I love the movement to get kids outdoors.
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There’s been a lot of talk about getting kids outdoors since the publication in 2005 of Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
. Richard Louv wrote about nature-deficit disorder where children are becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural world, resulting in attention difficulties and other problems.
I love all the ideas for getting outdoors in Richard Louv’s book Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life.
Maria Montessori’s Views on Children and Nature
“There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature; to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature.” Maria Montessori “It is also necessary for his psychical development to place the soul of the child in contact with creation, in order that he may lay up for himself treasure from the directly educating forces of living nature.” Maria Montessori Maria Montessori would agree with the movement to get kids outdoors. She placed a great emphasis on nature and nature education. Dr. Montessori also felt that the outdoor environment should be an extension of the classroom.
Montessori-Inspired Outdoor Ideas for Home or School
While every school or homeschool can’t afford to hire a landscape architect to design a beautiful outdoor Montessori environment, there are a number of inexpensive changes you can make to your home or school outdoor environment. Work can often easily be brought outside – a wonderful idea this time of year, and more emphasis can be placed on activities like gardening and simply spending time in nature.
Will (9) and Christina (4) exploring the Black Hills near our house, 1994.
We were lucky to live in the country or where nature was nearby to make nature an important part of our homeschool: Exploring Nature and Growing Plants Outdoors without a Garden.
Christina (2) and Will (7) reading outdoors, 1992.
My kids also loved to read and do schoolwork outdoors.
Your child could work on activities for control of movement outdoors, such as Walking on the Line.
Outdoor Numbers and Counters
You could try an activity like Montessori Outdoors – Numbers and Counters.
Put together a simple nature cutting tray for nature walks, and set up nature trays with treasures from your nature walks.
Numbers and Counters at the Beach
When you go to the beach, you could have activities like Montessori at the Beach: Numbers and Counters or Land and Water Forms at the Beach.
O is for Octopus Sand Tray
J is for Jellyfish Activity
Subtract the Fish Tray
You could bring Montessori-inspired activities outdoors, such as Montessori-Inspired Beach Language Activities or Montessori-Inspired Ocean Math Activities.
Science activities, such as Montessori sinks and floats, are often great outdoors. (See related blog post: Land, Water, Air Activity from Montessori By Mom.)
Activities with rocks or natural items are wonderful outdoors, too. (See related blog post: Story Stones: Farm Animal Families Treasure Basket.)
If you have a child who enjoys tea parties, you’ll love our tea party picnic! It’s a fun way to get outdoors and encourage grace and courtesy at the same time! (See related blog post: How to Have a Healthy and Courteous Tea Party Picnic.)
Michael Olaf has ideas for slowing down to enjoy nature as well as bringing “intellectual” activities outdoors in Montessori from Birth to Three – A Superior Environment.
Outdoor Work Station (Photo from Discovery Days and Montessori Moments)
Discovery Days and Montessori Moments has a great outside prepared environment (photo).
The Education of Ours has a post showing that providing natural items outdoors is what’s most important in an outdoor environment: Montessori, Taken Outside.
Ideas on Pinterest
Visit Deb @ Living Montessori Now’s profile on Pinterest.
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Montessori Services Bug Viewer and Other Nature Materials
Do you have favorite activities or environments to help your child and/or students get outdoors? 🙂
Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!
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I’m not really an outdoors girl, so I really appreciate the suggestions. I need some motivation to get us outside. Thank you!
Thanks, Kim! I’m so glad my post was helpful! 🙂
Thanks for linking to my blog! We love to get outside when we can and I love to take school out there too!
My pleasure, Stephanie … your outdoor posts are awesome! )
Very encouraging post. I have been really rethinking our outdoor enviroment. Thanks for sharings these wonderful ideas.
Thanks, Discovering Montessori! I love how you go about preparing your environments and activities … it’ll be great to see what you do with your outdoor environment! 🙂
thanks Deb for sharing this! I’d forgotten that I had planned an outside garden area for the kids- but never sorted out! We moved house and I think we have. Errrr space for it now, kinda can’t wait lol! Great info. once again!!
Thanks, Tina! I’ll love it if you publish some gardening posts! 🙂
This is a fantastic post. I really believe young children can’t be outside enough. There is no such thing as too much fresh air. Thanks for all the great ideas.
Thanks for your kind comment, Allison! So true that there is no such thing as too much fresh air! 🙂
Oh, there are so many things I want to do on this amazing list! Thanks Deb!
Thanks, Marnie! I always love reading about your activities … will love to read more about your outdoor activities, too! 🙂
Thanks so much for this post! I am a firm believer in spending time outside. It’s one of the many reasons why we don’t let our son watch TV (OK, rarely, he has watched it a couple of times while he was sick) and why we live in a community where we can walk.
