Playful learning outdoors is not only possible in your outdoor classroom, it is necessary! Inspire students to work collaboratively on outdoor garden projects like music walls, dinosaur gardens, mud kitchens and playful literacy through the use of shadow puppets and loose parts.
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
From time to time, I am sent teaching resources to review. I was offered a Magidome kit during the 2021 school year and was excited
Opportunities for playing in the rain are sorely missing in many childhoods. It often seems like decisions to stay inside at recess are randomly decided
Music Is Not My Strongest Subject But… Of all the curricular content I teach as an elementary school educator, music is likely my weakest subject
Thank you to Rene Gualtieri for contributions to this post! Not A Stick Play Having worked at a nature camp, I am very aware of
Dandelions are a sure sign of spring and an early source of pollen in our Spring gardens. Often considered weeds by gardeners, dandelions offer a
If you’ve ever fallen into the black hole of Pinterest, you’ve certainly seen some cute and fun ideas for gardening with kids. Which is great
Bug hotels are an essential addition to any garden, and particularly a children’s garden. There are really only two reasons to build them. One is
The emergent curriculum is a valuable tool for student directed inquiry in any outdoor classroom. I often have specific plans for my students that are
Walking, working and playing in nature invites children’s imaginations to create stories that reflect their lived experiences, their wonders and their understandings of the world
Math is all around us in nature, and patterning can be a great entry point for students to engage in mathematical thinking and learning while
One hundred years ago Soviet psychologist and play theorist, Lev Vygotsky, argued that play was a purposeful activity for children. Vygotsky believed that a child’s
What a fun night with colleagues from the Niagara District School Board! Thank you to all who joined in on our first session of the
Risky play with height includes climbing, jumping from or swinging over heights, hanging, dangling, or dropping from heights, as well as balancing over any variety
No spam, seasonal updates only.
During our final August PLAY Journal group meeting, we reviewed the article “Through the Kids . . . We Connected With Our Community”: Children as Catalysts of Social Capital (Wood
The outdoor classroom, school-yard, and garden are perfect spaces and places for inclusive and creative storytelling, vocabulary development, non-fiction writing, fine motor skill development and more!
This post has been written to support imaginative play with a box at home. If you have boxes available from deliveries, or are expecting deliveries, save your boxes for potentially
If you’ve never heard of Dr. Stuart Brown then you are in for a treat when you read his book, Play. In this book, Brown explains why play is essential to
Your information is safe. I will never share it with anyone.
