Creative Nature Art Projects Using Earth’s Gifts
Dive into the vibrant intersection of art and the natural environment, where children can use materials found in nature to craft beautiful works of art. This blog post will explore the endless possibilities of nature art, encouraging young artists to look closely at the textures and colours surrounding them. I’ll provide practical advice on collecting […]
Simple and Fun Science Taught Outdoors
One of my favourite parts of my job is encouraging young learners’ scientific curiosity by utilising outdoor environments and natural materials. This blog will walk you through simple, fun scientific lessons enhanced by being taught outside or using common natural materials. We’ll discover the advantages of learning science outdoors. Get ready for various kid-focused activities […]
Forest Schools: Offering A Fresh Approach To Learning
I am currently completing a portfolio of work to gain my Forest School Leader 3 qualification. Recently, I was lucky enough to participate in Forest School Practical Training with the outdoors group, which has a forest schools training centre based in Exmouth. The week-long course was a wonderful experience. I learned the practical skills needed […]
The Importance of Outdoor Play
Throughout my career as a teacher, I’ve mainly worked with KS2 children, but in my new role, I’ve been enjoying my KS1 and early years classes. They’ve given me the chance to observe many fantastic examples of play in the early years and KS1 departments, which has inspired me to introduce more free play opportunities […]
Overcoming Challenges and Teaching Outdoors
Overcoming Challenges Teachers often face seeming obstacles when planning and facilitating outdoor learning. These include weather, adult-to-child ratios, and timetabling (Salmi et al., 2016). The aforementioned are all challenges I have encountered as a teacher, and through experience, I have come up with solutions to most logistical problems. As a class teacher, I planned one […]
Linking Outdoor Learning to the Curriculum
Finding Connections Finding connections between the classroom and the outdoors may be essential for justifying teachers’ use of outdoor learning as part of their practice. It is generally accepted within primary education that interdisciplinary connected experiences can be more conducive to learning (Prince, 2018). However, teachers can often feel pressured to deliver certain curricular experiences, […]
What Is Outdoor Learning?
Introducing Outdoor Learning Welcome, and thanks for reading my first blog post. I want to start with an introduction to outdoor learning within primary education. It can be a little tricky to find an all-encompassing definition of outdoor learning. The Institute of Outdoor Learning (2020) defines outdoor learning as a broad term that includes discovery, […]