We go on walks pretty much every day as a family. I walk to do most of my usual errands (the bank, post office, grocery store, etc.), as well as to the playground. Now that it’s staying light out later, we ritually go out as a family after dinner for a walk. Although all of this time isn’t necessarily spent in nature per se, I do think there is value in being outside because there is nature all around us after all.
We also just started our garden (see my link today). It’s the first garden any of us have ever planted, so it’s a bit of an experiment for us.
As a family, we also regularly go on runs and hikes together, particularly when the weather is nice. We also love to visit our state arboretum, which has a wonderful collection of native plants and is free to visit. The last time we visited, we saw a snake, a frog, turtles and fish. Fun stuff!
Thanks so much, Eryn! What great family outdoor traditions and memories you’re creating … as well as encouraging fitness and a healthy lifestyle! My kids hardly ever watched television growing up (only videos and figure skating). I think that encouraged them to spend more time outdoors. We loved to do outdoor activities as a family, too. My now-adult kids are both very focused on health and fitness and spend a lot of time outdoors still! 🙂
That is great to know — it all pays off!
My daughter is so lucky in her Montessori classroom because there is both an indoor and outdoor work area. The children are free to choose which area to work at during work time. It’s one of the reasons I chose her school because my daughter thrives when she has lots of outdoor time.
Thanks for your comment, Rebekah! I LOVE to hear that … what an awesome school environment! 🙂
Great minds think alike! I was planning a post on outdoor environments for this week, but talk of sharing got it bumped and tabled for later. Now I have this great resource to link back to when I do publish 🙂 Thank you!
Thanks, Melissa! I’ll look forward to seeing your post when you publish it! 🙂
Thank you so much for this post! I feel that so many people forget that outside isn’t only for play time! I work from home and love to take my computer outside and work, rather than stay stuck indoors.
Thanks for your comment, Layla! That’s a great idea. I need to do more of that! 🙂
I have noticed through reading your blog over the last year or so, that Montessori education does incorporate a lot of nature/outdoor learning. It’s something that I love about the approach– even just the little things like noticing that Montessori teachers often use more natural objects like wooden bowls in place of plastic containers. I think that adds something to their learning environment.
Thanks for your comment, Jackie! It’s so true that using more natural objects adds something to the learning environment … and I really love Montessori’s emphasis on nature and learning outdoors. 🙂
Your post inspired me to get outdoors this week. We did our grammar work outdoors.
http://whatdidwedoallday.blogspot.com/2012/04/montessori-grammar-outdoor-edition-noun.html
That is awesome! I LOVE it! 🙂
Wonderful, wonderful. We have a house in the woods and I look around and think of how many children lack experience outdoors in this electronic age. Again, you have so many resources a person could teach all summer based on this one post and Linky! Thank you again, Carolyn
Thanks so much, Carolyn! It sounds like you live in an amazing place. What a great place for both kids and adults! 🙂
I wish we could spend more time outside! All your ideas look lovely – thanks for sharing with Afterschool.
Thanks for your comment, Natalie! I love learning outdoors … especially this time of year when I definitely have “spring fever”!
I love the counting on the beach idea! We go to the beach in September and I am definitely going to do some counting or addition stuff on the beach 🙂 Stopping by from Preschool corner.
Thanks, Lindsay! Doing learning activities at the beach is great … have fun! 🙂
I think being outdoors is key for a healthy childhood—and a daily dose of outdoors necessary for adult happiness too. We have a great love, and appreciation, of the woods around us—grateful of the nature we can find outside our front door. For those who are not surrounded by nature, there are so many places to find some to enjoy. You have shared several wonderful activities here to learn in nature (I used to do my homework outdoors). What a perfect combination!
Thanks so much, Heather! I always enjoy the wonderful outdoor activities and photos on your blog! It’s so great that you truly appreciate the nature that surrounds you! 🙂
I can’t agree more. My kiddos love to get outdoors and there is so much learning to be had. Thanks for sharing at the kids co-op!
Thanks, Christine! That’s great … I hope you’re having fun outdoors this weekend! 🙂
There was a great article about the outdoor classroom created at our local Montessori school.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/nov/10/lessons-in-nature/
Mel
Thanks so much for sharing that, Mel! What an awesome outdoor environment! 🙂
I agree that Montessori is the way to go. I had a conventional education myself. I never liked it much. My own children are much happier than I ever was in their education. Thumbs up for Montessori!
Such great suggestions. It is wonderful to see that Montessori have realised the importance of this. It is disappointing to me to know that my friends (who live about an hours drive away) have regular outdoor time for their kids in nursery and school yet in my area this is not deemed as important. In this case I feel it is my DUTY as a parent to ensure my own children get access to the great outdoors (sounds ridiculous when I say it like this) as much as possible, not least so that they can develop an affinity, relationship and a love of nature. Such is my passion for this that I undertook (along with a friend and her children) to do the National Trusts #50things during the Summer School Holidays 2014. It was a huge amount of fun for EVERYONE, adults too. 🙂