Nature as Teacher: The Magic of Outdoor Learning

If you look back on your time as a student, which moments, lessons, and concepts stand out to you? Do you think back on the two-hour lectures or the worksheets? Or do you remember the important conversations with classmates, the times you created things with your hands, or the adventures you had outside of school?

In forest kindergartens and other outdoor learning programs, nature is more than just the backdrop, it's the vibrant, living teacher that offers lessons no indoor setting can replicate. 

For the little explorers (Ages 2-5)

For young children, the outdoors is a sensory playground brimming with opportunities for holistic development. No flashcards or screens can give students the multi-sensory experience that nature can provide. When children have time to feel the squish of the mud between their toes, the sounds of the birds calling around them, the scent of the warm grass that surrounds them; each experience builds crucial neural pathways and fosters a deep connection to the world around them. 

Building a fairy village with sticks and leaves isn’t just whimsical, it’s an exercise in engineering. Children consider the structure, stability, materials, and spatial relationships. They are architects, storytellers, artists all at once. Collecting stones teaches sorting and patterns; making mud pies teaches them ratios, textures, sharing, and home economics; and in tracking and watching the plants and animals through the changing seasons, biology, ecology, and botany lessons abound. 

By immersing children in nature, we cultivate in them a sense of belonging and foundational understanding of their place within the complex web of life. This early connection fosters a lifelong sense of care and respect for the environment. 

As they grow (Ages 6 and up)

For homeschooling families, the outdoors can be an unparalleled chance to enrich and deepen the learning they are doing. It transforms abstract concepts into tangible realities. Studying photosynthesis in their books can be explored in much more detail by identifying local flora in a nearby park. Learning about the formulas for a physics test can be made more clear and exciting through building a dam over a stream using sticks and mud. Writing skills can flourish when the subject is a journal chronicling exciting outdoor adventures. 

Outdoor learning caters to diverse learning styles, offering kinesthetic, visual, and auditory avenues for engagement. It fosters independence, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that will surely help students as they navigate the ever-changing, unknowable future. The hands-on approach not only reinforces academic concepts but also cultivates a sense of responsibility and stewardship with the natural world. Enjoying nature is more than a hobby, it’s a deep understanding of our place in the world. A place to set down our feet and look for the deep truth in life. 

As we embrace the outdoors as our classroom, we can offer children of all ages a chance to learn, grow and connect with the living world in a way that nourishes their minds, bodies, and spirits. It is an important investment in their well-being as well as in the future of our planet, embedding in them a deep and abiding respect for the incredible, intricate beauty that surrounds us.