Nurturing the Connection: 5 Tips for Raising Outdoors-Loving Kids
About Megan: Meghan J. Ward is an outdoor, travel and adventure writer based in Banff, Canada, and the author of The Wonders That I Find, a children’s book about a girl named Geneva who teaches her parents a thing or two about appreciating the small things in nature.
The house where I grew up was in suburbia yet it backed onto a protected wetland and forested area that contained a matrix of trails and secret forts. My sisters and I would take off for hours with other neighbourhood kids and play in those woods. We explored on foot, by bike, and even on skates when ...
June Learning Challenge Resources
Recycled Planters
Grades: All
Subjects: Arts, Natural Sciences and Math
Give recycling a new lease of life with this recycled planters lesson idea! This activity provides a context for a learning for sustainability, interdisciplinary project.
You will need: old plastic containers or cartons; paints, wool and other craft materials for decoration; glue and scissors; a mixture of top soil and compost; suitable crocks such as rocks, gravel or broken pots; and seeds or seedlings. Start by asking the children to consider the features needed for a plant pot such as ...
May Learning Challenge Resources
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Grades: All
Subjects: Arts & English Language Arts; Natural Sciences; Math
We’ll take any excuse to get outside, and an outdoor nature scavenger hunt is a great one. This is an activity that requires some preparation depending on your age group but we promise it's totally worth it! A nature scavenger hunt can keep kids engaged, excited and exploring all day if done right. Start by identifying a list of species or natural objects that exist in the nearby outdoors (a type of tree, flower, animal) or go for colours (this option cuts your ...
APRIL LEARNING CHALLENGE RESOURCES
Signs of Spring
Grades: All
Subjects: Arts & English Language Arts; Natural Sciences; Math
We love activities with low prep times and rich learning experiences, and a nature walk in Spring sure is it. This is a great excuse for your students to connect with the natural world while using all their senses. From melting ice to birds chirping, to the smell of rain and new blossoms: the signs of Spring are all around us! For the younger ones, create a checklist of spring signs they can discover on a scavenger hunt outside, and for higher grades, a sensory nature walk ...
MARCH TAKE ME OUTSIDE FOR LEARNING CHALLENGE RESOURCES
Sound Maps
Grades: All
Subjects: Arts & English Language Arts; Social Sciences; Natural Sciences; Math
This was one of our most popular activity suggestions during the Winter Challenge, and luckily, it is great fun all year long! This is a great way to extend a sit spot activity, engage our senses and add in some art skills! Head outside with a clipboard, some paper and a pencil, crayon, or charcoal and pick a nice “sit spot”. Close your eyes, relax, and listen: what do you hear? Some sounds might be nature sounds; what human-made sounds can you hear? What ...
FEBRUARY TAKE ME OUTSIDE FOR LEARNING CHALLENGE RESOURCES
Winter Bingo
Grades: All
Subjects: Arts & English Language Arts; Social Sciences; Natural Sciences; Math
Learners can create their own winter bingo cards and set out on a quest to fill in the squares, or use a template like these great ones from the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Use images or words to scale sheets through the grades, count natural items, measure snow depth or ice thickness, check out some snowflakes, and keep track of our animal friends who hibernate, go into torpor, and stay out all winter!
Either print out a template and head on out, or have ...
January Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge Resources
Crime Scene Creative Writing
All Ages
Curricular Areas: English Language Arts & Arts Education
Either have learners create their own crime scene using props and natural materials or have an outdoor crime scene staged already before they arrive. Challenge students to develop a story inspired by the crime scene they create or discover. You can also have learners create a story map for their stories prior to having them write it down!
Create a Math Trail
All Ages
Curricular Areas: Math & Physical Health Education
A ...
December Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge Resources
Fox Walking
All Ages; especially beneficial for building in self-regulation and fine motor skills and control in all learners.
Curricular Areas: Careers, Physical Health Education, Arts Education, Science
Most fox walking sessions begin with a question such as "how many of you like to see wildlife? Who would like to learn how to get close to wild animals?" Next it is time to demonstrate how to fox walk. The first step is to completely relax the body and slowly relax the mind, gently bend your knees, and step forward slowly with one foot leading with your toes. As ...
November Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge Resources
Nature Scavenger Hunts
Curricular Areas: Math & Art
Target Age Range: Primary (K-7)
Outdoor scavenger hunts can range from relatively simple to complex. For this activity you can use whatever you have on hand and it can be done in an urban or natural setting. First you will need to have plenty of examples of geometric shapes, either 3D blocks from your classroom or printed out sheets of paper with a variety of geometric shapes cut out of them. Once outside you will get your learners to identify these shapes in the surrounding environment. Where can we see or find ...
Act Your Way into Teaching Outside
A three-year-old girl is with her dad at the park down the street from their home on a sunny, autumn afternoon. Her dad brought something he dug out of the storage, something he hadn’t played with in years, it’s his old soccer ball. Finding an open patch of grass, he places the artifact of his athleticism down and kicks it towards his daughter. She laughs as the ball bumps into her shins, excited to see this new toy. She chases it and then swings her leg, her foot connecting to the top of the ball, sending it a few feet away. There are no rules attached. Her dad ...
