Updated April 22nd, 2015
Our PTO had a special group of parents who worked on a beautification project for the grounds of our school. The project was completed by the summer of 2014, and they won some prize money from the same organization that I obtained our mini-grant from. Side note: the funds from that project and some additional fund raisers are being used to purchase playground equipment for our school ! The committee graciously donated a sign and a recycled tire sculpture for our outdoor classroom! They also added a rock garden with a mural by our bird feeding station. Thank you all!
2014
Sadly, we could not jump right into our Outdoor Classroom learning in September. A bad storm during the summer had partially taken down a few trees. They were leaning precariously and it was not safe to venture out until they were cut down. Fortunately, a parent volunteered to do so...but patience was in order.
I did begin the introduction to our adventures by reading the Fairy House Trilogy, as I had done the year before. There is no better way to spark a child's imagination than by talking of elves and fairies! Truth be known, it's a way for me to have controlled chaos when we first venture out...the students have a goal in mind. What would your Fairy House look like?!
Head's up and time out for a minute! I want to share some of the things I communicate to parents at the beginning of the school year:
- We are an Earth-friendly classroom. Please pack all snack and lunch food & drink items in reusable containers.
- Our classroom in the woods has been know to have deer sharing our space. The nurse would be happy to apply tick repellant to your child before we go out. Parent must provide the repellant and an authorizing note.
- The outdoor classroom can be wet at times. Students are welcome to bring in rubber boots that can be kept at school.
Also, even though our school campus is small and the outdoor classroom is right across the drive, I alway make sure I have communication with someone in the building should an emergency arise. If I go out without another adult, I carry a walkie-talkie and leave the other either with the nurse or the secretary.
While we were waiting to venture out into the woods, we set up our bird & squirrel feeding station, which is right outside our classroom window. Oh my...those squirrels can be distracting at times. They go through the corn cobs quickly and then go after the bird food! We have five feeders with different kinds of seeds. Almost all birds like a heavy sunflower mix (as do the squirrels!). One of the feeders is strictly finch food. I hang corn cobs attached to a bungee chord on one of the feeders. The suet feeder is the best because that is what attracts the woodpeckers!
The students made Bird Journals that would be kept handy all year. I provided a cover for them to color and pictures of the most frequent birds we see that they cut and pasted into their books. While I occasionally reminded them about the books, I never made it a specific assignment for them to write. I wanted the thought of journal writing to be self-inspired.
The students made Bird Journals that would be kept handy all year. I provided a cover for them to color and pictures of the most frequent birds we see that they cut and pasted into their books. While I occasionally reminded them about the books, I never made it a specific assignment for them to write. I wanted the thought of journal writing to be self-inspired.
As we continued to read our 'outdoor' books, we set up our butterfly larvae to hatch inside. In one of the Fairy House Trilogy stories, the fairies turn into monarch butterflies, so this was perfect. We hatched Painted Ladies, which look like a smaller version of monarchs. Here is picture of the class using American Sign Language to say 'butterfly'.
(Another head's up, especially to educators and web site developers. We have photo releases on file for all students.)
In Mid-October we were finally able to venture into the woods. Thank you, Mr. Schutte, for taking care of our tree problem! When this project started last year, we spent many a day clearing years worth of natural debris, organizing tons of branches into two large piles that would become habitats for birds and small animals. The result was lots of clear area for the students to roam safely, plus it looked 'neat' to my organization-obsessed eyes! Needless to say, the downed tree trunks lying randomly in what was once clear space made me cringe. Too large for me to move! This is where one really has to set aside those grown-up personality quirks and appreciate things through the eyes and mind of a child. Example: that big log that I found annoying became many things to the students. I especially enjoyed when one boy pointed out to us that the log was a cool drum...that he got different sounds depending on where he hit it with his 'drum sticks'!
We have a crate of 'tools' that we always take out with us. In the crate are magnifying glasses, mini microscopes, measuring tapes, rulers, a few notebooks for recording, pencils, markers, gloves, a garbage bag, tissues and band-aides. I try to remember to bring my camera every time, but...grrrr.....doesn't always happen! We also have a wheel barrow with shovels, rakes, and hand spades. Three children are the 'wheelbarrow fetchers'...it is stored in the priest's garage down the driveway.
Of course, Fairy House building was top priority!
