30 (More!) Days of All Seasons Outdoor Nature-Based Art, Science, Literacy, Math and Play | Active, Off-Screen Forest School/ Holiday Camp Learning
This class contains 28 outdoor, open-ended activities for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn/ Fall. It can be taken in the school semester or as a Camp. Each activity supports early childhood literacy, math and science learning using story-telling, hands-on exploration, and play | Neurodiverse Inclusive.
Alice Campbell
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(188)
What's included
Homework
2-4 hours per week. A total of seven activities will be posted in the classroom each week (+ 2 interactive activities over the course, making 30 in total). Learners can choose which activities they complete and can complete them any time during the week. Creations or responses can be posted in the classroom by Sunday evening of the same week.Assessment
I do not use tests or other standardised approaches to assessing children's progress. In this age group, testing it is not developmentally appropriate and in some cases may be psychologically and academically harmful. However, as a teacher, I do believe it is important for me to be accountable to both children and parents. I aim to deliver classes that are not just "busy work" or entertainment, but which actively contribute to each child's learning in meaningful and sustainable ways. To do this, I use continuous observation of children's activity and conversation. When I make these observations, I am specifically considering the child's development in relation to the learning outcomes of the class (see above). I then routinely provide feedback to children. This may consist of: ~ positive affirmation (e.g. "I really liked the way you communicated your idea with that painting"); ~ positive reflection (e.g. "I wonder how you came up with that idea?"); and/ or ~ positive stretching (e.g. "I wonder if you could show that idea in other ways?). This is a wholistic approach to assessment. The child's response to my feedback helps me understand of "how far" they have traveled in their learning, and then "what comes next" in their learning. I welcome questions and inquiries from parents about their child's learning progress.Class Experience
US Grade Preschool - 1
➡ This class follows on from the first class: “30 Days of Nature” https://outschool.com/classes/30-days-of-all-seasons-outdoor-nature-based-art-science-literacy-math-and-play-K28Lyyv8#us4V3ufrxg ➡ If you intend to complete the class independently (i.e. without uploading your activities or wanting teacher feedback), you 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, and can simply enrol one child to access the activities as a family. ➡ Classes that include the week of 21 - 27 December 2022, have an "extra week" added to the class duration, to account for the holidays that many families celebrate during this time. __________________________________________ Ｃｌａｓｓ Ｄｅｓｃｒｉｐｔｉｏｎ In this flex class we will continue to build on, and extend the benefits of nature and play-based learning for children. This is 𝗡𝗢𝗧 a YouTube class where children learn "about" nature by passively watching videos! This class uses an active and hands-on "hybrid" approach, where learning takes place in nature. Using imaginative story-telling we will introduce key concepts and creative thinking. 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘, 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗-𝗟𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬-𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 then takes place off-screen, and outdoors in nature, using all-seasons play-based challenges, quests, experiences and activities. A comprehensive study at the University of Illinois (Kuo, 2012) found the benefits of learning and playing in nature included: ➡ Improved attention ➡ Reduced stress ➡ Strengthened executive function ➡ Increased motivation ➡ Improved fitness and coordination ➡ Developing dispositions for academic learning (self-regulation, curiosity, critical thinking) ➡ A greater sense of connection (to both other people, and nature itself). Each day offers a new invitation to connect and play with (and in) nature in many ways. These activities are linked together, so that children can explore and build literacy, mathematical, science, social and thinking skills in their own, local environments. The activities are designed to be inclusive of children with different and diverse abilities and interests, and at different stages of development. The content of this class is centred around a weekly concept or idea. These are: 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟭 – 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 We share our place in nature with many other living things. Each of us leaves behind trails, tracks or traces that we were here. Even in big cities, small “pockets” of life and nature can be found. Our activities this week involve exploring, noticing, documenting, and playfully experimenting to discover the different ways that people and animals leave traces, and what these tell us about the story of a place. 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮 – 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸, 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 Light, shadow, day and night hold a special fascination for many children. They are also often children’s first introduction to the cycles of nature. This week, we will choose from activities that explore the characteristics of these daily cycles. Using a combination of nature-based observation, experiments, play, art, construction, and stories, we will discover the daily rhythms that affect people, animals and plants in our places. 