Plug Kids in to Nature Bring nature back to elementary aged children by way of a Forest School By Kendra Martin “W
HY ARE WE LEARNING OUTDOORS?” I ask my students. “To wake up our brains”, is the loud chorus from my grade two class at Little Falls
Public School near St. Mary’s, Ontario. Outdoor learning is an integral part of their daily lives. These grade two children and over 200 students from kindergarten to grade 6 come to our school prepared; dressed in layers, with water bottles, hats and splash pants. They are ready for a day of learning adventures. This preparation is as important as completing homework or remembering to bring their planner. I started the Forest School program at Little Falls in 2013
from a seed planted in the book, Last Child in the Woods – Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv.1 The author talked about the absolute impera- tive of reconnecting children with nature in order to protect children’s personal wellbeing and to ensure that they feel connected to the natural world. I was inspired by the mes- sage and convinced by the research. Students can all relate to the natural world. It is a beau-
tiful transformation as kids peel away phobias, fears, and gradually clear away mental and physical barriers that have been socialized as our culture distances itself from nature. Within about two weeks of daily outdoor learning (approxi- mately 50% of the school day) the kids dig deep (literally) loving survival scenarios, insect hunts, tracking adventures,
chalk math and stand up meetings. It really is in their DNA, the natural world is within us all and provides that com- mon ground to anchor your curriculum. Nature based school programs are well established around the world. There is an abundance of research in support of outdoor learning with some of less commonly known benefits being perseverance, independence, confidence, social competence, and engage- ment in learning. Despite this evidence, nature based pro- grams are rare within public schools. Environmental, outdoor or nature education has primarily been an island of learning offered to specific grades at a location designated for this purpose with a prescribed curriculum offered in packaged programs. Alternatively, Nature Schools are mostly privately run for preschool aged children. School Boards are often reluctant to invest dollars in training teachers, designing out- door school learning spaces and relinquishing constraints of liability concerns and pervasive focus on standardized achievement outcomes to support these types of programs. At Little Falls, our vision is to bring Nature back to children as a valued and foundational part of everyday experience. In this article, I’ll describe what our version of nature awareness learning looks, feels, and sounds like so that you may include the pieces that resonate with your own practice. The belief behind forest schools is the completely non-
radical notion that we must ground children in their immedi- ate surroundings. Children must know and appreciate what’s in their own backyard, to recognize the real value of the nature that is part of their daily experience. Young children
GREEN TEACHER 113 Page 25
Photographs: Kendra Martin
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