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Welcome to Teaching in the Dirt: Designing Outdoor Classrooms 3
A Welcome Message For You
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Online Classroom 01 minLecture1.1
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Welcome Center 30 minLecture1.2
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How this Master Class Works 30 minLecture1.3
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Module 1: Getting Started 5
Getting Started
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1-0 Welcome to Module One: Getting Started 01 minLecture2.1
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1-1: Understanding Your Purpose 01 minLecture2.2
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1-2: Six Foundation Projects 01 minLecture2.3
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1-3: Gain Clarity with Five Lessons 01 minLecture2.4
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Seeds of Inspiration: Christ Church Parish Day School Interview 01 minLecture2.5
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Module 2: Design Options 5
Design Options
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2-0: Welcome to Module 2 01 minLecture3.1
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2-1: Ten Basic Garden Design Elements 01 minLecture3.2
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2-2: Theme Gardens as Learning Stations 01 minLecture3.3
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Seeds of Inspiration: First Parish Day School Outdoor Classroom Case Tour 01 minLecture3.4
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2-3: Turn Challenges into Possibilities 01 minLecture3.5
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Module 3: Sustainability 7
Sustainability
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3-0: Welcome to Module Three 01 minLecture4.1
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3-1: Behind the Scenes 01 minLecture4.2
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Seeds of Inspiration: Chenery Middle School Interview with Phyl Solomon 01 minLecture4.3
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3-2: Create a Master Plan 01 minLecture4.4
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Seeds of Inspiration: Chenery Middle School Courtyard Garden Tour 01 minLecture4.5
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3-3: Certify Your Wildlife Habitat 01 minLecture4.6
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3-4: CONGRATULATIONS! What next?Lecture4.7
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26 Comments
This all resonates so much with me and with my purpose in creating this space!
Thrilled to hear this! Please let me know if you have any questions.
This was really interesting and a great place to start the thought process. I have so many fond and happy memories of nature that it is difficult to know where to begin. When I was 3 years old I can remember picking blackberries from the few bushes that grew near the edge of the road the condo complex we lived in at the time was on. When I got a little older we moved into a house that backed up to woods and I spent as much time in them as I could. There was pile of branches that had been piled up and still had enough elasticity that they bounced when you walked across them and we dubbed it our “trampoline.” There was a mossy area that served as the backdrop to so many different games. When I got older I worked at a summer camp where I was able to live for nine wonderful weeks on a lake in the woods in Maine. I can still remember seeing the Milky Way for the first time as I slept out under the stars one night. Whenever I’ve been stressed I’ve always found relief in nature. Recently my interests have turned to wilding for edible plants that grow around me and it has brought me so much joy to know the names and uses for the plants I see in my daily life. I want to be able to bring some of this wonder to my students as well. I am always cautious to avoid too many comparisons between generational childhoods so I don’t fall into the trap of glorifying “the good ‘ole days” and vilifying “new fangled technology” and keep in mind that correlation does not equal causation.
In addition the wonderful benefits listed in this post, I also want to allow my students to take healthy risks. I find that so often my fellow teachers are very nervous when we are outside and strive to minimize and safeguard against any risks, even if they are very unlikely. I believe that healthy risks are an important part of learning, of figuring out where your limits are and pushing yourself to pass them. I am always well aware that I am watching other people’s children and that lawsuits are real things but so many of the “risks” teachers are unwilling to take are often very manageable if they are introduced to the children properly, supervised properly, and make sure no child is being pushed to take a risk they do not feel ready for. I hope that through the process of creating this outdoor space I can help some teachers rethink what outdoor play can be and how to make it a little more freeing for the children.
What wonderful reflections!!! Love your childhood memories and how they influence your thought process today. Incredibly thoughtful! Looking forward to your digging into the class and seeing where you take it. 🙂
My purpose for creating an outdoor classroom:
-getting kids outside
-limiting the amount of time spent in an indoor classroom (COVID-19)
-having students made observations of wildlife and plants
-creating a habitat for wildlife (butterflies, bees, hummingbirds)
-inspiring curiousity
How could it impact my community?
Many of my students live in a mobile home community. They have a lot of experience riding their bikes around and playing in sprinklers, but don’t have much experience with nature. I want them to experience “being present” and connecting with the natural world.
What a gift you are giving your student! Great purpose.
It was interesting to think about childhood outdoor memories, as I have many, but very few indoor memories. I remember:
*playing outside using the pine needles to create houses
*cutting through backyards to visit my neighborhood friends, as early as 4 years old
*exploring the woods at my grandparents house
*running all around the neighborhood with my friends
*making teepees using sticks and sheets
*using a hole in a tree pretending it was a kitchen
*using a plastic boat to boat down the stream at my grandparents house
As I reflect, I now understand why I still love to be outside. What happy memories I have of playing outside as a child-using my imagination to create any world I wanted!
This is wonderful!!! What terrific memories!
I spent my early years at a Montessori school where learning took place outside with animals nearby. This was very much akin to my home-life on a farm surrounded by all creatures big and small. I think this shaped my desire to become a wildlife biologist and to share my passion for the outdoors with youth. Living in one of the largest metroplexes in Texas I can see the disconnect between children and nature. I am seeking to change that my providing technical and financial assistance to local schools to build outdoor classrooms.