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟯: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 Understanding what makes something “alive” is an important milestone in young children’s learning and development. This week, our activities will explore this theme with activities encompassing plants, people, animals and objects in our natural places. Our activities will centre around the incredible characteristics that make something “alive”: life-cycles, movement, respiration, senses, growth and nutritional functions. 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟰: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 This week we turn our attention to the natural world below our feet, and above our treetops. Through play, art, discussion and experimentation we’ll soar with birds, discover the weather, blast beyond the atmosphere, dig deep into the remarkable world of soil, and look at the world through a different perspective. All activities are designed to foster and stretch children's literacy, scientific, mathematical, critical thinking and personal/ social skills through nature-based play, art and storytelling. Activities are also relevant to a range of seasons and environments (snow, rain, sun, sand, urban, city, rural etc.)...so you can connect with nature...wherever you are! __________________________________________ Ａｃｔｉｖｉｔｉｅｓ ａｎｄ Ｃｏｍｍｉｔｍｅｎｔ In addition to prompts and stories, learners will receive seven different activity guides - relating to the weekly theme - one for each day of the week. Most activities will typically take around 30 minutes if done as described. However, they are easily extended into longer periods of outdoor play, learning and discovery if desired. Each activity includes: ✫ prompts for the main activity ✫ suggestions for learning extensions and variations. This means that you can adjust the time, depth or complexity of the activities to suit your child, lifestyle, location and season. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆: 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸. 𝗢𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺! 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗻. __________________________________________ Ｃｌａｓｓ Ｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅ 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀* ✫ Learners receive a pre-recorded video (usually around 6 – 7 minutes) introducing our weekly theme with an imaginative story, and with an overview of the week’s activities. ✫ Learners receive the seven different activities relating to the weekly theme - one for each day of the coming week. These are posted in a PDF format for ease of printing and taking them outside. Children can choose any number of activities they want to do. (*Please note: I live in Australia, which means Monday here, may be Sunday for learners in the United States, United Kingdom, and some parts of Europe). 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 - 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 Once you receive the activities for the week, you can choose which ones you would like to do, and when you would like to do them. So, although this is a flex class, interaction does 𝗡𝗢𝗧 consist of passive video viewing or following along with pre-set instructions! You will be invited to actively engage with, think about and interact with nature in real, hands-on ways. Weekly activities include challenges, quests, art projects, detecting, investigations and active observation. These are completed off-screen, to allow maximum opportunities to engage with nature. Each child has agency and autonomy in their learning. Activities are designed so that children are not passively "given" knowledge to memorise. Each child makes choices and decisions about how they do each learning experience. This ensures each child is an active creator, who influences and impacts their own learning experiences and directions. Children then have the option to share their activities, creations or stories as a photo, video or classroom entry during the week. __________________________________________ Ｉｎｔｅｒａｃｔｉｏｎ ａｎｄ Ｐａｒｔｉｃｉｐａｔｉｏｎ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹. Learners may elect to complete the activities independently, without sharing in the classroom or seeking teacher feedback. For learners who wish to interact with me, they may share photos, videos or comments about their activities in the classroom setting. I will provide feedback to each individual child about any discoveries they share, with an emphasis on reinforcing their ideas and sparking deeper curiosity and motivation. Together, we will also be able to look at how (and where!) each of us did our nature activity, or what we discovered, and to share our responses with each other. ______________________________ Ｉｎｃｌｕｓｉｖｅ Ｐｌａｙ ＆ Ｌｅａｒｎｉｎｇ Ｅｘｐｅｒｉｅｎｃｅｓ...