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From
MEDIA: farmer Joy placed on Mon 04-Feb-08 22:02:56
outdoor learning
I'm delivering a course for staff at a children's centre in February. It's to encourage staff to have a positive outlook to outdoor learning. Not discouraging children by body language , shivering and saying its cold. Children wearing appropriate clothes, (which I am way out of touch with.) My youngest is 19! Mumsnetters must have heard of the Outdoor Learning Manifesto.? How many mumsnetters encourage, whatever the weather a short/long outdoor play everyday? How do most mums rate the importance of outdoor learning and it's contribution to confidence and self esteem? Outdoor activity/play/walk to the shops is so important in the initial stages of life I would like to canvas some current opinions of parents who are 'in the thick' of parenting at present. Can the mumsnet team/mums share their ideas which I can pass on to my students? Thank you so much Farmer Joy Cronkshaw Fold Farm and Study Centre www.cronkshaw.co.uk
We try to encourage outdoor activities everyday with our girls (5, 4 and 18 months). Whether its a walk into town (most days). Long walks on the beach or trips to the park or woods.
My 3 children are home schooled and one of the many reasons I choose to do this is so that we can do more outdoor learning time.
We are blessed to live down in Cornwall so we have easy access to beaches and the countryside
We believe that time out to explore nature and the world around them is vital to their upbringing.
never heard of the manifesto either sorry. Could you post a link on here? As a fellow mumsnetter once said, toddlers are like dogs and need walked at least once a day! It's true.
I've never heard of the manifesto but do encourage my 7yr old to play out (although not every day & mostly in the summer). We go for walks & walk to school & I always make sure that we point out things of interest & look at whats around us. As far as its contribution to confidence and self esteem - hmm not sure of that one, how would you say it differs from building confidence from indoor play (unless you mean leaping off tall objects / climbing frames etc??) I think many kids can't come up with games outside unless there are swings / park etc & that's something that parents can help with
despite living inner city leeds, me and my partner are furiously into nature. we are both eco-anarchists, and child goes to a Steiner toddler group and will be going to a Steiner kindergarten after that.am pleased to see my kid (16mths) seems to be toddling the same way. i too haven't heard of the manifesto. 'manifesto' sounds a bit offputting! maybe thats just me!
oh, forgot to answer the questions! child goes crazy if stuck indoors all day. as do i. i kind of go with "theres no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." a trip to the urban farm is my little ones dream outing, even though its a regular event. we walk to toddler groups within little legs walking distance, and the walk can take quite a journey. we don't have a car. that helps. we do comment on the weather. "brrrr" seems fun to our boy at moment, even though we don't try and say it postively particularly. our house is pretty freezing so we do comment on it being cold indoors too! he's not yet 1 1/2 but can recognise and make noises of several different types of bird! even though that includes feral pigeons...
We walk the dogs everyday, have taken photos of snails, flowers and doors (oh yes ds 1 loved the doors!) His school is fantastic as he wears a boiler suit that covers his unifrom to play outside so he isn't resticted by worrying about getting himself dirty. He has dug holes at school, planted bulbs and enjoys all the outside activities they provide as the outside learning environment is taken very seriously.
Hello Farmer My ds 1 is 18 mths old and I take him out at least once a day, but usually twice. This is partly because I lik ehim to get fresh air and partly because he is so much easier to entertain outdoors! At the moment it is so wet and we usually just walk to places rather than remain outdoors for any length of time. For me, it is never too cold to take a lo out, so long as they are well dressed and will keep the woolies on! As for outdoor play, at his age, everything is amazing so just walking for half an hour stimulates him. We are lucky enough to live near a National Trust park so we go there frequently to walk and look at the different birds and animals. We also live next to a cemetery and , yes, i know it's morbid, but we walk round there because it is so peaceful and free from traffic!
Mine go crazy if they don't spend at least 1/3 of the waking day outside. They always go out rain or shine, and at times we haven't had a garden it's been to local parks or trips out to 'proper countryside'.
we have a forest school programme in Milton Keynes: see here
A new and exciting initiative is now available for the children of Milton Keynes. With the help of Heritage Lottery Fund and Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, a three year project has been started to enable our children to take part in forest schools. Forest schools provide: • education in a woodland setting that is framed by strict safety routines with a high adult to pupil ratio; • learning that is linked to the National Curriculum and foundation stage objectives whilst setting these objectives within in a different concept and not just focused on the natural environment; • a focus on the whole child not just their academic ability; • regular outdoor contact over a significant period of time.
Hi Mumsnetters here’s some info/contact details you may be interested in.
The Outdoor Learning Manifesto recognises the importance of the value of learning outside the classroom. Children who for instance have Forest school experience have stronger social skills, greater ability to work in a group and generally have higher self esteem and confidence in their own ability. FACE, Farming and countryside education is an organisation dedicated to improving food,farming and countryside education. Thank you for your views so far. Farmer Joy
At the childrens centre we go to, the leader is going to buy outfits suitable for role playing, and she planned to paint a stage background on the wall. I offered to paint it and she said yes, I am of course doing it for free as it encourages children to play outside and use their imagination. Looking forward to doing it, haven't painted a big mural in a while.
I have a DS (7) and DD (5) who both attend the local primary which is going for Forest School status I believe. They spend every friday learning outdoors, even in the midst of winter. We live a rural area and the school is next to some woods and they seem to have great fun building dens etc, even in the depths of winter. We are asked to send them in wellies and suitable clothes on a friday and they normally come home FILTHY.
DS in particular gets a lot out of it. Not sure about DD who has always been a bit of a one for her home comforts. The teacher did say at parents evening that she's fine for a while but then asks when they're "going inside for a nice warm"!
I'm glad the school does this though. I always likened DS to a dog when he was little in that he needed a "run" every day. They come home physically knackered and muddy on a friday which is great to see.
From
MEDIA: farmer Joy placed on Mon 04-Feb-08 22:02:56
