Primary 3 Outdoor Learning

outdoor learning feedback

Unfortunately our outdoor learning sessions have come to an end, however, class teachers will still take the children outside for outdoor learning.

I am really pleased that for term 2 I will continue to work with the children, but we will be focusing on other subject areas and skills indoors.

Thank you all for your efforts and enthusiasm outside! It has been a lot of fun! Thank you also for your kind and lovely feedback regarding our sessions.

Parental Feedback:

· I absolutely love reading the posts about outdoor learning, your posts are always so detailed with great pics. Adam always comes home happy after Outdoor day and also looks forward to going to it, he always tells me very excitedly all the things they have done outside whereas he doesn't always talk about indoor classroom learning. Outdoor learning is such a crucial part of their development and I feel there should be more of it. I love the variety and think the marshmallows toasting will be so much fun. I wish I could volunteer and help with the sessions. Could there be an element of outdoor cooking? Maybe they could make a hot chocolate or something else? Keep up the good work! I will try and get some comments from Adam directly as well.

· Have enjoyed seeing the photographs of the children enjoying their time at outdoor learning. My daughter sometimes struggles with learning in a classroom so being outside doing tasks as a group has been fantastic.

· As a parent I really value the time and input to outdoor learning. It is relevant to what my child’s interests are, it’s engaging and using appropriate use of the the outdoor space and resources. I’m particularly happy to hear the children experienced a fire, accessing more forest school opportunities. It would be great to see the children being more hands on with forestry skills: den building, using tools etc building skills that can only be developed through forest school experiences

· Eesa really enjoys the outdoor learning sessions. He particularly enjoys exploring the woods and having an opportunity for extended play with his class friends. Eesa has also learned how to safely climb trees when Mrs. Russell has allowed the children to do so - I have been unsuccessful in getting him to even try when we are at the park! As a parent I can see the benefits of having an outdoor session weekly. Eesa is definitely more tired on a Wednesday evening but he is also more relaxed and calmer than he is at the beginning of the week.

· Thanks for this outdoor learning. We hope Sathvik is enjoying it and is learning.

· Evie has really enjoyed this - talks really positively about it - I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the kids having so much fun with the sticks / fire / marshmallows. I was really impressed by it all, the set-up, the teaching & learning - everything.

· Excellent addition to the current curriculum. The non classroom based skills taught are valuable in other life areas for the children.

· I love that this is normalising being outdoors in all weathers for the children and promoting the idea of working outdoors

· I think it’s great for the children to go outdoors and learn through different activities and in nature which has been beneficial for Emily’s confidence in the outdoor environment. It is good for their health and well-being too.

· Ridhima has been enjoying her outdoor lessons every week and really looks forward to it. She tells us all about it at home. It is an excellent way to teach children so much about nature and the things that make the ecosystem.

· I think it has been a wonderful addition to the school day and provides a fantastic opportunity to learn outside of the classroom. I think Hugh has thrived participating in Forest School, where he has the opportunity to be physically active and hands on in his learning. I would love this to be a part of the curriculum going forward and think it is a real forward thinking approach and a plus for the school. I'd like to thank Mrs Russell and the other teachers for all their hard work and who have championed these sessions.

· Ava has loved going outside and it has been lovely to see all the photos of them working together have fun outdoors learning.

· More outdoor based learning opportunities would be an excellent addition to the children's current learning.

Pupil Feedback:

· I love outdoor learning because we did marshmallows!!!

· I really enjoy being outside with Mrs Russell and learning lots of new things. 😊

· I enjoy learning about bugs, trees and food chains. I liked toasting the marshmallows. –

· I love it because I love making stuff outside and I love exploring.

· Hugh has absolutely loved his time at forest school, he said it is the highlight of his week, he can't wait to go every week.

· Cooking marshmallows on the fire was so good.

· I love outdoor learning. My favourite thing I have done so far is roasting Marshmallows. I also love connecting with nature and building houses with my friends.