Ｆｏｒ Ａｌｌ Ｌｅａｒｎｅｒｓ All children have preferred ways of engaging with learning content. Typically, children learn best when they can engage with content in a way that reflects their own unique preferences. I endeavor to ensure that this class is inclusive of all learners (including E and 2E learners). I do this by structuring classes, activities and conversations so each child can choose to engage in the whole class, using whatever way is most appropriate, meaningful and rewarding for them. In this class, where we will be exploring and playing in nature, I structure each experience so that children may elect to engage through any one or more of the following ways: ~ sensory experience ~ gross motor learning ~ exploring and discovering the properties of materials ~ manipulative and fine motor activity ~ sorting/ aligning/ categorising/ patterning activity ~ exploring cause and effect ~ problem-solving ~ construction ~ imitation and role play ~ fantasy/ imaginative play and creativity ~ game play ~ art and artistic play Using activities which support multiple types of engagement, means that each child is able to participate in whatever way is most meaningful for them and to gain a truly personalised learning experience. __________________________________________ Ｔｅａｃｈｉｎｇ Ａｐｐｒｏａｃｈ This information will help you decide if my approach is a "good fit" for your child. This class is designed to ensure each child has the best possible child-led, personalised learning experience. I believe that learning comes not from memorising abstract facts, but though children being able to create and make sense of new ideas. To guide this learning, children need to have immersive, play-based experiences which allow them to think and engage deeply. Child-led learning means that your child decides how they participate and what they focus on in our class. In this class, I do not tell children what to think about, or what to focus on. Instead, my goal is to respond to your child's unique internal motivation. I do this by using stories, art, creativity and conversation to spark engagement. I then support each child to respond to these ideas and to follow their interests in a way that the class content and material comes to life for them. This helps make their learning become meaningful and sustained. You may see some differences in my classes, from the traditional US-based pre-K/ K/ early elementary and seated classroom approach. My aim is to extend your child's learning beyond our allocated screen time, through teaching and classroom practices such as: 🦋 Child-led learning (not teacher-led instruction) 🦋 Shared understanding (not imposing meaning) 🦋 Individualised and humanising relationships (not standardised expectations) 🦋 Hands-on, authentic play (not lectures) 🦋 Deep experimentation with creative, scientific, mathematical and relational process (not factory produced products or worksheets) 🦋 Collaboration and meaning (not rote memorising) 🦋 Imaginative resourcefulness (not mundane replication) 🦋 Growing children's passions (not their performance) 🦋 Reading and responding to children’s cues, behaviours and signals (not managing, pathologising or fixing them) 🦋 Being an adult who is in calm control (not an adult who is battling for control and compliance) My teaching approach tends to suit families who are seeking a humanising and wholistic learning experience for their young child.
Learning Goals
The intended learning outcomes for this class are aligned with the Australian and UK early years curricula. They are also consistent with the preschool/ early years curricula for NZ, China, Korea and most European countries. This class utilises the Michigan Essential Literacy Practices Framework, and the Mathematics Learning Trajectories.
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Ｉｎｔｅｎｄｅｄ Ｌｅａｒｎｉｎｇ Ｏｕｔｃｏｍｅｓ
1. I can confidently explore and engage with social and physical environments through play.
2. I can discover and explore connections between myself, other people and places.
3. I show growing appreciation and care for natural environments through exploring my relationships with other living things and responding to change.
4. I can apply a wide variety of thinking strategies to engage with situations and solve problems.
5. I can exchange ideas, feeling and understandings with others using language, art and mathematics.
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Ｃｒｉｔｉｃａｌ Ｔｈｉｎｋｉｎｇ Ｑｕｅｓｔｉｏｎ(ｓ)
1. What is nature?
2. Is nature alive?
3. What makes your (nature) place special? What is beautiful about nature?
4. What do you think are the most important parts of nature? For whom? Why?
5. How does nature change?
6. What can I learn from nature? What can nature teach people?
7. Would I change nature...or keep it the same?
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Ｓｃｉｅｎｃｅ Ｃｏｎｔｅｎｔ ａｎｄ Ｃｏｎｃｅｐｔｓ
~ Scientific thinking involves observing or other ways of collecting evidence to understand the world.
~ Animals (and people), as well as plants, are adapted to a particular ecology.
~ Plants are living things that produce things for animals (and people) and other plants.
~ Forces are ‘pushes’ and ‘pulls’ that make things move or stop or hold things up or squeeze things.
~ Things float or sink, depending on the material they are made of (not their weight).
~ Some people use the sense of sight to interpret our world. We use our ears to hear. Our skin is used to feel touch and textures.
~ Most things we see reflect light. Some objects (a light globe, the sun, a flame) reflect light.
~ We see colours when some types of light are reflected off a surface.
~ Planet earth is covered with rocks, soil, water and ice.
~ Rocks can be used as tools.
~ Soil can be made up of animal and plant material, grains of rock, and water.
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Ｍａｔｈｅｍａｔｉｃｓ Ｃｏｎｔｅｎｔ ａｎｄ Ｃｏｎｃｅｐｔｓ
~ Counting.
~ Subitising.
~ Comparing number.
~ Adding/ subtracting.
~ Composing numbers.
