the blog: on education outside

Outside Play teacher tool
Play Research

OPAL Teacher Tool

Data collected from Megan’s dissertation research ultimately supported the design of a FREE outdoor play and learning (OPAL) tool for elementary school teachers. The tool

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How to Weave a Pine Needle Basket

The following teaching (and blog post) was shared with our Richmond Environmental Educators (REED) on June 4, 2024 by Andrea Phillpotts and Teya Wijayakoon. Both would like to acknowledge they are settler teachers in SD38 schools. We gathered in Richmond to learn this skill on the traditional, unceded lands of

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ECE Alberta Science Outdoors Webinar

Thank you to everyone who joined us to discuss how we might locate our science curriculum outdoors! You can review the slides I shared in our session below, and links to specific resources and blog posts are also listed here. If you are looking for another opportunity to learn with

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Outside Play teacher tool

OPAL Teacher Tool

Data collected from Megan’s dissertation research ultimately supported the design of a FREE outdoor play and learning (OPAL) tool for elementary school teachers. The tool was developed as a digital colleague and curated by experienced Canadian elementary school teachers who locate their curricular learning out of doors. Designed under the

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Command games for classroom management

Command Games for Classroom Management

Command games are a playful way for teachers to position themselves as an authority figure with large groups of children who may be reluctant to take direction from adults. Command games can also be useful for teachers to practice giving loud, concise orders. Command games can be simple or complex,

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Garden Classroom Series 2023- 2024

The Garden Classroom 2023/ 2024

Hello classroom gardeners! Thank you for joining us as we kick off another year of garden learning together. You’ll receive a reminder (and a session link) each month from Van Dusen, so watch for that to access the series going forward. Session One: September 6, 2023 Big thanks to everyone

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Canadian Outdoor Learning Resource Hub

The team over at Take Me Outside has worked diligently to create an up to date resource that serves to connect teachers across the country. Systems of schooling have begun to embrace outdoor learning as a legitimate pedagogical approach to curricular learning, and research continues to provide evidence that all

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Outdoor Learning Conference 2023

Outdoor Learning Conference 2023

If you are one of the lucky educators who got a ticket to this year’s Outdoor Learning conference, you are likely still feeling the buzz of excitement that comes from being with over 400 like-minded educators in such a spectacular place. Many of you asked for the papers I cited,

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Risky play with loose parts.

Canadian Injury Prevention Conference

Thank you to everyone who joined Emma and I today! It’s always such a pleasure to share our joy for outdoor play and learning. The slides from our session can be viewed here. Resources that might interest you and your colleagues: Read this blog post I wrote about Risky Play

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San Antonio Risky Play and Loose Parts

Thanks to everyone from the The Advanced Learning Academy for such a warm welcome today! What a joy it is to share my love for unstructured outdoor play in schools! Here are blog posts you may find helpful and resources to support your conversations that may emerge from our session:

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