfect day to tackle my Little Library Wonder Box project and begin adding Literacy to my outdoor learning lab. My vision for this project is to make little mailboxes for each of my themed gardens. The mailboxes will be painted according to the theme of the garden. For example, the Little Library Wonder Box in the Bird Sanctuary will have paintings of birds on it. Take a peek inside and you will find books about birds, bird identification cards, and mini binoculars. This is the perfect project to invite Literacy outdoors. Why mailboxes?

Mailboxes offer the perfect solution for adding mini-Little Free Libraries to your outdoor space. Old mailboxes are fun and easy to repurpose. So far I have 3. I found one of these mailboxes on the side of the road and had 2 old mailboxes from years ago sitting around collecting dust in my garage. Feels great to be finally doing something with them.

As you can see in the picture, I attempted to paint one red; however, I have since learned spray paint is the way to go. I chose a natural green color because I wanted my Little Library Wonder Boxes to be tucked away in the garden. I imagine during my Outdoor Classroom Learning Lab retreats, teachers, finding clues in each of the Little Library Wonder Boxes leading them on a creative scavenger hunt to each themed garden. I can’t wait!

I love how these turned out! On the next rainy day, we will embark on painting pictures on them. If you live locally and have an old mailbox, please let me know.

Today I also fed the birds…

….cleaned up my paths (here is a before picture) and….

….spray painted and filled a few pots.

I finally added new plants. It was a great day in the garden!

Now I want to hear from you. What new element are you adding to your Outdoor Classroom this week? Want to learn more about how to design an Outdoor Classroom? Check out the Teaching in the Dirt: Designing Outdoor Classrooms e-Course.  

Enjoy,

Victoria