I have a vivid image of Linda’s former building and classroom. She used to teach in one of those wonderful old rooms with creaky wooden floors and lots of wall space. There wasn’t much wall to be seen, though, since nearly every square inch was covered—mostly with nature related […]
Schools in urban environments frequently have meager amounts of green space that can be utilized for outdoor learning. The National Inventor’s Hall of Fame® Middle School…Center for STEM Learning in Akron, Ohio was faced with exactly that challenge. The school is in the heart of downtown Akron, surrounded by concrete, […]
As a new school year unfolds, help students quickly see that outdoor learning is going to be incorporated into your teaching this year. Remember that the school grounds can be used in two ways: As a content source to provide concrete examples of abstract concepts (e.g. finding parallel lines in […]
May has been designated by the International School Grounds Alliance as International School Grounds Month. Quoting from its website, “The non-profit INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL GROUNDS ALLIANCE (ISGA) is a global network of organizations working to enrich children’s learning and play through improving the way school grounds are designed and used.” The […]
Most schools have a UCLF — “unattractive chain link fence”. One innovative school in Georgia turned the fence into a background for children’s art work. Ford Elementary near Atlanta took student artwork and and created a unique outdoor gallery. The pieces were sprayed with a water repellant to keep them looking […]
