Outdoor Classroom

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

 

Hope alls going well back at school. Quick question...how do you operate outdoors in the winter? At the moment the chn can access outdoors from 09:30 till 11:00, the door is permanently open to offer so the chn hasve free flow. In the afternoon exactly the same, chn can come in and out as they pleaes. My concern is in the mid winter, when its frezzing, chn will not be able to open the door to access outdoors/indoors as they please like they can now. The door, will be closed obviously to stop the howling winds coming through and to keep the room warm. One thought was to have a button inside/out for the chn to press as and when they want to come in or out. But the worry is if a child is standing in the way of a door and it hits them as it opens.

I still really want to iffer the chn the free flow opportunities of using the outdoors but just cant seem to think how to. Any ideas on how you operate access to the outdoors during the winter, would be very much appreciated.

 

Misspink xxx

[AnonyMouse_1208]

We have heavy plastic strip door curtains fitted (like industrial ones) - they really do keep the heat in.

[Guest]

That's a great idea- we have exactly the same problem with our doors, they either have to be open or closed.

[Guest]

We use big plastic boxes with lids (ordered on the same pages as the children's plastic draws) to store some things and change the contents weekly. This has been the best solution we have found so far untill we get our permanent cover.

 

The unpredictable weather is our main problem. If we get the sand tray out, bricks, tables for writing....e.t.c and there is a shower one of us is running around trying to get everything back into the shed and then when it stops we have to set it all up again which is a bit of a waste of observation and activity time.

 

I think this winter I will think about the activities that I plan for outdoors a bit more. The 'Little Book of Outdoors' has some nice ideas.

 

Rachael xx

[Guest]

Thanks for your speedy ideas, eeeee as if we havent got anything better to do on a weds evening hey? Like the sound ofthe plastic strips, will defo consider them Magenta.

 

Will put it to the head tomorrow

 

xxx

[AnonyMouse_7542]

Thanks for your speedy ideas, eeeee as if we havent got anything better to do on a weds evening hey? Like the sound ofthe plastic strips, will defo consider them Magenta.

 

Will put it to the head tomorrow

 

xxx

 

Hi

 

I work in a Nursery school and we have normal sized wooden doors with a smaller door set in them so in the colder weather the large door is locked shut and the smaller door is fixed open so that the children can go in and out as they please and the adults just have to remember to duck as they go out! They work really well.