Risky Play: Why Kids Need It
In my work with teachers I am often asked what risky play is. Risky play is simply a way of organizing observed categories of thrilling play that children engage in when they test their physical limits during unstructured play outdoors. The term “risky play” is gaining momentum in mainstream teaching and parenting circles due to the […]
Fairy Nature Wings
Our fairy nature wings were dreamed up with a group of students who love playing in the fairy garden, but needed some reminders to remain physically distant. Fairy nature wings became a perfect solution for extending imaginary fairy garden play, while naturally encouraging some physical distancing with the span of the wings. I was also […]
10 Tips for Teaching Outside the Classroom
Teaching outdoors is nothing new. As a species, humans have evolved to learn outdoors. For thousands of years, we have actively learned from experience alongside our elders. It is only recently in our evolutionary path that we have asked children to learn under florescent lighting, within four walls. Teaching Outside Transforms Students Taking your class […]
How to grow potatoes with kids
One of the most challenging aspects of growing food in school gardens is choosing crops that can reliably be harvested within the school year. Potatoes are a great school garden crop because they are familiar to kids, nutritious and tasty to cook up, plus they’re ridiculously joyful to harvest! This post is about how to […]
Risky Play with Height: Life Lessons Last a Lifetime
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 of heights. The known risk of physical injury from risky play with height is from falling. Local knowledge, and a risk benefit assessment, can reduce the hazards that may emerge […]
Risky Play: Getting Lost & Found In The Fog
If you’ve ever attended one of my teacher development workshops, you’ve heard me speak about the importance of allowing children to take risks in outdoor play and learning at school. The phrase ‘risky play’ has increasingly been used in education circles, and originated with Ellen Sandseter’s 2009 study, Categorising risky play—how can we identify risk‐taking in […]
What Seeds Need To Grow: A Seed Inquiry
Seeds are a fascinating lens through which a huge amount of curriculum can be explored. From mathematical routines like ‘which one doesn’t belong’ to sorting by attribute, to understanding adaptations and the needs of living things, a seed inquiry provides an entry to complex understandings, and a bridge to meaningful cross-curricular learning inside and outside […]
How To Build A Dinosaur Garden
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 because, in my opinion, gardens that are built for and with children shouldn’t be so precious that kids feel unwelcome. And if you find respite and peace by working in […]
Cool Plants Facts For Kids
Learning in a garden offers a wide range of multi-sensory experiences and practical knowledge building. Gardening with kids keeps me tuned in to the lesser known little factoids about plants that kids find super interesting. If you are gardening with your kids, teaching in a school garden (or just love being a garden know-it-all) read […]
Butterfly Inspired STEAM
Butterflies are essential pollinator friends in our ecosystem that add to the biodiversity of any garden. When it comes to butterfly STEAM, this paper project is one of my favourites because of its simplicity and large scale beauty! These butterflies can stand alone as an art display, or accentuate and enhance any nature themed bulletin […]