Outdoors as a Classroom

In the latest addition to the Exchange online store, Cultivating Outdoor Classrooms: Designing and Implementing Child-Centered Learning Environments, Eric Nelson makes these points about thinking of the outdoors as a classroom...

"Traditional ECE training does not include thinking about the outdoors as a classroom space.  So your first, and probably most important, step should be to drop old notions about the outdoors as simply a space for children to use during recess.  Think instead about indoor and outdoor classrooms as different only in their floors, walls, and ceilings.

"You don't have to remove your teacher's hat when you move outdoors.  Continue to be a teacher, and work with just as much focus as you did indoors.  Your role is not to become a playground monitor, and outdoor time is not simply a break from more important matters.  Outdoor activities promote just as much learning as indoor ones, and require just as much of your thought and attention."

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.

© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site