Outdoor Classroom

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm giving a presentation to head teachers on the outdoor classroom for my final teaching year and was hoping you might share with me any good ideas or experiences that will help me to set up an outdoor lesson for a reception class.

 

Thanks

[Guest]

You should be able to cover the six areas of learning for the foundation stage. Think of the garden / outside area as you would your class room.

Some things are obvious - physical , climbing frame, wheeled toys - with numbers on them and bays to park in etc. We also have our large brick play outside. Dressing - putting on coats

CLL - We have white boards and chalk boards fixed to the walls for use with chalks and pens. In the summer we have a reading tent with books and somewhere comfy to sit.

Creative - We introduce role play buy providing builders hats and tools and create dens with blankets over tables. Shops with tills clipboards pencils and money. for maths and emergent writing. Painting - use pots of water and brushes to paint onto slabs watch the water evaporate.

Maths

I have velcro strips fixed to some posts but you could use an old table and laminated number games in bags for them to sort and stick onto the velcro so they do not blow away. Use small pe equipment - beanbags etc to make up a game - use tallying to record numbers.

KUW observation of living things and the world around them, seasons, sun/shadow/ frost /evaporation - we have a garden trolly we can wheel outside with books pens and an investigation box with magnifying glasses, colour paddles crystals, we have wind chimes hanging up, small kites and pinwheel. You need an ares for digging or some pots to grow things in. Let children use a camera and a tape recorder to tape some environmental sounds. Sensory trail.

PSE is usually covered with sharing of equipment.

[Guest]

In addition to mimi's reply, I also have stepping stones in my vegetable patch (you could paint these somewhere if there is no patch available - but they do look effective in front of smaller veg. like carrots/mint etc.) They aren't too big, but I've painted numbers 1 - 10 on them - so the children are learning to count forwards whilst going up them and then they just love to come back the other way, counting backwards and 'blasting off!' at the end - brill too for number recognition!. We also take out a mobile hand washing unit, drinking water dispenser- which are always very well used.

 

janice

[Guest]

Hi

 

Here' s an activity which I have just carried out recently in our FS unit. Welly printing with 3 different sized wellies. Talked about the different sizes and ordered, then tried on one pair of wellies in order to print with them and to later use to compare to their own feet!

 

After this adult lead activity took place (huge demand as children wanted to try on the giant wellies- mine are now covered in green and black paint!!!!), I then left the resources outside with huge rolls of paper on the floor so that children could try on any wellies and actually walk, jump, run etc in the wellies and look at the tracks and patterns that they had made.

 

This proved to be a very popular activity (obvious links to maths, creative, language and problem solving- how will we clean all the wellies!!) One little boy seemed to spend almost all week watching and participating in the activity in one way or another. It' s also an activity which was easier to carry outside- didn' t have to worry about the mess so much (quick sluice down at the end of the week), large space to move about in and appropriate footwear!

 

Lisa

[Guest]

That sounds fun Lisa I had forgotten how much fun walking in over sized welly boots can be.

[AnonyMouse_2760]

There are some nice pictures of outdoor play and information on this website

 

http://tlfe.org.uk/foundationstage/outdoorplay/

 

Hope all goes well, I am sure it will

[Guest]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I will surely try some of these!