Tag: Outdoors Education

Uinta’s May Outdoor Adventure

Written by Montessori Admin on May 27, 2015. Posted in Blog.

Early this month the Uinta class (Upper Elementary, 9-12 year olds) embarked on a great adventure to Fremont Indian State Park as part of their Great Outdoors Expedition. The students have spent time in the classroom studying the Fremont Indians and on GO they have given attention to human interaction with nature and so this was a great way to culminate their studies as they walked the trails and read the stories of the Fremont Indians while eating and sleeping in the out of doors. Students, teachers and parent chaperones worked together to create a comfortable camp space and prepare delicious meals to be shared.

On the first full day of our visit, we drove a short distance to Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort where we practiced making fire, zip lined, and struggled our way through the ropes course. According to BRCMR, “these activities are designed to encourage self confidence as participants work through the various challenges, and also promote working as a team to achieve goals.” Everyone had a really great time with the activities provided and definitely felt the stretch of working as a team on activities that were out of the every day comfort.

Other time on the trip was spent hiking, exploring the petroglyphs and pictographs and playing nature and team building games. The students prepared pottery before the trip to be placed in the pit fire, which produced really amazing results. On Wednesday evening Donda shared stories of Native Americans around the camp fire and Giuliana played a soothing piece on the flute. The students entertained with jokes, games and stories but it seemed that the most enjoyed part of the trip was exploring the land near the camp site during free time.

Many thanks to the teachers and parents who worked tirelessly to make this trip possible. The time students in our programs spend out in the greater community is of huge benefit to their experience and education.

“Go Outside and Play”

Written by Montessori Admin on March 17, 2015. Posted in Blog.

“Children will be smarter, better able to get along with others, healthier and happier when they have regular opportunities for free and unstructured play in the out-of-doors.”
—American Medical Association, 2005

Spring has arrived! I can’t help but be excited by the thought of sunshine, hikes, water and fresh air! This article written by Jane M. Jacobs, M.A., a Montessori Educational Consultant at Montessori Services spoke to me in considering how outdoor time is such a powerful tool for our children. In the article, Jane offers a variety of ideas for making the best of your outside time with your little one.

Enjoy!

Were you told to “go out and play” when you were a child? Now, as a parent, do you give your children the same instructions? Perhaps not, but even for the urban, over-scheduled family, there are ways to give our children more opportunities to explore the outdoors.

For centuries it was common wisdom that children needed several hours of outdoor activity daily. As Dr. Benjamin Spock said, “It’s good for a baby (like anyone else) to get outdoors for two or three hours a day.” Some say we now suffer from “nature deficit disorder.” Children spend more and more time indoors with bright toys, beeping computer games, and flashing screens. A more contemporary pediatrician, Harvey Karp, similarly tells us that “there are exhaustive studies showing that time outdoors, particularly in nature, benefit us in myriad ways… while staying inside is over-stimulating and at the same time boring for children.”

Click here to read entire article.