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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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17 Comments
I enjoyed how this video laid out some very practical steps that can be taken to get things going. Unfortunately due to COVID related delays I think I missed the season for many of these but I am looking forward to implementing them in the spring. We have raised garden beds that are in desperate need of some love that I think have a lot of potential. I loved the composting aspect too because I know we have acidic soil due to a large pine tree that drops lots of needles over the area.
I am happy to have lots of support from my director but I know it is going to be a bit of a challenge to get buy in from a lot of the teachers. Many of them support the idea broadly but feel like they are “bad at gardening” or are afraid that their “kids can’t handle it.” I think for this to be successful and useful I will need a way to break down specific things teachers can do in the area. One frustration of mine is that the teachers feel that their kids just go crazy in the area or are too much to handle. Part of that I think is because this outdoor space is not fully fenced in unlike our playgrounds and so more attention and supervision is required. Additionally I think it is true that teachers set the tone of the play and interactions. If the teacher is enthusiastic the children will be if the teachers are uncomfortable or reluctant that will also be conveyed to the children. I know as I look ahead I will need to be mindful of not only creating an area the children are excited about but also that the teachers will be too.
Fantastic reflections. Covid has thrown everyone off, but has also challenged us to be Teach Outdoors. Take baby steps with your teachers…maybe offer them an article from the blog….or a newsletter…and see if they warm up to the idea. đ
In developing the space I really hadn’t given much thought to our ‘garden area’ beyond deciding on a location for a tier garden, with a compost barrel and a water barrel. I realize now that our space has the potential for multiple garden areas, and I will be looking at different spaces to develop and I will put out a survey to see what types of gardens my teachers and our community want. This is so helpful!
Music to my ears! Please take pictures of the BEFORE and AFTER….you will be glad you did!
I am meeting with my administrator tomorrow. We are going to walk the grounds and decide on a location for an outdoor classroom. I have proposed a butterfly garden to him and he was very receptive. We already have a beautiful school forest with a walking trail and a school garden. I see many possibilities moving forward! So exciting!
Yea!!
I am meeting with two administrators today to look at all of the different places around our campus that would work for different outdoor learning stations. As I teach preschool, my focus will be on creating a variety of learning stations for them outside. As we would like to use our beautiful campus this fall to be outside as much as possible due to Co-vid, we do have a committee that will be meeting regularly to talk about outdoor spaces for our Preschool – Eighth Grade students. I am excited for this new adventure for our school.
Wonderful!!! How exciting to see the silver lining. There are so many opportunities to teach outdoors which in the long run is more exciting for the kids and healthier. Thrilled to see you have so much in place.
Great information! I absolutely love the idea of using the handles of the hand tools as measuring sticks! So my homework for this week is to really take a good walk of our backyard area with my son and ask what projects he would like and what is feasible in the space we have. I have a list of what I’d like for me and for him but I want to get his feedback because a weather station but not be interesting to him and he might have something in his head I’ve never thought about. Victoria, on our call I spoke about two intentions for the class. So the practical get your hands dirty will be in my backyard. The information about types of gardens, and building your community, and sustainability I will us with our clients. We are planning a school garden expo in a few months so I hope to find a way to share some of this information and I will definitely promote this class as a great resource if you don’t mind.
The foundation for our outdoor classroom has been layed out and is working well for us. Three years ago our family daycare began the transformation from an outdoor playspace to an outdoor classroom. Our space is not too large, but we have many outdoor learning stations that keep my active group totally engaged. The only complaint I get is when it is time to come inside.
My plan this year is to add more areas where the children can independently tend a vegetable garden, do some container gardening, and create a small theme garden. This week we discussed soil preparation and, using bins, mixed dirt, compost, and potting soil/peet moss to create our “ready to plant mix” for the containers and for some pots. The children enjoyed scooping equal amounts and mixing them together. This has been an excellent “foundational” activity for my 3s and 4s.
Brilliant! I love how you created “ready to plant mix” for your young children. I do believe if we plan ahead for children’s outdoor learning, we can get incredible results. I can’t wait to see pictures of your outdoor learning stations.
With budget concerns , grants and donations will help create outdoor garden. Michelle Morse, East Bridgewater
It is actually amazing how much FREE stuff there is out there. It is all a matter of knowing what you want, getting clear, and asking.
Our first site has been a Cooperative community for 46 years, we will be incorporating this concept of a Cooperative community into our new nature school. We are reaching out to invite volunteers, educators, naturalists, etc. to come together to design our new spaces indoor and out. I love the ides of all the different kind of gardens. Because we are child driven emergent, we will rely mainly on what the children and educators come up with starting in September. Your ideas (a vertical garden!) are so exciting! I love the step by step organization of this unit. It will be very helpful to hand on to our new school’s team of children and teachers.
Very exciting. Please let me know if you have any questions along the way.
I really enjoyed this video! Iâm really starting to see different possibilities of gardens with my students and with my kids at home.
At School…
Since Iâm on a maternity leave right now, I canât really walk around and assess the area but here are a few questions I would like to ask my principal via email:
– What would be an area that you could see us use for an outdoor classroom?
– Would we have access to water?
– Can I talk with the tech teacher to see if he could, with the help of his
students, build a tool shed?
Talking to the other teachers in school is also a brilliant idea because I know the grade 6 curriculum and how I could use it in an outdoor setting but I teach at a K-8 school so Iâm sure they would have many more ideas. I loved your ideas of gardens (butterfly, touch and feel, tee pee, etc.) and I would LOVE to have more information on those and even see pictures! What a cool idea! I also really love the âTake actionâ sheets. Love seeing example of letters, surveys, etc. Thank you for this!
At home…
Right now, I am debating between 2 or 3 area for my outdoor center! In our backyard, we have full sun all day long so we are a little bit restricted on what we can grow since some plants need shadow. I also have a space in the front of my house that I was hoping to find a use for but there, itâs full shadow all day⌠Maybe I could play with this and have 2 areas? I could also put flower beds on one specific side of my baby barn for plants that need some shade⌠I have a fence around my pool and when you mentioned to âthink verticallyâ, I immediately pictured a âgrowing wallâ where we could maybe plant some herbs and also put some bird feeders. I have lots of ideas and I trying to write them down as they come ď
I loved this video, Iâm excited to see whatâs next. Tonight, I think Iâm going to start sketching a few ideas for my backyard and my front yard. I wish I knew more about which plants grows in total shade and which plants love the sun all day but I know I can always do a quick research on the Internet to find out.
Fantastic reflections! I love how you are thinking about creating an outdoor classroom both at your home and your school. It is really fun to see where ideas travel. Have fun with this. If you can imagine it–you can do it. I love your energy. Keep up the great work! Enjoy the process of writing your ideas out. You will be amazed where they will take you! đ