Outdoor classrooms and open-air schooling aren’t new ideas, just forgotten. But the Covid-19 pandemic reignited the fire as teachers and parents got creative about redesigning safe learning spaces for kids. In some ways, history is repeating itself. At the beginning of the 20th century, the rising number of TB cases combined with the 1918 flu pandemic sent everyone in search of fresh air. It was the start of a movement that would take teaching outdoors.
Talk about ingenuity and determination. Check out this floating classroom on a NYC ferry in 1915.👇 #TeachersGottaTeach
Image Source: Library of Congress
Today’s Outdoor Classrooms
Teaching 20 first graders on a rocking boat is a little dramatic for me, but I AM an outdoor girl and I’m drawn to the idea of leveraging the benefits of nature. I love taking my students outside during writing workshop, for example. Blankets and breezes just feel good. And the school’s yard seems like an obvious place for many of our science lessons. But is there more? I haven’t been super intentional in my quest for understanding all the advantages and opportunities. I just teach outside because I like being outside.
- But what else could I be doing?
- Specifically, what are the benefits (so say the data)?
- Could this be a school-wide movement?
- What are other schools doing?
- How can we create spaces that will work regardless of the weather?
- Allergy season … hmmm.
- Which local businesses could we contact for donations?
- And on that note, let’s drum up some volunteers to help construct, weed, paint, sew, plant, and move.
If you search Outdoor Classrooms on the Internet, you can start poring over dozens of articles and images that will inspire you and get you thinking. You can even reach out to some of the teacher-experts and ask them, “How did you get started? In what ways has this positively impacted your learning community? How much time do you spend outdoors a day? A week? Is there anything you would you have done differently? What is the feedback from parents?”
Fourteen schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area of NC have set up outdoor learning spaces. You can read more about their experience in this article from EdNC: Teaching Outside the Box in the Outdoor Classroom.👇
And in this article, author Jeanne McCarty shares Six Key Ingredients to Creating an Outdoor Classroom on a reasonable budget. She suggests considering location, whiteboards, seating, shade, storage, and raised beds when planning outdoor learning spaces for kids.👇
Would You Rather Listen?
Angela Watson, the host of the Truth for Teachers podcast, has a great episode dedicated to this topic. In episode 222, Bring Back Joy by Teaching Outdoors: A How-To Guide for Any Classroom, she talks about this being the perfect time to normalize outdoor learning. She wonders: What if we made this a permanent part of how we do school? What exactly does outdoor learning look like? And how can we provide equitable access to it?
My favorite part of this episode is when she interviews two teachers about their experiences teaching in outdoor classrooms. She talks with first grade teacher Alissa Shea from Leverett, MA who explains, “These spaces have always been there. It just took a pandemic for us to look outside and discover them. I discovered natural resources all around our school, ripe with learning experiences that give kids the freedom to dive into project-based learning connected to our local natural resources.” If you are interested in outdoor classrooms, I think her story will fuel your fire with possibilities.
At the end of the podcast episode, Angela shares tips about how to get started with outdoor learning at your school and also shares links to more resources.
👉 Kindergarten teachers Deedee Wills and Adam Peterson also have an episode about outdoor learning on their podcast The Classroom Collaborative. Add episode 75, Take the Learning Outside, to your summer playlist to keep your thoughts and ideas flowing.
In Case You Missed Part One…
Happy teaching!
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