Teacher: Look for those organic materials, you can look on the ground, in the beds.

Jarri: Getting students outdoors has many benefits, it increases academic engagement and excitement about learning as well as physical activity.

Teacher: You can go right over to Miss Kay.

Jarri: It can be daunting to figure out how to move classes outside. But getting kids outdoors isn’t an all or nothing proposition, even taking students outdoors for 30 minutes is beneficial, all you need is an open space.

Teacher: Excellent.

Teacher: Okay, so, get the calculators out, figure out your pace.

Jarri: Consider making outdoor sessions frequent, even if brief. Also, consider the age of students learning outdoors, younger students may be engaged outdoors for 30 to 45 minutes while older students maybe comfortable for up to two hours at a time.

Teacher: Let’s find a spot and let’s sit down and start working on our physical survey of the area, everybody.

Jarri: Schools can use multiple outdoor spaces across a campus of any size for outdoor learning, administrators can map out their campus by going to Google Earth, printing out a map, walking around and identifying grassy areas, courtyards and even parking lots or basketball courts.

Jarri: When creating a rotation schedule, think about whether children should be sent outside by grade, by subject, or by classroom location. How does this coordinate with other outdoor time, like PE? The rotations may be similar to the recess, library, or special schedules.

Jarri: Schools don’t need special supplies to go outdoors, those basic things cold be a sharpened pencil and a notebook. You can add five gallon buckets, whiteboards, clipboards, hand sanitizer, and first aid kits.

Student: What? That’s not– wow.

Student: Oh, yeah.

Student: So, like, right there.

Student: There’s a tadpole that’s moving around.

Jarri: The best outdoor lessons use the outdoors as a resource to really bring content to life, like science, but any subject can happen outdoors. The art teacher can teach drawing from direct observation, in ELA teachers can find a place for writing or work on a standard about description language.

Teacher: All right, let’s get a third one in here, grab a stick there, buddy.

Jarri: Volunteers can help with managing students, cleaning up, farm raising or getting supplies, like, buckets or tree stumps donated from local businesses.

Teacher: Okay, go put your boots on, get your boots.

Jarri: School leaders should let parents know that students will be spending time outdoors and to dress appropriately. Schools can also organize a donation drive to get coats and gear for students to make sure all students can participate in outdoor learning.

Teacher: Put it in the person’s palm next to them, like this, all right?

Jarri: Getting outdoors is good for everybody and does not require a lot of space, supplies or time, but just a bit of planning. The experience teachers create through these outdoor lenses are so memorable to the students.

Teacher: Any questions?

Students: No.

Teacher: All right, make it so, do it up.

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