Taking learning outside has been shown to increase engagement and stimulate many more senses and types of learning than in the classroom. Being outdoors facilitates more practical, hands on learning and encourages children to thrive who might normally shy away from participation in an indoor setting.
Forest Schools have become a way of making outdoor learning more regular and this helps children to engage with nature and appreciate its dynamics and rhythms over the seasons. You don't have to be an official forest school, however, to take advantage of the benefits of teaching outside. Why not incorporate some outdoor time into your science or geography lessons, or even think of a way of taking maths outside or spending time having discussions during a PSHE session?
Spending time outside may be a particularly useful way of easing the return to school for some children who may find the intensity and chaotic, noisy nature of being in the classroom a bit overwhelming at first. Including some activities such as forest school crafts or team building games which can be done in an open space might help children interact with each other and remember how to play together.
There are loads of useful websites for outdoor learning, these are some of my favourites:
Have a search on Pinterest for tonnes of ideas, or look at the resources on my blog too: learningthroughnatureblog.blogspot.com
