About The Workshop
Any classroom can be an outdoor classroom. This workshop will focus on how to extend curriculum outdoors to children of all ages, in the Winter. The outdoors during the cold months naturally provide many loose parts not found during other seasons, meaning some learning opportunities are not possible throughout the rest of the year with this level of engagement. Learn how to take advantage of the snow and ice, and how to use the cold weather to your advantage. Participants will have an opportunity to try a variety of hands-on winter activities that they can take back to their classrooms. A positive experience in any climate or condition starts with preparedness and dressing appropriately. Outdoor learning and nature play engages children for longer, so always remember to dress warmly.
Learning Outcomes
- Understanding the importance of connecting children with nature and the many opportunities made available when your playground is cold and covered in snow and ice.
- Learning to make outdoor winter curriculum comfortable, fun and memorable. Learn how to dress for the cold and put to practice the Scandinavian saying, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.”
- Identifying the barriers that the Winter presents and strategies to overcome them to provide a successful outdoor learning environment. Problem-solving schedules and gaining parent support to get outside are great first steps to delivering curriculum outside in Winter months.
- Transforming any negative attitudes toward winter activities into very positive ones.
- Building on winter curriculum through nature play activities and using loose parts that are readily available in the winter.