· I loved it, especially the campfire.

· I’ve enjoyed making the magic wand during my outdoor learning. As this helped me to prepare for my Halloween as we learned about witches.

· I enjoyed making things and building with stones.

· Making clay spoon was a lot of fun, thank you.

· I loved toasting marshmallows. And I like playing in the forest.

· Is outdoor learning finished? As I’ve really enjoyed taking part in this and would be happy to have this again.

Week Beginning 18th November 2024

This week, we learned all about the 4 layers of the forest. We created our own forests using natural materials in our school forest. We then had to label these to show that we understood each layer.

After, we had time to explore and play. Some of us enjoyed digging, some of us enjoyed using small world toys, some of us enjoyed drawing and being creative, others enjoyed peeling sticks, some went on a litter pick, some enjoyed playing in the mud kitchen, and others enjoyed exploring and playing their own games.

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Week Beginning 11th November 2024

This week we learned all about fire safety and how to start a fire. We know we have to kneel down by the camp fire and listen carefully to instructions. It is also important to not wear any long scarves.

We created a camp fire together and toasted marshmallows! It was so cosy and so much fun! The toasted marshmallows were delicious (I had to try them out too!).

We all had a shot at trying out the 'Dragon Sneeze' which is a helpful fire lighting tool which makes a spark that looks like a sparkler at bonfire night.

Thank you again to all our parent volunteers this week! Without you, our fun fire experience would not be possible. :)

Alexis and Archie came to share with us a special project they have been working on - caring for stick insects. We found it fascinating and everyone had lots of questions to ask them.

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Weeks Beginning 28th October and 4th November 2024

We have had a very busy 2 weeks!

We made wands using sticks for Halloween.

We also learned about plants and found out the names of the different parts of a plant. We labelled these in our jotters. We then learned about what plants need to grow.

We also enjoyed peeling sticks, making butterfly pictures by creating our own paint using natural materials and hammering them, we also played in the mud kitchen and made dens.

Week Beginning 21st October 2024

Our session was split up into two parts.

Part 1 - Food Chains

This week, we have been learning about food chains in much more detail. We learned about the terms: producers, consumers, predators and prey. We came up with examples of food chains and we learned that they always start with a producer, which is a plant that produces its own food.

Part 2 - Creativity and Construction

We then were tasked to make the biggest stick tower. We had to problem solve to decide how to actually build our tower. Some made structures like a fire, some tried to dig sticks into the ground and balance them. We then measured the height and width of our towers. It was lots of fun! We then were able to explore and play afterwards. Some decided to do some bark rubbings, some made some woodland drawings and some decided to play and make up their own games.

Week Beginning 7th October 2024

We are such a creative bunch! We used clay, natural materials and craft materials to make our own living creatures. Some of us made real creatures, such as hedgehogs and worms, whilst others made their own mythical creatures. We had lots of fun taking our creatures round the forest!

We also learned about Venn Diagrams to sort living things, non-living things and once lived. This part of Data Handling in Maths. The middle circle shows a connection between the other 2 circles as you can see from the example.

Week Beginning 30th September 2024

life cycles

We have been learning about the life cycle of a frog and the life cycle of a butterfly.

We created life cycle diagrams in our jotters.

We then took our learning outdoors and created a life cycle diagram using natural materials and made short films explaining the life cycle process for a frog or a butterfly.

We also had some free time and enjoyed playing in the forest and using peelers to peel the bark off sticks.

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Week Beginning 23rd September

INSECTS

This week, we have been learning all about insects. We learned some key facts about insects and learned about their body parts. We know that they have 6 legs, 2 antenna, a thorax, an abdomen and special eyes called compound eyes. We labelled these indoors and then we did some transient artwork outside and made insects using natural materials and we discussed their body parts.

Some of us then chose to try out using some tools. We used vegetable peelers and peeled bark off sticks. The children really enjoyed this. It was tough at first but we got there!

