What is outdoor school like?

What is outdoor school like?

You are wondering how outdoor school works. Can children really learn outside of a classroom? Don’t they need to be at a desk? What about state standards?

First, our environment is responsive to student, teacher, and family. Academic learning is guided within a context of a relationship-based environment.

In just one day this week, our students had writing time near a duck pond, studied bees in a giant tree, and did “BMX” bike races on a great hill. No, children do not need four walls and desk policies to learn.

What are they learning? In addition to academic trajectories that follow CA state standards (but not on a strict, oppressive timeline and no state testing!), they are building resilience and confidence by interacting with nature in an environment that facilitates conflict resolution. The natural environment and communication resources from teachers offer an abundance of sparks that provoke student creativity and curiosity – whatever their developmental stage might be.

It has been 17 weeks since we started our Outdoor School format. Through these times, we have been true to our goal to create an environment that provides consistency, community, and comfort for our TKG community. We celebrate all of the incredible humans who consistently show up to learn with one another.

 

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