All Saints College is a PK-12 independent Anglican co-educational school, located in Bull Creek, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia.

Outdoor play and learning is part of everyday learning at All Saints’.  Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes have an indoor/outdoor flow where the learning is valued equally indoors and outdoors in the lovely garden. The students in Pre-Primary and Year 1 take part in weekly Bush School, where they spend an afternoon outdoors in the school’s natural bush classroom, as well as time spent outdoors every day in the school playgrounds.  Year 2 children also participate in Bush school opportunities which entails going beyond the school to explore local environment. They also have a school vegetable garden which is managed by the junior school classes.

Kindergarten teacher Sarah Alfano believes Outdoor Classroom Day is a day to celebrate all the ways children can and should learn outdoors. “Outdoor learning is just as valuable, if not more, as indoor learning and there is nothing you learn indoors which can’t be learnt outdoors or enhanced in nature. In a time when we are becoming more and more disconnected from nature and children are spending more time indoors  it is a timely reminder to get outside”, Sarah said. 

Many of the classes in the Early Childhood Centre (Pre-K to Year 2) took part in Outdoor Classroom Day 2017, as they were excited to see the value of what they believe is an important part of our learning being celebrated.

Lessons Taken Outdoors

• Mat time outdoors and story time
• Messy play – clay play and painting
• Working with tools – whittling, creating confetti from leaves
• Long table lunch
• Rest time – under the trees and big parachute
• Active play
• Mud kitchen cooking
• Singing and dancing – role play stage area
• Construction and craft
• Cubby building

 

Benefits of Outdoor Learning

Learning:

Children are more engaged and motivated when they are naturally interested in something and the learning comes from them. A play-based approach with plenty of time to move, explore and discover together outdoors leads to many wonderful opportunities. The Educators can then be co-researchers with the children and respond to their discoveries and extend the children’s understandings. (eg increased attentiveness, more engaged in discussions etc)

Behaviour/personality:

Outdoor learning provides so many opportunities to be physically active, creative, curious, social, quiet or boisterous. It caters to all the different learning needs of the children and provides many spontaneous learning opportunities in which the children feel motivated and engaged. (eg more outgoing, less shy)

Participation in teamwork:

Often outdoors the children will have a big idea like wanting to build a car wash and suddenly it grows into a group project designing and gathering materials and loose parts, talking over the plans, trying different techniques to produce it and negotiating roles and turn taking. Often a problem will occur and the children will come up with ideas to solve it together. (eg increased problem-solving skills etc)

Sarah said, “We feel very lucky to have an indoor/outdoor flow in Kindy and an emergent style curriculum in which we develop our learning from the children’s interests and inquiring minds. We’re also very lucky to have staff who value Nature Play and have done professional development to enhance their skills and knowledge.”

All Saints’ College plans to celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day in 2018 with more outdoor play and learning!

WANT TO SHARE YOUR OUTDOOR CLASSROOM DAY STORY WITH THE WORLD?

If you’ve previously taken part in Outdoor Classroom Day, you’ve probably got some great stories to share – and we’d love to hear them!
To be featured in our Outdoor Classroom Story section on our website, please tell us a bit more about your school, and your participation in previous Outdoor Classroom Day campaigns.

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