Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to inspire and celebrate outdoor play and learning, at home and at school. On Outdoor Classroom Day, practitioners usually organise a special day outdoors for their class. In response to the coronavirus crisis, the movement will look a bit different in 2020.
As the coronavirus crisis continues, children in Scotland, and around the world, have been spending more time indoors and in front of screens. There is concern about the impact this is having on children’s wellbeing. Connecting to nature can restore our sense of wellbeing.
Over the coming weeks, The Outdoor Classroom Community will be sharing ideas for connecting to nature through play that can be done from anywhere – like your garden, balcony or even your living room! This year there will be an emphasis on bringing Playful Nature to everyone.
Visit the Outdoor Classroom Day website for more information, ideas and resources: https://outdoorclassroomday.org.uk/
You may also be interested in Education Scotland’s brand new Outdoor Learning and Learning for Sustainability Wakelet which contains links to key resources and activities: https://wakelet.com/wake/dx8-511rFvLFU03clV9eh
And, if you’re looking for great ideas and activities that can be used to support science, STEM and digital literacy in the outdoors then check out our Citizen Science resource and PowerPoint: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/citizen-science-and-curriculum-for-excellence/
Citizen science is great for learners to use with their families in their gardens or during their daily exercise and a perfect way to engage with nature and build STEM skills at the same time.
Lastly, outdoor learning has a key role to play in Curriculum for Excellence and is likely to be used to support education recovery as learning resumes with appropriate social distancing measures in place. An Outdoor Learning across the Four Contexts PowerPoint file is now live and exemplifies approaches in East Ayrshire Council. The PowerPoint is available on this page: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/resources-to-support-the-refreshed-curriculum-for-excellence-narrative/
