We are planning on revamping our outdoor learning area in order to provide an enriched, stimulating learning environment for children to explore. The Scottish Executive, (2007) states that they are convinced that outdoor learning offers unique opportunities to extend the potential of our children and young people. They believe that nurseries and schools need to offer different and challenging experiences to children to stimulate their learning and development. Learning beyond the classroom, in all it's forms can make a huge difference. Education Scotland, (online) states that outdoor experiences provide a rich learning context that enhances other ongoing improvement work. We plan to provide many learning experiences for children to explore outdoors including: water play to investigate capacity, natural resources for activities such as sorting and matching and counting, materials for digging in order to explore the wonder of nature in their natural environment, a washing line to develop children's fine motor skills, opportunities for mark making such as stucks in mud, brushes in water, chalk, paint, sand. We are also planning on creating a mud kitchen outdoors for the children to explore in order to use their imagination and act out real and imaginery situations.
References:
Education Scotland. (online (1) Building your curriculum: outside and in, @http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/b/buildingyourcurriculumoutsideandin.asp last accessed 5/7/2013.
Scottish Executive. (2007) taking learning outdoors: partnerships for excellence, Learning and Teaching Scotland, Edinburgh.
