September 13, 2024
When you think of a classroom, you probably imagine desks, whiteboards and educational posters. Nowadays, however, the classroom is no longer confined to the school building. Many teachers across the United States are leaving the traditional classroom behind every once in a while to embrace the outdoors due to the significant physical and educational benefits it provides. Students across the country are experiencing these benefits firsthand, too, especially during the spring and summer months.
If you don't have much experience with what an outdoor classroom is in practice, this idea may seem surprising. The air-conditioned hallways of the school might seem more comfortable for you and your students. You might worry about the lack of classroom supplies and traditional educational tools. In this article, we will address these very worries and examine the many ways you can design and use your outdoor classroom setting to inspire your students and enhance their overall learning experience.
Are Outdoor Classrooms Helpful for Learning?
Holding class outside offers numerous benefits for both students and teachers. Children today have fewer opportunities to play outdoors than their parents and grandparents did, which has a direct impact on their physical and mental well-being. Time spent outdoors can reduce stress and give students opportunities to connect with each other and with the world around them. Social and emotional learning can thrive under these conditions, and outdoor learning even promotes positive academic learning outcomes.
Together, these effects can lead to heightened engagement, stronger academic performance and deeper interpersonal connections.
Teachers can likewise build a stronger rapport with their students while breathing in fresh air and easing the many anxieties that plague life as a teacher. They may also find that outdoor learning in the summer combats learning loss and saves them time that would otherwise be spent reteaching prior material.
How to Set up an Outdoor Classroom
Before you design your outdoor classroom, you need to make sure the space is safe and usable for both you and your students. There are a number of new factors to consider that you typically don't have to think about in a traditional classroom setting. They include:
- Where you are: Outdoor education should take place in a safe, accessible area close to the school. It should have room for seating and sun protection equipment, such as pop-up tents and canopies. Students — including those with disabilities — should also be able to reach the location and return to the school for bathroom breaks or water in short order.
- What policies and regulations apply: Your local government and the school itself may have guidelines for outdoor education, including rules surrounding weather conditions. Always read up on and adhere to these rules before hosting a class outdoors. Some may have rules surrounding weather conditions, for instance.
- How you will deal with weather: Many weather conditions can have an adverse effect on your students' health, even if they don't always warrant an immediate exodus back inside. Teachers must be prepared to deal with rain, sun and more so that their students stay safe and engaged. Develop detailed response tools and bring tools and equipment to combat the weather with you. You can even advise parents on how their students should dress based on the forecast.
The Basics of Outdoor Classroom Design
Once you've identified the perfect spot to host your class, you can begin planning what to put in your outdoor classroom. The two biggest traits your design should emphasize are mobility and harmony with your surroundings. Your outdoor classroom can embody both by:
- Providing flexible seating and shelter: Outdoor classroom furniture should be easy to reposition so that students can find comfortable positions and move in response to the sun. Pop-up canopies, stackable stools and even old milk crates become vital classroom tools in this context, though some students may prefer to stand or sit on the ground. You may also find logs, benches and picnic tables around the school more useful than ever before, even if they aren't as flexible.
- Leveraging natural features: A huge part of outdoor education's appeal is the access to nature. From the fresh air to the soft grass, your students will be thrilled to experience the world around them while they learn about it. Lessons in biology and geology often pair well with outdoor classrooms, but any subject can be buoyed by the great outdoors with a little creativity. Consider holding your class in the shade of a tree or near the school's rooftop garden and incorporating them into the lesson.
- Equipping students with relevant tools and supplies: Perhaps the most exciting outdoor school classroom idea is including unique activities as part of the lesson. Whether it's identifying local rocks or going on an interactive scavenger hunt, you're going to need to come prepared. Make sure you bring tools that are durable enough to survive the outdoors. Notebooks, clipboards and even compact magnifying glasses can be extremely helpful, especially if you can transport them in a rolling cart or something similar.
Outdoor Classroom Activities for Summer Learning
The outdoors offers tremendous hands-on educational opportunities for your students. Getting outside the classroom alone can help students break free of boredom or ennui and get them excited and interested in learning about the world around them. Creative activities only enhance that interest while making education fun and interactive. Some of the most exciting outdoor classroom ideas for teachers include:
- Open-air science experiments: Hosting a live science experiment outside can significantly enrich both your students' experience and the lesson itself. Even something as simple as firing a bottle rocket into the sky can give your students firsthand experience with how fun and fascinating science can be in practice. You can even make a competition out of it to liven things up.
- Nature-based art: For millennia, nature has inspired artists of all stripes. Giving your students the chance to express themselves artistically in an outdoor environment connects them to that grand tradition and allows them to train their creativity in an open, encouraging setting. Maybe they all need to capture three different leaf etchings or compose a simple poem about a feature of the landscape. Incorporating the world around them into the lesson can ground their artistic expression while giving them a place to begin.
- Cooperative physical games: Scavenger hunts and puzzle-solving are classic outdoor activities, and they can be leveraged to create interactive, engaging lessons across a range of subjects. Maybe the scavenger hunt gives them a chance to work together to learn about different rock classifications. A series of puzzles might allow them to put their heads together and study for an upcoming quiz or test. You might find that moving around together actually enhances their recall and creativity while strengthening their relationships.
- Lessons and discussions that incorporate the environment as a learning tool: More traditional lessons or lectures can also be improved by holding them outdoors. Using chalk on the playground to illustrate points can break students out of a funk, and forming unique classroom shapes with mobile seating can encourage more lively discussion and debate. Simple changes like these that upset the routine can make lessons stick and open up new avenues of thought for your students.
Build the Outdoor Classroom of Your Dreams With Kurtz Bros.
Holding class inside or outside is difficult without the proper materials. Luckily, Kurtz Bros. has your back wherever you and your students go. We are a leading provider of school supplies, and we've been building partnerships with schools like yours since 1894. Whether you're looking for practical equipment like chalk and notebooks or educational resources for young children or those with special needs, our exceptional customer service team will work with you to find exactly what you and your students need.
To learn more about our outdoor classroom supplies, fill out our contact form or give us a call at 888-904-4217.
