9 Ways To Celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day

In this blog, you will learn:

• What Outdoor Classroom Day is.
• 9 ways to celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day.
• How to find and apply for the best Teaching jobs.

Looking for creative and fun ways to celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day? Thousands of Teachers and Teaching Assistants all over the world celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day with their students. Teaching staff are tasked with creating lessons and activities that embrace nature and cultivate a love of learning outside the traditional classroom setting.

If you're an educator looking to take advantage of the fresh air and explore the wonders of nature, we've compiled some creative and fun ways to celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day with your students.

Our ideas not only promote learning, but also provide numerous benefits for students, Teachers and schools to engage with nature!

What is Outdoor Classroom Day?

Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to celebrate and encourage students to go outside and learn and play in their natural surroundings. 

Celebrated biannually, the Outdoor Classroom Day community campaigns for time outdoors everyday. Since it launched in 2011, it has become the world’s biggest celebration of outdoor play and learning.

According to Outdoor Classroom Day, 12.8 million children having taken part in the initative so far and two thirds of schools have increased outdoor learning and playtime since getting involved. The campaign has also contributed over 35 million extra hours of time outdoors for children and young people. 

9 ways to celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day

Schools across the globe can embrace Outdoor Classroom Day by taking any or all lessons outdoors to teach students about the importance of nature and the planet. Outdoor curriculum can include evidencing learning, learning for sustainability and place-responsive education. Our favourite ways to celebrate the day, include:

• Teach outdoors.
• Play.
• Go on a walk or a nature trail.
• Create a den.
• Become a scientist.
• Go on an insect hunt.
• Grow a vegetable garden.
• Take a trip outside.

Teach outdoors

The most obvious and effective way to embrace this special day is to take lessons outside and teach students in the great outdoors, weather dependent of course.

Teachers should ensure they have a lesson planned that can be conducted beyond the classroom, without reducing or risking the standard of the lesson. 

It's important not to plan a lesson that relies heavily on technology and lessons should be planned around the natural environment. Teachers should encourage students to sit outside on benches or in the play area, and take advantage of their surroundings.

Whether it’s P.E, maths or art, most subjects can be taken outdoors to enhance learning in a fun and creative way!

Play

Play is essential and provides children with important opportunities for learning that they might not experience in a classroom. It is vital that pupils are provided with high-quality play to ensure that they have opportunities to develop key life skills and socialise with other students in a relaxed and enjoyable way.

Schools can embrace construction play which involves outdoor activities such as digging holes and woodworking, so students can reap the benefits and play with different tools and resources.

Playing games and activities is essential to a healthy and happy childhood and gives students a break from a structured lesson in the classroom.

Outdoor play can provide more opportunities for managing risk, building resilience and exploring nature, making Outdoor Classroom Day a memorable experience. 

We advise playing some nature-themed games that combine learning and play, with opportunities for students to work together. Play not only teaches critical life skills such as resilience, teamwork and creativity, but is central to children's enjoyment of childhood.

Go on a walk or nature trail

Teachers can help students discover the outdoors with a nature trail, or can keep it simple, affordable and effective, by simply taking students on a walk around the school grounds. A walk or a nature trail is a great opportunity for learning about a variety of subjects such as plants, nature and geography.

Why not provide a new and interesting way of learning on the go and get students exercising as they learn more about their environment? Teachers could turn their time outdoors into a texture walk to make it a more sensory inclusive experience for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Teachers can ask students to describe what they see, how it makes them feel and the role nature plays in daily life, such as providing us with the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink.

Create a den

Why not test children’s skills and set them a fun task like building a den? Den building is a great way to not only get children interacting with natural elements, but also test their skills. They can learn to negotiate, problem solve, resolve, manage and cooperate with each other.

Teachers can show students how to create a den out of natural materials, teach them about assessing risks and the importance of thinking logically. Den building will test students mathematical skills as they might have to consider the shape and size of the materials they are using, as well as their design skills to visualise the finished product.

Teachers could turn a den building activity into a friendly competition by ranking the best den!

Become a scientist

Teachers could give students the opportunity to spend the lesson outside as a scientist out in the field. We suggest leading a discussion explaining what you want students to find, feel and experience in a science lesson with a twist. 

Experiments can be conducted outdoors by collecting data and making scientific observations. Scientific ideas and experiments include harnessing the power of wind, building a bird's nest from outdoor materials and experimenting with limestone rocks.

Teachers should encourage students to start a nature journal, to get them interested in science and curious about nature even after Outdoor Classroom Day is over. This is a great way to partner writing with outdoor science, while improving students observation skills.

Go on an insect hunt

Teachers can take it one step further and take pupils outdoors on an insect hunt! From ladybirds and worms, to ants, bees and wasps, why not create an activity pack or chart for students to track their findings?

Don’t stop there, ask students to draw the insect that they find, and write about their natural habitat, diet and the part they play in the ecosystem. Teachers can observe how many different species of insects pupils can correctly identify and what they can describe about their living conditions and how they survive.

Students will need to consider how the weather and different environments affect each insect differently. This will give them the opportunity to hone their observational skills and learn more about the world around them.

Grow a vegetable garden

Teachers can enrich the lives of pupils by growing a vegetable garden on the school grounds. This is an inquisitive and rewarding way to teach students about the environment, sustainability and healthy eating.

With the aim to make the planet greener and reconnect with the Earth, children can develop important gardening practices and understand more about community and biodiversity. It is a hands-on opportunity for students to enhance their science curriculum, engage in local food, biodiversity and community.

Teachers can embrace Outdoor Classroom Day by teaching children about the environment, sustainability and even the role insects play on the development of plants and vegetables. The best part is the yummy vegetables at the end of the gardening process!

Take a trip outside

A great way to get children outdoors and familiar with different surroundings, not just their school playground, would be to visit a local park, garden or playground. 

Many gardens and parks feature play areas, learning opportunities and teaching facilities for students, making it perfect for children to learn about nature, the environment and have fun. There are also interactive and practical workshops for schools to learn through play and exploration.

For children and young people living in urban areas, this would be a treat and many are run by charities with an aim to make the world greener. 

Why not book an adventurous trip for your students, one that embraces outdoor physical activities and exercise like rock climbing, canoeing and caving?

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