THE GREAT OUTDOORS
www.icenimagazine.co.uk
ISSUE 87 2020
The Great Outdoors Considering we are not confined to the walls of a school building or the affixed schedule, we cherish the freedom to enjoy time outdoors whenever the mood strikes and our partially filled schedule allows. Whether we’re wrapping up in coats and gloves, or generously applying SPF 50, the children enjoy adventures in all weather. From a parental perspective, and not only that of a home educating one, it is plain to observe that time outdoors can spark a child’s curiosity of all things natural. My daughter, much like myself, has developed a fondness of the sky. She will sometimes spend great lengths of time gazing at the clouds, the moon or stars. Later she will ask questions, or (my personal favourite) she will form her own ideas about why things happen and share them with me. This provides a great opportunity to
research and learn, without prompting her to partake in formal education. Responding to her thoughts with the offer to delve deeper encourages the study of subjects she has unwittingly volunteered. Her questions and musings about nature have offered various topics, including astronomy (which she also covered in group science class), horticulture, seeding and pollination, meteorology, cosmology, geography, and even maths (we once spent an afternoon measuring our lawn to calculate what large species of animal or multiples of them would fit). Open space can provide elements and styles of learning that an inside space cannot, and for a child who finds it challenging to remain still and quiet, it can be the perfect environment to engage their intrigue. My son, who is younger, has a fascination with insects. Until he came along, I had never seen
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