The outdoor classroom is a rich and storied


environment, full of possibilities for teachers and students to encounter the world together. Dialogue arises from this activity of joint attention. A slug gliding across a decomposing log, a Steller’s jay’s jarring call overhead, a new bud opening up. Each phenomenon presents the opportunity to use language as a tool for observation and inquiry. What do you notice? What do you think is happening here? How can we find out more?


Socio-Dramatic Play


“Oh! I saw a monster! I saw a big monster. Let’s get food. We have to get - put - food. Because I saw a big monster that was coming and eating all of the food for the baby monsters.” (Gathering seeds, throwing handfuls onto a path.) “Escape from the dungeon!” “Phew. I escaped. I escaped, because I am not afraid of monsters. I thought it was a monster, but I was super-duper-duper brave.”


Reading the Landscape: Early Literacy in the Outdoor Classroom


by Joanna Wright W


ill my child be ready for Kindergarten?” As nature-based early childhood programs spring up across the country, this is a common query from interested families. While parents want to


offer their children a chance to play outside, some also wonder if searching for bugs and traipsing through puddles will adequately prepare their child for the next stages of formal education. What is usually meant by “Will my child be ready for


Kindergarten?” refers to academic expectations, particularly reading and writing. In our outdoor classroom at Fiddleheads Forest School in Seattle, “walls” are interlacing cedar boughs rather than text-filled bulletin boards, and most winter days are too damp for paper and pencils. It might seem like a challenging environment in which to provide early literacy instruction, but our outdoor setting is also a source of unique opportunity. What does an outdoor environment offer for early literacy development?


Dialogue A core practice for language and literacy development is


one that pre-dates any sort of ABCs worksheet: rich, reciprocal dialogue. Early learners construct ideas about how the world works through exploration and social interaction. The act of listening is a key element of supporting these young investigator- conversationalists. By listening and responding, teachers can extend children’s comments into more complex linguistic and cognitive territory.


Page 22 The play-worlds created by children have an


important role in language and literacy development. These are worlds of stories, conflict, and experimentation. They are words of negotiation, as narratives join and come to life. Renowned teacher and writer Vivian Gussin Paley (1986) describes how young children “know intuitively that once they begin to pretend, they become accountable to the community of pretenders.” In this community, as in any community, communication is paramount.


During pretend play, children talk more, speak in lengthier utterances, and use more complex language (e.g. future tense, interrogative clauses, conditional verbs, descriptive adjectives, mental state verbs) than when they are engaged in other activities. (The Power of Play, Minnesota Children’s Museum)


An outdoor classroom is a wondrous, textured, dynamic habitat for imaginative play. With towering trees, foliage in which to feel hidden, unexpected visitors such as squirrels and owls, and cones falling to the ground, the ever-changing wild world provides an on-going stream of information with which the imagination can engage. And because many of the physical materials or “props” are natural items whose function in play is not pre-determined, children are required to work together to attribute meaning to these different items and integrate them into the story.


Emergent Reading and Writing


Many outdoor programs use field guides and other books to complement hands-on experience. A field guide, especially one with a layout that is accessible to early learners, is a wonderful supplement on exploratory walks. Using it encourages children to notice patterns and distinguish visual details, while building interest in printed material.


Another staple practice among many outdoor schools is that of journaling. Journals are books (ideally waterproof!) in which students can record their observations in pictures and words.


www.clearingmagazine.org CLEARING Fall 2017


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