Grrrr for not having my camera at all times! In October, the students discovered several different kinds of mushrooms growing. That was quite exciting, particularly when they discovered some very large ones! While I don't have pics of the students with the mushrooms, I will post here some 'borrowed' pics so you can see some of the different varieties we found. We observed and measured in the wild. We then took some inside and used our scale and our digital microscope. Hint to educators and parents alike...the students LOVE Zoomie!
We also planted bulbs in our tire planters. Spring will tell how successful that was. Alas, no pictures again.
In November, the weather is brutally cold....it's going to be a long winter, I'm afraid.
Here are some pictures from a November outing, tending to fairy houses!
Here are some pictures from a November outing, tending to fairy houses!
During December, we learned about where paper comes from....and why we should use both sides of our drawing paper. Kindergartners love to draw and write when they have a few minutes of free time. I have found the most economical source of paper is regular copy paper, which I cut in half. In any event, we made paper again this year using the shreds from the office paper shredder. Just another way to introduce the concept of recycling and re-using. Are there pics from this project? Of course not! Word to the wise...this project was made much easier with the help of a parent volunteer. Oops, did I fail to mention that I have two volunteers who come in weekly, on different days. Thank you Mrs. Rodden and Mrs. Pappas!
My supplies and equipment for paper making are inexpensive:
- I always keep a supply of old towels on hand...always useful. When making paper, we cover the tables with them
- blender
- dish tubs from the dollar store
- a roll of screen (think screen door)
- embroidery hoops
- a supply of felt...used over and over. We turn out each piece
of paper made onto the felt, then layer 5 deep and set to dry - large sponges
As predicted, it was a very brutal winter. The cold temps and snow made it pretty much impossible to go outside. Here are a few pictures from the one outing we managed in January. But as you will soon see, it was to be a very special outing!
So here's the thing. On that outing to the Outdoor Classroom, one of the boys found a piece of bark with a white, fluffy 'thing' on it. We brought it back to the classroom to observe. I set it on top of a shelf and helped in the hustle and bustle of removing snow suits. Well, there it sat for a few weeks, lonely and forgotten...until one day when we arrived at school to find that the fluffy white 'thing' was a spider egg sac! With the warmth of the classroom, all of the eggs had hatched and made a huge web. I put white paper behind the bark and the web so it would photograph better. What a treat to behold and observe. And what a coincidence that the chapter book we would start reading that day was Charlotte's Web. Really, I promise...check my lesson plans! Total coincidence!
Well, it's February. Planting time! Last year, a representative from our local Cornell Cooperative Extension made a visit to our class to talk about growing vegetables. She read a wonderful book called Who Grew My Soup? I read the book to the class and we examined and taste-tested some of the vegetables from the book. One great vegetable to use is scallions, because you can see the roots so clearly. We cut off the scallions right above the white part, tasted the green and planted the 'bottom'. Yes, they did re-grow! It was a race to the water fountain after the students tasted the green part of the scallions! BTW, another book I like is called Tops and Bottoms. It's a wonderful book for learning about root and 'over the ground' vegetables. Here are some pictures from our gardening project:
There is a small knoll in the Outdoor classroom with an animal hole at the top. The students have always been told not to disturb it and not to put anything in it. Although we have often seen animal tracks outside, usually in the mud, we have never been able to determine what might live in that hole. We think we might now have a better idea.
Even though we have not been able to venture out to the Outdoor Classroom most of the winter, we can still see it from inside. In mid-March, as I had the student's rapt attention...yes, I said 'rapt'... during a language arts lesson, something caught my eye outside.This is where educators need to be flexible and seize the learning moments when we can. So there we were, standing on chairs and watching this fellow. So exciting! Yeah! I had my camera in school and it has a great zoom!
Right before Easter Break at the end of March, we engaged in one more recycling project,
making Easter baskets from gallon Milk jugs!
Crown of Thorns
The children all participated in making the Crown of Thorns. As good deeds are observed in the classroom, a student may remove a thorn to
lesson Christ's pain. I know it's not part of the Outdoor Classroom, but wanted to include it as part of our Easter activities.
The children all participated in making the Crown of Thorns. As good deeds are observed in the classroom, a student may remove a thorn to
lesson Christ's pain. I know it's not part of the Outdoor Classroom, but wanted to include it as part of our Easter activities.
Celebrate Earth Day!
Kindergarten students and parents helped clean up litter on and around our school grounds!
Kindergarten students and parents helped clean up litter on and around our school grounds!