I want to foster the excitement I see in my own children when they play outdoors; finding snakes, bugs and playing in mud. So much can be learned from sensory learning outside.
Welcome!!! Thrilled you are here! Looking forward to learning more about your program and goals.
Best memories of outdoor time as a child include climbing trees in our front yard. I remember a beautiful birch tree that had limbs perfect for climbing and feeling the accomplishment of climbing as high as I dared. Or playing down by the little creek and the bottom of the hill in our backyard.
As a parent now it makes me nervous thinking of my kids doing the same things. Why is it I don’t think they would be as careful? Yet I feel many kids today don’t experience enough risk to learn boundaries….
So true!! I might be the world is a little different today–but we still need to find ways for our kids to experience risk play. Welcome, welcome!
My memories of childhood include spending hours outside collecting bugs, reading on top of an old non running car, watching the clouds transform, chasing road runners, picking and eating sugar cane from our neighbors garden, building forts outside with “junk” my dad had in the backyard, and camping every summer in New Mexico. I spend so much time outdoors and it shaped my views of the world and how we are to be stewards. Love Richard Louv’s work as well as the writings of Aldo Leopold and John Muri.
Feel like today’s children definitely spend more time indoors on screens but also there is a change in our culture that the outdoors are not safe for children. “times are different” is what I hear, “it’s not safe to let my child roam the neighborhood”.
I feel outdoor spaces will give children that sense of freedom to explore and try and learn but also provide a place that is seen as “safe” by parents or care givers. I Think the design has to be purposeful to met the needs and wants of both children and their parents or caregivers.
My hope is that children everywhere will get to experience the joy and excitement of a rolly polly crawling on their arm or watching birds in a tree, and digging up worms…
Absolutely beautiful! Love your memories and the freedom they express. The vast difference between our memories and our children’s memories is what inspires me to do this work. I love meeting like-minded souls and look forward to digging into this work with you.
Learn by doing! Too many children suffering from depression!! Believe that more time spent outside will decrease this .Michelle, East Bridgewater
Absolutely! This is why I do what I do!
Initially, my purpose for creating an outdoor classroom was because our indoor space was tiny. But two years ago, I began transforming our outdoor play space into an outdoor classroom. I absolutely love the results…totally engaged, happy children. For 2018, we will work on adding more garden elements to our space.
It has taken time, but educating my parents to the importance of an outdoor learning environment will keep up the positive energy. I keep them in the loop with a closed group facebook page. These little ones have a love of and thirst for learning that will go with them when they leave us. In this small way, our work will impact our community.
I love how the transformation has already begun and how it has changed your own philosophy of education. This happened to me too.
Good morning Virginia…where can I upload some pictures. I really want to share this process!
Hello….oh my goodness….what a great question. You can post pictures on the Private Facebook page. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/311108759093784/. Please let me know if you have any questions. Can’t wait to see your process!
I absolutely agree with this module – the more research I do on creating a nature school and the more I share with people new to this concept (The Boston Globe reporter this week) the more it makes fundamental sense. Flexibility, empathy, creative problem solving, attention, planning and organizing skills, social-emotional skills are just a few that are strengthened by learning through a natural lens in an outdoor enviroment.
Understanding this element is the key to sustainability. This is our WHY! I continue to be fascinated to witness where this movement will take us as educators.
I just finished watching the video “Getting started, the importance of outdoor learning” and I loved how it made me think about my childhood memories and made me realize how much I’ve always loved being outside !
Here are some of my childhood outdoor memories
– Climbing trees (I had a favorite one and had my own little “house” at the very top!)
– Staying outside until sundown
– Creating “Ice Palace” in the winter
– Mud pies and mud cakes
– 4 wheelers for HOURS
– Tag, kick the can, hide and seek…
– Snow fort, tunnels, Igloo…
– Looking for treasures
– Finding amazing hiding spaces
– Looking for seashells, swimming, bonfire at the cottage
Here are some of the things children do today in their free time…
– Tablet, computer, cell phone
– Social media
– Organized sports
– Art
– Read and write (I hope!)
– Some still go out but not for very long…
If we are comparing kids from a few decades ago with today’s kids, it is obvious that, on a general basis, they spend less time outside than before. I feel like they always have to be entertained and take part in organized events rather than being able to improvise with what they have and be creative. Most of the kids, when sent outside, don’t know what to do and they get bored very fast. As a parent and a teacher, it is my duty to provide them with the space and plant the seeds of motivation and creativity in an outdoor setting. I want my kids and my students to fall in love with nature and realize that when they are out there, they are free and the sky is the limit !
Am I writing too much ? haha !!!
Not writing too much at all! I love reading your list of childhood memories. 🙂 Such happy times! The comparisons are real and are the inspiration for WHY we desperately need to create more Outdoor Classrooms that reconnect children to nature.
OMG can’t believe I forgot to write “TV” and “Video Games” in my list of what kids do today in their free time !!!
🙂