Outdoor learning is a big part of our nursery here at Bluebird. In fact it is an integral part of the curriculum for all children. We are lucky to have the bus that ensures we all get out and about Inverclyde every week.
There is a huge amount of learning to be found in even the most simple trip to the park, the woods or even as we did today, the cemetery!
Firstly there is a lot of opportunity for fine motor development and independence skills (both very helpful for getting ready to write and learn at school), just with getting coats and shoes on to go out.
Ollie manages to get on his own coat and fastens it all by himself!
Heather can get her own jacket on.
Riley can put on his jacket all by himself and is nearly able to do the zip as well!
Caelan used both sides of his brain to coordinate both sides of his body to do up his own zip.
Carson made a good attempt at fastening his zip.
Lewis tried hard to do up his zip himself.
Zara can put on on her own jacket by herself!
Gabriel is fully independent in changing his shoes, putting his own coat on and zipping up all by himself!
Layton can take off his shoes and put his own boots on.
Noah put his own jacket on by himself.
The park gives us plenty of chances to move our bodies and learn how the work best, but that isn’t all. We have to use social skills to take turns and work together…
We took turns and took our time to use our hands and feet to cross the rope bridge.
Carson used his muscles and gross motor skills to push his friends on the equipment.
Skye and Ruby had to work collaboratively to make the see saw bounce.
Alan, Carson and Lewis all learned to negotiate a small space while all attempting to share the tube.
Everyone sat on the roundabout and made it move slowly round so that we could all enjoy it together. Moving around and getting a little dizzy helps us learn about motion and sight – physics and biology!
Sharing the mini roundabout requires us to move together!
Climbing up to the top of the frame not only helps our muscles and coordination but gives us a great sense of achievement!
Zeviah had been growing in confidence as she visits the park more often. At first she couldn’t cross the rope bridge, now she can do it by herself!
Heather had to coordinate her body and movement to move around, over and under the climbing frame.
And we also can explore aspects of science when we are out and about! Biology when seeing animals in their natural environment and Physics when playing in the park!
Carson used his imagination to pretend he was trapped in Spiderman’s web swing.
Aimee was a speed queen and loved going faster and faster on the zip line.
Riley was exploring direction and spinning motion on the mini round about – physics!
Kayleigh had to coordinate her body, shifting her weight to make the rocker bounce back and forth – physics and motion!
The web swing allows us experience a different sensation in moving back and forth while reclining. This helps us get used to our body’s core balance and sensory input.
We learned about balance, weight and addition when we joined up to all go on the see saw on one side and Ailie on the other (she’s heavy!!)
Carson learned about balance and weight language when playing on the bigger see saw.
Libby and Macey worked together to make the roundabout spin faster. They worked out that leaning in tight would make it work better. Early physics!
We even use our imaginations and develop stories or scenarios to role play when we are out…
Ollie grew in confidence in using the zip slide by himself, preparing for the bounce at the end where he pretended to be a wrecking ball demolishing a building.
But the focus today at the cemetery was most definitely on developing Language skills!
We explored lots of sound words when scrunching through the leaves as well as sharing our reactions to the sensation of walking on different surfaces – mud, leaves, grass, moss, hills, sticks, gravel, concrete.
We scrunched and climbed through the leaves that were piled up. It was uneven and squishy.
We learned new names for plants that we could see such as the monkey puzzle tree and the ivy as carved on a headstone and growing on the wall.
“Look! I’ve found moss!” – Layton “There’s a monkey tree!” – Noah
We looked for letters and words that we recognised – finding Gabriel’s name on a tomb stone and a stick in the shape of the letter S.
We were able to read environmental print with the stop sign.
Layton and Caelan recognised the stop sign and read what it said!
We used our higher order thinking to remember previous visits, investigate things that had fallen from the trees and apply previous knowledge to the cause of holes we found in the ground (could they be Easter Bunny tunnels?!)
But the learning of the day, in fact the quote of the day was Noah’s incredible reading of a memorial. He used his fabulous reading skills of using picture clues to help him read the words……..
“It says eagles love vegetables”!
(Sorry for the poor quality of the photo but staff may have been shaking with laughter). The memorial featured 2 white doves with olive branches in their beaks.
“It says “Eagles love vegetables”!” – Noah
Who’d have thought there could be so much to learn out and about!
Outdoor learning is a big part of our nursery here at Bluebird. In fact it is an integral part of the curriculum for all children. We are lucky to have the bus that ensures we all get out and about Inverclyde every week.
These outings are great for children’s health and wellbeing, getting out and about in the fresh air and being exposed to daylight rather than artificial light all day.
