Taking on the Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge: A teacher’s perspective
Kate Porter
August 1, 2019
I love being outdoors, and as I have gained teaching experience I have learned how to navigate the barriers of taking students outside, and have come to a place in my career where learning outside has been enjoyable and effective. Teachers, if you are at the planning or brainstorming phase for the upcoming school year, I highly recommend you to consider participating in the nation-wide Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge. Before I jump into the details of this great initiative, I’ll discuss two strategies for the planning phases of ...
New Faces, Growing Capacity, More Take Me Outside Initiatives
The Take Me Outside team is growing and with that we are able to offer new initiatives for getting students outside. New skills and expanded capacity = new TMO challenges and awesome new shirts; we’re excited to tell you all about it.
At the beginning of this year we put out a national call for new Directors and were overwhelmed by the interest, passion and skill that has come our way. We added five new Directors for a total of nine with representation from across the country. We regret not being able to accommodate everyone that applied, but a Board of 30 would ...
No such thing as bad weather: Fun winter activities
Playing outside in cold weather is, if you’re out of practice, like a stiff muscle that needs stretching. Ease your students and yourself into it. There is also comfort in numbers – work with other educators to create a fun experience for all.
Although it’s cold outside, there is still plenty to do! In fact, some activities can only be done in cold weather, so grab the winter bull by the horns and go for it. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Organize a winter field day with your school
Games + fresh air + fun? Count us in. Throw a winter field day ...
2018 Contest Winners
Congratulations to the 2018 Contest Winners!
Here are the winning videos from each category.
Stay tuned for details for the 2019 Contest coming soon!
Grade 7-12 Category:
Grand Prize and 1st Place Winner
Rachel Peressini from Victoria, BC
2nd Place Winner
Ian Oliphant from Vernon, BC
3rd Place Winner
Jacqueline Shi from Oakville, ON
Grade K-6 Category:
1st Place Winner
Sophie Colden from Calgary, AB
2nd Place Winner
Katelyn Paiuk from Kleinburg, ON
3rd Place Winner
Kiaera McQuillan from Langley, BC
Rules
Open Letter to Elementary School Students
Dear Elementary School Students,
We all make mistakes and sometimes, we don't even realize we're making a mistake until someone talks to us about it. I know you don't know me, but I'm wondering if I can ask for your help. We grown-ups are making a mistake these days but I'm pretty sure you can help us fix it.
Recently, 2,000 adults across Canada who don't know each other were asked some questions about spending time outside (http://bit.ly/IpsosOutsidePoll). All of their answers were collected from this survey and it showed something kind of strange - that 74% of ...
Are You In or Out?
Written by Judith Lipp, TMO's new Manager.
In my second week of being the new manager for Take Me Outside, I was inundated with hundreds of new e-mails in a period of just a few hours. As I sat before my in-box, I had a sinking feeling and doubts about the job all of a sudden. How would I be able to achieve the balance for which I am advocating: between stationary, screen time and being outside and active regularly. So there I was, staring at all those unread e-mails in my work inbox, feeling overwhelmed and wondering how I would ever breathe the fresh air again. ...
To the Top
We're excited to share our short film "To the Top," which highlights one of Canada's favourite winter activities - tobogganing! If you're looking for motivation to pull out the old wooden sled or the GT snow racer to take your son, your daughter, your niece or nephew, your friend's kids or maybe just yourself out for some good ol' fashioned winter fun, this film is for you. Shot in the Canadian Rockies with students from Banff Elementary School, we hope you can share this film to help inspire kids right across Canada to head outside and find oodles of fun in the snow!
...
Be a role model, not a scroll model
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
― James Baldwin, American author
Recently, an old friend posted something on Facebook that triggered a flurry of comments and criticism. The photo showed four dads sitting off to the side of the room as their respective kids participated in an evening activity at the YMCA. Their faces were whited out, and this friend asked in his post, “Yikes, is this what parenting looks like now?” All four dads had their heads down in their phones. A swift wave ...
2017 TMO Contest Winners
2017 Winners
Grade 1-6 Category:
Grand Prize Winner and 1st Place Winner
David Peatfield from Whistler, BC
2nd Place Winner
Claire Brillant from Saint John, NB
3rd Place Winner
Isabella, Abby and Ava Quinn from Fredericton, NB
Grade 7-12 Category:
1st Place Winner
Max Yang from Richmond, BC
2nd Place Winner
Jaiden Gibbons from Baldonnel, BC
3rd Place Winner
Lara Mylde from Calgary, AB
2016 Winners of the Take Me Outside Student Video Contest
The 2016 Take Me Outside Student Video Contest is excited to announce the winners! First off, we just want to thank a few folks. Mountain Equipment Co-op is the main sponsor of this contest and we’re really grateful for their support. They have donated some great prizes for the winners, helping students across this country get outside. We also want to thank the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival as well as Banff Lake Louise Tourism. The Festival is hosted each year in Banff, followed by a World Tour in over 40 countries, and showcases stories of adventure from ...
