Foundation Christian College provides an education for over 500 Kindergarten to Year 12 students and is located in the suburb of Greenfields, Mandurah, 70km south of Perth.

Situated within 8.5 hectares of land including gardens and preserved bushland, our younger students enjoy playing in nature while our senior students enjoy the peace and tranquillity required for their studies.

Set amongst shady and expansive natural tuart groves, the school’s beautiful and natural grounds makes a stunning backdrop to the variety of learning experiences.

The Early Learning Centre grounds include vegetable garden beds, an interactive garden, water pump and splash creek, sand pits, bicycle tracks and play equipment.

Primary students have access to several zones of Nature Play areas that become the background for construction, trading, cooperation and team building.

On Thursday 7th November 2019, teachers and students at Foundation Christian College will once again join in with the global celebration of Outdoor Classroom Day, to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play. Set amongst shady and expansive natural Tuart groves, the school’s beautiful and natural grounds will make a stunning backdrop to the variety of learning experiences that teachers have planned for the day.

It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate, enjoy and appreciate the unique natural setting of our College, and to immerse out students in this beautiful environment.

In past years, pre-primary students have enjoyed a range of activities during which time they will wrote with sticks in the dirt, created and solved number stories using natural materials, explored the Tuart groves to investigate insects and their habitats, and created art pieces using items they have collected on their walk.

Year 1 students had several learning stations to investigate a variety of topics. A parent brought in some bees and shared information designed to help students learn more about these fascinating and important insects. Students also had a worm farm on display, together with playdough, blocks, and measuring tapes in a Mathematics activity. They then went on a walk through the nature play area, collecting sticks to make message sticks.

Students have been planned and grew a vegetable garden which links beautifully into being outdoors. They brainstormed something that flies, like a kite or a rocket with a straw, and had a chance to fly them on the field. A mud kitchen area was set up, where the children will had time to play in nature, plus have the opportunity to make food with their friends using mud, stones, water, sticks and leaves.
Year 2 students enjoyed a range of Science learning experiences. They experimented with bubbles, bubble mixtures and different kinds of bubble wands – both bought and home-made. Students also explored mixtures and made rockets and volcanoes etc. They searched the environment for natural things they could use to make their mixtures, like sand, mud, soil, and water. They also read and created stories under the tree using the environment as their stimulus.

Literacy Support students were involved in an Adjective Treasure Hunt, which required them to find one special ‘treasure’ and describe it to theirs peers using adjectives and by thinking about all of their senses.

Kindergarten and Pre-primary students enjoy outside experiences daily. This includes nature walks during the on site tuart groves, dipping their feet and floating objects in the splash river, looking after the worm farm, and watering and picking vegetables from the garden beds.

It is particularly noticeable that students who are less attentive and engaged than their peers during mat sessions, table activities and more formal learning environments, become a master of their own learning in the outdoor environment. These students naturally take ownership of the worm farm and vegetable gardens, ensuring that they are watered and fed. They become expert trainers to their peers and draw in less enthusiastic students in with their excitement and growing knowledge of the environment.

Staff at Foundation Christian College are committed to finding links between learning outcomes and how they can be delivered in the natural environment. They are also keen to investigate links between being a sustainable school and looking after our environment.

Outdoor learning experiences provide opportunities to teaches critical life skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and creativity, all the while enjoying the great outdoors.

 

The Outdoor Classroom Day Team would like to thank Foundation Christian College Greenfields for sharing their story with us.  

 

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.

SHARE YOUR STORY

Is your school or early learning centre signed up?  Register today to show your commitment to outdoor play and learning!