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Learning outside the classroom comes with a range of benefits for children, including increased physical health and mental wellbeing. It also lets them connect with nature and develop respect for the environment. Studies suggest that outdoor learning can help to boost academic performance as children have greater recall of information they learn whilst doing fun activities in an unconventional setting. To help your child soak up all the benefits of outdoor education, why not get them started with these 5 activities, shared by an independent school in London.
Nature Journals
Children can polish up their literacy skills by documenting the things they find in nature. Set your child an objective to give them some direction. You could give them 15 minutes to explore the garden whilst taking notes, and then ask them to write a poem or short story about the things they discovered.
Times Table Catch
Throw a ball back and forth instead of just counting how many times it flies back and forth, add a little multiplication twist. You could start with the 2 times table, whilst the ball is in the air the catcher has to say the next number in the sequence before they catch it. You can work your way through the times tables to suit your child’s ability.
Vegetable Garden
Unearth your budding botanist by getting green-fingered at home. Create a vegetable plot if you have the room, or even just a window box herb garden. Your child will learn about the life cycle of plants and enjoy the fruits of their labour when it’s time to harvest their produce.
Balloon Rockets
The humble balloon can actually be used to teach children about physics. Thread a piece of string through a drinking straw and attach each end of the string to something to create a taught, straight line. Blow up a balloon and whilst holding it closed with your fingers, attach it to the straw with tape. Slide the rocket to one end of the string and release. As the air escapes from the balloon and pushes against the outside atmosphere, it will propel the rocket along the string, demonstrating action and reaction.
Direction Challenge
Draw out a chalk maze on a playground or patio and take it in turns navigating through to the finish point. The only twist is, you’re blindfolded and your partner has to direct you along the way using degree measurements and clockwise/anticlockwise commands.