Outdoor learning: The way forward?

Probably five or six years ago, the population of the school almost, it had almost doubled from about 290 to 570. All of our spare rooms, cafeteria, office space, were all being changed into classrooms. So being overcrowded, we looked around, where's the new space? And through the discussions, we realized we've got to move learning outdoors. Teaching is a very traditional profession. And if you think of all teachers, their experiences from school were in the classroom. So moving out of the classroom, where all your resources are and the technology, it's a major shift in thinking. So again, this is something that's very slow moving. Last spring in May, we were presented with the reality of returning to school during a pandemic. And if there was ever a time to think, okay, now we've really got to speed up this process of taking learning outdoors. Well, that was it. So over the summertime, we purchased three tents, three marquee tents. And we also got these wooden logs for students to sit on. So we wanted to do something that was very natural for kids to be here. And over the course of the last seven weeks, kids have been coming out, whether the gym class gets ready here in the tents, any other class comes out and does their math or French or English, we're having learning outdoors in classes. And we bought a set of scooters for kids to go out and scooter around the property. We're waiting for a set of bicycles. Everything's based on the health of kids to have fun, to be outdoors, and then to get them into this place where they're really ready for learning. If they're indoors all day, I'm not sure we would maximize the six hours of time indoors to be six hours of learning time. So this really, even though some things may seem like activities or fun activities, it's getting them closer to their teacher in terms of attachment, but it's also just allowing them to have fun and be ready for learning when the learning is taking place. These marquee tents are not built for winters. So as soon as the first snowfall forecast is upon us, we'll have to bring the tents down. However, we'll still be keeping these log seats out here as designated areas for classes to come. Classes will still come out here from time to time in milder weather and do some reading or do a 20-minute lesson. Maybe. We'll see how this winter goes. Saying that, our kindergartens and grade ones have been going on nature walks in the neighborhood to the forest right through the coldest January and February days for the last four or five years. We rented a shipping container for our property to be able to store bicycles, scooters, but we're going to get snowshoes, cross-country skis, skates. We're right beside the Hull Canal, and we're going to use this great property we have for fun outdoor winter activities. So the winter will come and we'll adjust accordingly. It'll be different, but the theme will be the same. Get outdoors and take the learning outdoors.