The following photo's and video show how the Outdoor Learning Area was used in 2019/2020 and how, if you are using it this year, we would appreciate it being left and organised. We have reduced the amount of loose parts available, due to COVID 19, but staff should make their own risk/benefit decisions about what should be used and taken onto the site.
Creating clusters of similar materials makes it easier for groups using the area to tidy up and leave everything in the correct place and ready for the next class.
The area has been populated with a variety of loose parts that complement play in a natural space and provides a wide range of scope for learning and play for children from nursery to P7.
If the same group uses the area regularly, they will experience working in different seasons and weathers.
When classes are halved like the one in the video below, the group in the classroom enjoy more focussed time with their teacher and the group in the outdoor learning area benefit from having their learning reinforced in a different environment.
In the session shown in the video below, the teacher asked the PSA for the outdoor session to be used to reinforce whole word recoginition and sequencing of days of the week. Cooperative learning, team work and problem solving eventually lead the group to realise that one of the days was missing. Video 20 seconds
The uneveness of the planks makes them challenging to balance on, but this also makes them more fun.
The planks also make a good base for a number line.
With the smaller tyres arranged around the big tyre the children describe it as a tyre flower. This helps them to remember how to replace the tyres if they have been moved. The tyres are used to balance on, hide and store things in and as a learning base.
The tyres here were used as a learning base for these children exploring 3D shapes.
Children collect water and put it down the shoot. They will sometimes race the water or put things in the pipe to slow it down or change the course of the water.
The pipes are stored alongside the fence where the children can have free access to use them.
The mud pit is surrounded by large logs at the top of the slope. This is the only place that children should dig as there is not enough grass space for them to dig holes all over the area. There are 4 spades that are stored in the brown cart at the bottom of the hill beside the pipes.