I have all these Garden Ideas…Now What?
I have all these Garden Ideas… Now What? This is the question that I get at the end of many of on-site trainings. Teachers get very excited when I show them the abundance of possibilities for their outdoor spaces. There is an energy that is generated and ideas are captured. Teachers often leave workshops and conferences feeling a “high” that is all to often met with a slow decline of enthusiasm upon the return home. I am here to reassure and inspire you to dig in, nurture your ideas and create magnificent Outdoor Classrooms. Here are 5 simple steps to help you get started....
Read MoreWelcome! Please Introduce Yourself
Welcome! Please Introduce Yourself Teaching In the Dirt: Designing Outdoor Classrooms I am thrilled that you are here and want to welcome everyone to Outdoor-Classrooms.com and our virtual classroom. I hope you have taken a tour of our members area and making yourself comfortable. This course, Teaching in the Dirt: Designing Outdoor Classrooms is the course I wish I had when I was first starting to create an Outdoor Classroom at my children’s elementary school. I also wish I had the lessons learned for Sustaining our beloved Outdoor Classroom. This on-line virtual classroom is ideal...
Read MoreLiteracy-Rich Outdoor Classrooms
Literacy-Rich Outdoor Classrooms Transforming Outdoor Spaces with Simple Signs In Module Two: Design Options, we talk about designing with outdoor elements. Signs are a key element to add to your outdoor classroom. There aren’t any rules for outdoor classroom sign-making. One might think signs are added once the space is established and everything is planted. I like to add the signs when the space is still empty and desolate. I believe the process of labeling the outdoor space with signs immediately generates energy into the space and introduces your “work in progress.”...
Read MoreNew Beginnings: Creating a Garden that Attracts Wildlife
New Beginnings Creating a Garden that Attracts Wildlife HAPPY NEW YEAR! I can’t think of a better time to design and dream about transforming an outdoor space. I am excited to be a student in my own e-course; Teaching in the Dirt: Designing Outdoor Classroom and thrilled to have a platform for sharing my own garden transformation story with you. In Module One: Getting Started, we are asked to walk around our outdoor space and choose a space in which we plan to transform. I have chosen a site in the corner of my backyard. This space is a bit of an eyesore. It was a “dump”...
Read MoreDesigning Outdoor Classroom: BEFORE Stories
Designing Outdoor Classrooms: BEFORE Stories Creating Outdoor Classrooms is a thrill for me. I believe every garden has it’s own story and it is up to us to make sure they are all documented and heard. Your garden story can change someone else’s. Change is in the air! Take a moment and take a picture, create a video or draw a picture of your Outdoor Classroom. Your space can be am empty lot or an established garden. It does not matter. Simply capture your garden story and begin to document the growth. Garden Story #1: Carol Landry from The Children Place at Phillips Academy In...
Read MoreOn My Nightstand
