5 Reasons Why You Should Try Outdoor Learning

Teachers know that the field of education is filled with constant new ideas and shifting best practices. Outdoor learning might seem to you like one of these “new ideas” that will simply be replaced by something different in a few years. You might even be thinking, “Why try outdoor learning, it’s just one more thing to do…” I hear you! There are so many things required of us as teachers, we don’t need one more thing to add to our list or squeeze into our day.

However, outdoor learning isn’t a new idea. In fact, it’s quite an old concept that seems to have been forgotten about in our busy classroom lives. The pressures and priorities in today’s schools have made outdoor learning seem frivolous or like “something extra.” These conflicting pressures and priorities sometimes make us forget about the actual needs of our students. Outdoor learning is one way that we can get back to teaching and nurturing our students, while still covering our curriculum. Continue reading to learn about 5 reasons to try outdoor learning this year.

5 Reasons to Try Outdoor Learning

1. The Amazing Benefits of Outdoor Learning

The benefits of outdoor learning are both numerous and amazing. Nature truly nourishes and fosters the growth of every aspect of a child’s being. Spending time in nature offers holistic and well-rounded growth for our students.

Our student’s physical health is bolstered through natural movement. Outdoors students simply move more and in ways that feel right for them. This means that as students work and play outside, they develop balance, coordination, stamina, gross motor skills, core strength and fine motor skills. This movement is an antidote to sedentary desk lives.

In addition to physical health, student’s mental health receives a boost from time outdoors. Students benefit from the mental break from the classroom, increased creativity, and the “just right” stimulation that nature provides. You might also find that your students are better able to focus once they come back to the indoor classroom after spending time outdoors.

Students also experience the social-emotional benefits of spending time in nature through building relationships, increased communication skills, building resilience, and boosting their self-confidence. Students naturally spend more time working together while outdoors and therefore build their teamwork and problem-solving skills in authentic and natural ways.

2. Cover Your Curriculum in a Meaningful Way

You might be thinking, I know about all of the amazing benefits for my students, but I have curriculum to cover and testing to do, as well as all of the other priorities set by my school administration. I don’t even have time to cover the curriculum I do have, let alone take my students outside.

However, I am here to argue that you can take your curriculum outside. In fact, you can take your curriculum outside and potentially even cover it in a more rich and meaningful way. With a bit of planning and creativity, you can find a way to take most curriculum objectives outdoors and let nature help you teach.

Outdoor learning can also provide opportunities for emergent and student-lead learning. Allowing students the freedom to explore and make discoveries in your learning space can guide your teaching and empower students to take leadership over their own learning. I have found so often that by letting student interest guide my lessons, not only are they fully engaged in what they learn about, but they are also inadvertently covering parts of the curriculum.

3. Help Students Build Relationships with Their Community and Nature

As students spend time exploring their schoolyard and community, they start to make connections to the spaces and places they explore. They begin to see themselves as a part of the community and as a part of nature, rather than something that is separate from it. As such they start to see themselves as contributing citizens who want to make a difference for others and the world.

As your students spend time out in their schoolyard and community, you may notice them taking steps towards looking after the space. Small gestures, such as picking up garbage, or looking after the outdoor space send a message to others in the community about how to be in the space. Additionally, students begin to see themselves as role models who contribute and make a difference.

4. Change the World With Outdoor Learning

As your students begin to spend more time in nature they begin to build a relationship with nature. They start to see themselves as a part of nature, not something that is separate from it. They also begin to understand how their actions have an impact on the space in both positive and negative ways. It is through building these relationships with nature, that students grow to become citizens that care about nature and actively work to protect it.

However, many of our students do not have the opportunity to get outside on a regular basis. As such, they don’t have time or space to build these necessary relationships with nature. It then becomes imperative that schools provide these opportunities. After all, is it not the job of schools to create citizens that are educated and contributing members of society. This includes educating them about the natural world as well.

5. It’s Fun!

Not only will your students be receiving the amazing benefits of spending time with nature, they will also have fun. If you are finding the school days to be long and you struggle to make it through, you might need to infuse a bit of outdoor fun into your day. I know that I was finding that when I wasn’t taking students outside, I had trouble making it through the day and maintaining enthusiasm by the end of the day. However, once I started taking things outside, I found myself to be refreshed and ready to go.

I also found that my students loved it. Often we would be still learning, but my students would be actively engaged and excited about what they were learning. They loved outdoor learning time and they loved the freedom that came with being outside. We were still covering our curriculum but were having fun doing it.

Now It’s Time to Try Outdoor Learning!

Outdoor learning can be a refreshing antidote to stagnant classroom life. Taking your students outside not only lets them experience the many benefits of getting outside but also allows them to have fun and build a relationship with their community. As a teacher, you are able to cover the curriculum in a meaningful way while also helping to build citizens of the future who care about the Earth and their community.

Why not try outdoor learning today? There are so many fun, easy and exciting ways that you can get outside with your students. Not only will your students experience the many benefits of outdoor learning, but so will you.

Keep Reading…

• Overcoming Barriers to Outdoor Learning
• Professional Development for Outdoor Learning
• How to Ease Into Outdoor Learning: Simple Steps for Success