Wellington Talk | The Importance of Outdoor Learning

Ms Yana Logvinova and Ms Wendy Chen

talk about the importance of outdoor learning

Before we start to discuss why outdoor learning is so important for children and what are its benefits for children's development, we will talk about why children like to play outdoors. Why it's so appealing for the children? The answer is that the children feel free outside. The sense of freedom that the outdoor brings is brilliant for a child's development, both mentally and physically. There is such a big space for outdoor playing where several activities are offered. Here at Wellington, we have outstanding facilities; which include a sand pit, water tank and mud kitchen. The children are so engaged in activities of interest to them, where they explore and learn through those activities.

Outdoor learning also enables our children to become independent learners. The teachers provide the environment and learn from the children about their interests. We invite them to make choices and to follow their interests. For some children, like introverts, who are very quiet and to whom it's really hard to make good communication with their peers, outdoor learning is one solution and it can be where they feel most confident. Because outdoor learning is set in a relaxing environment, children can fully immerse themselves outdoors. When they see other children playing and crawling on the lawn, even the introverted ones would like to join. Through communication, language skills develop; through play, coordination improves. In professional language, we say, when the well-being is so strong, the children start to learn.

STEAM is multicurricular and combines science, technology, engineering, art, and math. We encourage children to ask themselves questions and find innovative solutions to their problems. For instance, last year we introduced our children to a very nice activity: playing with rain gutters. A very easy and nice activity where they can practice those skills. They ask themselves different kinds of questions such as: how to put the rain gutters together correctly; how to change the angle of the gutters to let the ball roll down.

For example, when the children put the gutter flat, we put a small toy car on it and they realize that the car can stop anywhere on the gutter. If the children pour water from one end of the gutter, the car moves with the water along the gutter, but it can’t go very far. If the children change the angle of the gutter and put the car at the top, it might not stay there but move down slightly. The children would wonder the reason why this happens. When their car stops at some point in the gutter and they pour water from the top of the gutter, they will find the car moves quickly with the water to the end of the gutter. They would wonder why when they lift one end of the gutter, the toy car goes faster with the water. This is when the teachers can introduce mathematical concepts to them to talk about the angle of the gutter.

As another example, we put water in different buckets and drop paint in the water. The water will change to different colours. The children would take the water from the buckets with bowls and put the water into another container. If the children chose blue water and then added red water, they would realize that when the water is mixed the colour of the water changes. They would wonder why the colour has changed. And this is another question that we have been working on in STEAM.

There is one more excellent example of a STEAM activity: painting onto mirrors. It would never cross our mind that we can set up such an amazing activity, but the children are leading us. Sometimes, they give us such incredible ideas. Once one of the girls was rinsing her paintbrush in the sink in the bathroom when she found out she can use the paintbrush to paint on the mirror. It clicked in the teacher's head. Can we use this activity for other children, especially those who are not interested in painting or doing experiments with colours? So, we set up three mirrors outside and the children were busy painting on the mirror. It's another surface. It is another experience, and the children were fascinated by the outcome.

The ideas for outdoor activities are endless. Children are our teachers. They are leading us to set up the environment, and then they happily choose the activities they like the most in our outdoor STEAM activities. The teachers are only the providers of the activities. If we want to let the children develop, they need to explore by themselves also. Therefore, we offer various materials to the children. When they see those materials, they use their imagination and creativity to see how they can create something new. When we are looking at our children, we see scientists and artists—we see their future. They are so happy to experiment, and we are building up self-confidence so children can express themselves and it is just amazing. Outdoor activities not only provide a great chance to learn about the world and self-development but also support the physical and social development of the children. In the meantime, the children also become more confident.