Taking learning outdoors A group of three girls are making ‘fruit salad’ with a collection of leaves, sticks, flowers, dirt and water in a saucepan. Another group of children, donning a glittering array of mismatched dress-up costumes and accessories, are weaving in and out of the ‘fairy tale forest’ located among the leafy embankment and dry rock beds. A little girl, sporting safety goggles, is hammering nails into timber while three children nearby roll Matchbox cars down a makeshift ramp. This group of happy, bubbly children embody the pure joy and imagination of playing outdoors. It’s just a typical Friday in St Margaret’s Pre-Prep where, rain or shine, the four- and five-year-old girls and boys can be found learning in the natural environment surrounding their indoor classroom, developing positive relationships with the environment through their interactions with the natural world. According to Pre-Prep Teacher Belinda Knowles, engaging and enchanting students in the outdoors promotes many developmental benefits for the curious and adventurous little learners. ‘Time spent outdoors benefits children’s cognitive, social and physical development. Our Outdoor Classroom Day is play based
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and largely unstructured, which allows the children to spend long periods engrossed in outdoor play, all the while developing lifelong skills including social skills, creativity, resilience, problem solving and teamwork. ‘There are health and physical benefits, too. The children learn about making healthy and safe choices. We encourage bare feet to foster a connection with the natural environment, and, through this, they become aware of the environment, the leaves, rocks, mud, and sticks. It grounds them while also allowing them to strengthen their feet and leg muscles and stimulate their proprioceptors,’ Belinda says. ‘They employ the use of all of their senses to explore, too. They will look and listen to observe what is happening around them, touch what they can reach, smell the fresh scents of nature, and occasionally taste when given permission.’ A fundamental aspect of the outdoor classroom is developing students’ connection to the natural world and their environmental awareness to instil a lifelong sense of environmental stewardship.
