Think Outside

Time spent outdoors, even just in the schoolyard, has been shown to have a myriad of benefits for physical and mental health, including better focus, lower stress, better sleep, and increased retention of information for both students and teachers. We should be outside more, and it doesn't have to mean sacrificing content or skills learning, as every subject is connected to the world around us.

I can come to you! I would love to conduct an outdoor class with your students, or provide a training outside for you or your faculty, staff or administration, tackling whichever topic you'd like to explore. Perhaps you want to observe a class to envision how it might work, or maybe you want to work with me to coordinate students or teachers in an outdoor setting. Regardless, an Outdoor Day might be right for you. CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE OUTDOOR DAYS!

Outdoor Days- Request FormThis form allows you to request an outdoor day/training for teachers about how to get kids outside, OR to schedule a day(s) that I can visit your school and conduct a lesson outdoors with you and your students.

Here are some examples that I've used in my own classroom or helped other teachers to implement:

Calculating surface area and witnessing exothermic chemical reactions by lighting fires in the winter
Inspiring creative writing or drawing as students sit in a favorite schoolyard spot
Visiting our local wetlands to learn how indigenous communities managed wetlands and beaver meadows (combined with an opportunity to pick cranberries!)
Understanding ratios, botany, local history, economics and more by tapping maple trees and boiling sap
Grammar tag out on the play ground to practice nouns, verbs, prepositions, articles and pronouns
Creating various map types (thematic, physical, topographical and more) of a walk in the school's neighborhood
Foreign language coloring books or children's books with objects, shapes, or animals found/photographed outside
Physics and engineering through fort building or Rube Goldberg machines (as a compilation of simple machines) on the playground or in the forest
Empathy, teamwork and leadership skills through cooperative games and challenges
"Regular" class stuff, like discussion, lecture, reading, or homework help, but all outside!

There are challenges to working outside, of course, but let me help you to overcome them, or at least to embrace them as learning opportunities.

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