~ Patterns, structure and algebraic thinking.
~ 2D shapes.
~ Composing 2D shapes.
~ Disembedding shapes.
~ 3D shapes.
~ Composing 3D shapes.
~ Spatial visualisation and imagery.
~ Spatial orientation.
~ Measurement (length).
~ Measurement (area).
~ Measurement (angle and turn).
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Ｖｏｃａｂｕｌａｒｙ ａｎｄ Ｓｐｅｅｃｈ
This class will provide a setting for children to develop and practice their vocabulary and speech relating to the content, concepts, and activities we are exploring. The words we will be using will include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.
Vocabulary (or knowledge of words) includes understanding their structure (morphology), use (grammar) and meanings (semantics). It also includes understanding how one word links to other words (word/semantic relationships). Oral and aural vocabulary skills (or, for non-speaking children, visual vocabulary skills) are absolutely crucial to later development of literacy decoding and reading comprehension and fluency.
Because this is such an important skill gained in early childhood, I use a strong evidence-based and developmentally appropriate approach to vocabulary and speech development. This includes:
𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Explicit vocabulary discussion means that, in this class we not only use words, but we may also sometimes talk about them. We might discuss, for example:
~ what does this word mean?
~ what words would communicate what we want?
~ what other words can we use for this?
While these discussions are explicit, they are not a discrete part of our classes or delivered as a "lesson". Instead, I weave these into the discussions I have with children through video chat in the classroom. I do not choose or have a "list" of specific words that children "must" learn. My approach is to respond to children's interests by offering explicit vocabulary discussion that is purposeful, and which helps each child engage with their goals, interests and motivations. This means that children are developing their vocabulary (and self-awareness of it) in a meaningful, relevant and active way.
𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
While it may seem "efficient" to get children to memorise, or rote learn, words - this approach has been shown to have no real value in speech/ language development generally, including vocabulary development. Rather, evidence confirms that the critical requirement for strong vocabulary and speech development is sufficient opportunity for children to engage in meaningful, two-way conversations that are interesting to them.
To provide this for your child, I invite children to "chat" and "talk" with me and other learners using the video feature in this class, about the things that have captured their interest or that they are discovering. I then respond to these conversations and, where appropriate, will introduce new vocabulary, and also extend and stretch each child's confidence in using and understanding vocabulary in speech.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
As the activities in this class will need to be completed outside, appropriate supervision of younger children will be required. Particular care needs to be taken if playing near, with, or in water.
Supply List
The materials required for this class are fairly flexible. I have listed the recommended resources, but if you have difficulty accessing these, please contact me and I will be happy to recommend substitutes. ✫ Paper (for drawing, painting, collages, etc). ✫ Some coloured wax crayons ✫ Colour pencils ✫ String or yarn ✫ White/ Elmer's school glue ✫ A paint brush ✫ A collection of cardboard from recycled packaging (e.g. cereal boxes, cardboard tubes). ✫ Child-friendly scissors The remaining materials for this class will be collected from nature in your local area - and will depend on what you have available and the seasons. Examples of things you might find include sticks and twigs, leaves, feathers, shells, fur, bark, seed pods, rocks and pebbles. This means you will also need access to a garden, park or other natural area to complete the activities! Optional: ✫ Acrylic or poster paints ✫ Air dry clay (or can be substituted with home-made salt dough using plain flour, table salt, vegetable oil and water, with a recipe provided). ✫ Extra implements for nature play: examples might be buckets, a magnifying glass, bits of rope, a torch. ✫ A low, large plastic tub (such as an "under bed" storage container, or a "shell") with some play sand in it.
Language of Instruction
English
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
This class is inspired and informed by the following works:
✫ Sand Talk (Dr. Tyson Yunkaporta)
✫ 8-Ways Pedagogy (Dr. Tyson Yunkaporta)
✫ The Comfort of Water (Maya Ward)
✫ Cry of the Reed Warbler (Dr. Charles Massey)
Stories told by me in this class are authored by me, drawing from traditional folk tales.
Joined May, 2020
5.0
188reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I hold a Master of Teaching (Early Childhood) and have specialist skills in designing immersive education programs for very young children. I am a former member of Mensa.Reviews
Live Group Class
$48
for 4 weeks4 weeks
Completed by 8 learners
No live video meetings
Ages: 3-7
