How to Create an Outdoor Classroom
Are you looking for a new way to engage kids in the classroom? The answer you’re searching for may actually be outside. Outdoor classrooms have proven to be beneficial to students, and they provide a unique learning experience. Use our complete guide to learn about outdoor classroom benefits and how to bring one to your area.
What Are the Benefits of Outdoor Classrooms?
Before you move your class outdoors, you may wonder what the benefits of outdoor classrooms are. The various benefits of an outdoor classroom include:
- Promotes creativity and problem-solving: When kids spend time outside, they’re free to explore and play in a less structured setting. They can build their creativity and problem-solving skills as they create games, explore their surroundings, and more. These skills can then be used during school lessons and their future careers.
- Leads to better test scores and grades: Students that learn in an outdoor classroom tend to score better on standardized tests and earn higher grade point averages than students who learn in a traditional classroom setting.
- Increases interest in learning: Outdoor classrooms can increase kids’ interest and engagement in a lesson. Science classes are great opportunities for an outdoor lesson, but many subjects can benefit from an outdoor classroom.
- Provides various health benefits: Spending time outdoors offers many health benefits, such as improving your mood, increasing vitamin D levels, improving immune function, and more. Spending time in nature helps reduce levels of stress, which can help kids in and out of the classroom.
How to Start an Outdoor Classroom
Learning outside is valuable to students, but how do you start an outdoor classroom? Use the tips below to get started.
Find the Perfect Location
Ideally, you’ll want to find a location with natural shade to keep kids cool and help them see the whiteboard and teacher easier. The location should also be relatively close to the school so students can easily access the building when needed. Avoid steps or steep slopes that may make it difficult for some students to get to the learning space.
Create outdoor classrooms away from the playground or recess area to avoid potential noise distractions. Take the weather into account, too. Will your outdoor classroom still be accessible during or after rain, or will your class need to walk through a muddy mess to get there? Ideally, your outdoor classroom should have a paved walkway or a semi-permeable path.
Create a Team of Volunteers
A team of volunteers will help your outdoor classroom come to life. For example, local gardeners and landscapers can help create the perfect natural oasis and keep the classroom looking beautiful throughout the year. Graphic designers or artists can create signs and fun outdoor art to give the space a personal touch, and parents can help clean and set up the outdoor classroom equipment.
To make the outdoor classroom as beneficial to students as possible, you may need to seek additional funding. Reach out to local businesses to see if they’re willing to donate money or supplies such as chairs, bird feeders, building supplies, wood chips, plants, or other outdoor items.
What Should Be in Your Outdoor Classroom?
These learning spaces give you the freedom to get creative when designing the space. However, there are a few outdoor classroom ideas every school should take into account. Some of the necessary outdoor classroom items include:
Outdoor Classroom Equipment
Essential outdoor classroom equipment includes a whiteboard, whiteboard markers, paper, and pencils. Carrying an indoor whiteboard to the outdoor classroom every time you use it would be inconvenient, so it’s best to have a permanent outdoor whiteboard in the classroom. This whiteboard can be mounted in the ground or attached to an outdoor structure. With essential teaching equipment already in the outdoor classroom, it will make taking your class outdoors much easier and faster.
Outdoor Classroom Seating
Provide seating for students instead of having them sit in the grass or on the ground. However, you don’t need traditional desks. Consider using tree stump seats to keep a natural feel to the space, or use plastic stools. Stools and logs can be moved around when working on a group activity and separated to give kids their personal space during independent work.
Outdoor Classroom Storage
Having equipment already in the outdoor classroom makes it much easier for teachers to take their students outdoors. Plus, this will prevent kids from interrupting lessons to go back inside to grab a forgotten pencil or notebook.
Consider using a shed, locker, or weatherproof boxes to store classroom items like paper, pencils, rulers, and other teaching supplies, as well as cleaning items like wipes and hand sanitizer. Make sure to lock the storage area or boxes to keep supplies safe while the classroom is not in use.
Outdoor Classroom Furniture
Protect students from the sun by installing a shade structure over the outdoor classroom area. While it’s important to get kids outside, you still want them to be comfortable. Plus, proper shade will help kids see the whiteboard much easier, as the sun will not glare into their eyes.
An outdoor classroom welcome sign can also be a fun bit of furniture to add to the space. As students, parents, or teachers walk around campus, they will be able to identify the outdoor classroom area or areas from the other outdoor spaces. If there are multiple outdoor classrooms, using signs to label them will help students distinguish one from the other.
Other Tips for Creating an Outdoor Classroom
In addition to the necessary outdoor classroom items, there are some fun optional add-ons to consider. Check out some ideas for making your outdoor classroom unique below.
Take advantage of being outdoors and teach kids in a hands-on way about the weather and other science lessons. Use thermometers, rain gauges, and more for kids to see how weather impacts their surroundings in real time. Why have kids learn about the weather from a textbook when they could get outside and learn by doing?
Use a flower garden for aesthetic purposes and bring extra beauty to your outdoor classroom. A garden can also create a mini ecosystem where kids can explore and learn about the different bugs or animals that use the garden. Add a high-quality bench or two in the garden so kids can relax and use the space during independent reading times or talk with friends during free time.
Your class could also grow its own garden. While your students learn more about science and how plants, flowers, or vegetables grow, they’ll also improve their patience, work ethic, and personal responsibility. As growing a garden takes time, students will see how hard work pays off once their garden begins to flourish.
Teach students how to reuse natural resources and improve the environment through composting. Students can learn to become conscious of how their actions and choices impact the environment around them. Again, compost bins are an optional addition to outdoor classrooms, but they also can be used in various science lessons.
Build an Outdoor Classroom With Little Tikes Commercial Site Amenities
Bring the kids in your area a new, exciting, and beneficial way to learn with outdoor classrooms. Little Tikes Commercial can help make your dream outdoor classroom a reality with our various site amenities. We aim to provide kids with the best equipment to help them learn, grow, and have fun.