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We were very lucky and had a very sunny, but cold morning together. We collected materials from the forest and created our insects. We then used chalk to label the different parts of an insect. I was blown away by their creativity and knowledge!

I was also so touched by the lovely message that the 3 girls wrote for me using leaves - "best teacher"!

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It started off nice and dry for us, but later we had a bit of a down pour. The rain didn't dampen our moods though and we had lots of fun exploring the forest, peeling sticks and learning about insects.

Week Beginning 16th September

Maths week scotland!

This week we took Maths outside!

We learned about symmetry and created symmetrical patterns outside using natural materials.

We learned how to measure in centimetres using a ruler. We measured sticks and leaves and then placed these in order as a class from smallest to largest.

We also learned about place value. We used hoops and cones to break numbers down into Tens and Units. Some of us were given the challenge to try out Hundreds, Tens and Units!

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Week Beginning 9th September 2024

Celebrating Roald Dahl!

plAyful pedagogy meets outdoors!

This week, we have been focusing on some of Roald Dahl's stories and linking these with outdoor learning.

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We looked at 'The Twits' and made Mr Twit and his long, stinky, dirty beard using natural materials.

We also learned about food chains through the story of 'Fantastic Mr Fox'.

Lots of us enjoyed climbing trees.

Nathan found "honey in the trees" so we discussed that this was called sap.

Eilidh and Ayman liked a specific tree that they called the "worm tree" as it was curly like a worm.

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We looked at 'The Twit' and made Mr Twit and his long, stinky, dirty beard using natural materials.

We then learned about food chains through the story of 'Fantastic Mr Fox'.

Finally, we enjoyed playing in the mud kitchen and making different muddy medicines, potions and meals like George in 'George's Marvellous Medicine'.

Lots of us enjoyed climbing trees and pretending to be monkeys.

Corbin and Hannan made a base using large sticks.

Alfie and Adam made a camp fire and pretended to toast marshmallows.

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We looked at 'The Twit' and made Mr Twit and his long, stinky, dirty beard using natural materials.

We then learned about food chains through the story of 'Fantastic Mr Fox'.

Finally, we enjoyed playing in the mud kitchen and making different muddy medicines, potions and meals like George in 'George's Marvellous Medicine'.

Some of the boys really enjoyed making a big den. They had a secret password to let others in. I also enjoyed going inside it!

Lots of us enjoyed playing and exploring in the forest.

Ruthvik found "diamonds" in the forest.

Some of us enjoyed looking more closely at bugs under rocks.

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We looked at 'The Twtis' and made Mr Twit and his long, stinky, dirty beard using natural materials.

We then learned about food chains through the story of 'Fantastic Mr Fox'.

Finally, we enjoyed playing in the mud kitchen and making different muddy medicines, potions and meals like George in 'George's Marvellous Medicine'.

Some of the boys and girls enjoyed making dens.

Olivia, Safa and Tiffany enjoyed using an app called PlantNet to identify plants and trees.

Lewis, Grayson and Charlie enjoyed going on a litter pick and "helping Earth".

Hugh found a beetle that he thought looked like a scorpian. Lots of us found it quite fascinating! He didn't like it so much when it started crawling on his hand. Ahh!

Week Beginning: 2nd September 2024

The Primary 3 children and I had lots of fun this week learning about minibeasts. Firstly, we learned about the importance of risk assessing and used coloured warning symbols to identify the severity of the risk or danger. This is important so we keep ourselves safe! P3.12 spotted some wild mushrooms growing in the woods, but we decided to mark this as a danger as we didn't know if they were poisonous or not. We went on a minibeast hunt in our woods which was quite exciting. Then we learned about different habitats and we made bug hotels. Lots of us had some visitors check in to our hotels while we were making them. We had to work as part of a team, problem solve and come up with design solutions.

Week Beginning: 19th August 2024

Primary 3 had lots of ideas for our outdoor sessions. We planned this together and recorded our ideas.

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