Outdoor Classroom
Summit Kids Academy is so proud of our Outdoor Classroom. Today more than ever, children need to be outdoors and learning in a natural environment. That's why we've been developing our outdoor classroom concept.
What is an Outdoor Classroom?
Not just a physical space outside or a playground, the Outdoor Classroom is a child-centered focused concept set in a natural outdoor space. This concept is based in research that shows that children who are enrolled in outdoor classroom programs become better critical thinkers, problem solvers, suffer from less stress and develop strong creative and social emotional skills.
Being outside, using larger spaces and using natural materials from a young age will offer your children more opportunities to develop the skills they will need later in school and in life.
Benefits of the Outdoor Classroom
Research has shown that:
- Physical movement is positively linked to brain development
- Children are healthier when they spend time outside
- Children learn better when they spend time outside
- Children are happier when they spend time outside
In addition to discussing this program with your child’s teacher and our directors, we welcome you to consult numerous research papers which can be found here.
The Outdoor Classroom core concept is that anything that can be done inside can be done outside. And many learning activities simply cannot be done inside. Once fully developed, our outdoor classroom with include the following elements:
- Vegetable Gardens
- Flower Gardens
- Climbing Areas
- Building and Sensory Play
- Quiet Reading Areas
- Water Play
- Art Studio
- Sand Boxes and Mud Pits (yes, mud pits - getting dirty will be so much fun!)
These areas will enable the children to fully explore science, math, literacy and creative abilities along with developing their physical skills by climbing, balancing, lifting, building jumping and running as children should.
As teachers, our role in the outdoor classroom concept, as well as in the indoor classroom, is to mentor the children to reach their highest potentials in all areas of development.
Did You Know
- Children with views of and contact with nature score higher on tests of concentration and self-discipline. The greener, the better the scores (Wells 2000, Taylor, et al. 2001).
- Children who play regularly in natural environments show more advanced motor fitness, including coordination, balance and agility, and they are sick less often (Grahn, et al. 1997, Fjortoft & Sageie 2001).
- Exposure to natural environments improves children’s cognitive development by improving their awareness, reasoning and observational skills (Pyle 2002).
- Play in outdoor environments stimulates all aspects of children’s development more readily than indoor environments (Moore & Wong 1997).
All these activities mentored by our teachers are educational, age-appropriate, loads of fun, and messy! Yes, having fun sometimes means getting wet and dirty. Luckily the dirt can be washed away while the learning and experiences will last forever.
With this in mind, it's important to dress for success in our program! That means that you should not send your child wearing something you would have a problem if it got muddy. Clothes and shoes worn by the children should be comfortable, lightweight and okay getting dirty. Please also send several changes of clothes so that they can change throughout the day.
