#Kinderchat, glue, glitter, gogurt, bringing daily joy to twitter. Find us Mondays, 9 pm EST and 8:30PM London time when we talk all things Early Years!
Come out, come out! It's #kinderchat time! I'm your moderator/chat person for tonight! We are talking about going outdoors to do some literacy and math!
I'm Liane, from Abbotsford, BC, the Canada. We have a rainfall warning right now and I am considering building an ark in the field with the kids, due to TWO MORE WEEKS OF RAIN. #kinderchat
Hi! My name is Molly Cohen and I am a freshman at Indiana University right now studying elementary education and cannot wait to hear input from teachers!! #Kinderchat
A1: Hello, I am a student at Kent State University. This is my first tweet chat! The weather in Kent, Ohio is pretty cold right now and it is currently snowing. #Kinderchat
My name is Kati and I'm a Kent State University student. It has been warmish here in Ohio but my husband is pleased with the fresh snow we have today! #Kinderchat
You’d get ahold of @happycampergirl or @hechternacht. But I am on the schedule for classroom materials soon(ish). If you’d like to do something for that, just let me know! #kinderchat
In reply to
@krissymbutler, @happycampergirl, @hechternacht
A1: Hello, I am a student at Kent State University, and I am participating in my first tweet chat. Kent, Ohio weather is at 26 degrees and snowy. Not a very fun time. #kinderchat
That would be great! I'm required to do one for ISTE-T certification. You can send me a private message and we can figure something out. I'd love to moderate with you! #Kinderchat
In reply to
@CarrieMarshall1, @happycampergirl, @hechternacht
First off, my apologies. I am a little stressed right now about the piece I am playing for the choir tomorrow morning. Alos, my typing is horrible. There will be spelling errors. #kinderchat
Q1: Do you have an outdoor space to take your students and how often do you use it? (There is NO judgement here. I am just curious what people have to work with)
#kinderchat
A1: #kinderchat We have some green space behind the elementary school next to us. I try to get my class out regularly, but every year it gets harder and harder #kinderchat
A1: Unfortunately, we don't have any outdoor space since our field and part of our playground is being taken up by construction for our new school and its equipment. :( #kinderchat
A1: I don't have a classroom yet but I have done some service learning at an interactive science museum. There was a large garden there that was used as a space for educational purposes! #kinderchat
A1: I'm very fortunate to work for a PK only school where we have 5 different playgrounds which we rotate on a weekly basis. We spend 45 minutes outside in the morning and 15 in the afternoon. #kinderchat
A1: Outdoor learning will be important to me when I teach. I think it can be beneficial. I feel that when I was a student in school... It felt like our school system / admin frowned on it. I wished we got more outdoor time as a student #KinderChat
Q1: Do you have an outdoor space to take your students and how often do you use it? (There is NO judgement here. I am just curious what people have to work with)
#kinderchat
Oh, and we have 2 playgrounds too - a big kids park and a little kids part. And a soccer field, baseball diamond, running track. And a HILL which is the kids' actual fave. #Kinderchat
A1: #Kinderchat
I as well do not have a classroom yet but volunteering at an elementary School and they had recess in a playground for 30 min everyday which seemed useful for kids to let out energy
A1 We have a nature explore classroom! It was just completed this fall. Looking forward to using it more when it gets warmer in the spring. #kinderchat
A1: I know that Kent State has a Child Development Center on Campus, and I see them outside all the time when the weather is nice enough to allow them outside. #kinderchat
#kinderchat since I’m in college I don’t have my own classroom but I have done service learning where they had a play ground that we would use pretty often!
Q1: Do you have an outdoor space to take your students and how often do you use it? (There is NO judgement here. I am just curious what people have to work with)
#kinderchat
Q2:
From the current teachers can you tell me and some of the other students about you experience working with early childhood and elementary school students #Kinderchat
It's always nice to get outside when the weather is nice out. Kids love that! When the weather is crappy, I take the kids to the school gym and set up activities. Anything to get them moving #Kinderchat
Welcome to #kinderchat! Our formal topic tonight is outdoor learning; @tiegradloeppky is moderating and has planned questions. After the chat is over, I'm sure others will answer you!
A1: I don't have students yet, as I am still in college, but when I do, I hope to get them outside as much as possible to explore, play, and learn about nature! #Kinderchat
Yes. The kids have plenty of time to explore and engage with the areas and materials. They know when they will be back and look forward to where they will go the following week. #kinderchat
When we have been outside (more in the fall) I noticed a lot of students finding shapes and colours from our inside math explorations. They were starting to create patterns with sticks/leaves/rocks and yes, some garbage they found on the ground. #kinderchat
Very true. Our outdoor experience time is usually just our class not on a playground. We might go to the "tree field" and bring out sketch books/magnifiers/shovels etc so that we are investigating the world outdoors. #kinderchat
A2: I've seen students use math to keep score and divide teams, but I've also come across some who like to create lists and categories of things outside as well #kinderchat
A2: Hm What aren’t they learning though, right? I always find this one hard to nail down. We’re learning 1:1 correspondence which reaches math and literacy. We’re learning sequence, we’re using gross and fine motor muscles which help with writing, etc etc, etc #kinderchat
Absolutely! It’s totally different and needs to be framed that way with the children. With practiced routines of learning outdoors it won’t feel or look like recess. #kinderchat
I understand how they are different but I think a lot of time you can make recess educational or may outdoor education fun and use games such as kickball or hopscotch.
#Kinderchat
We used to have this nature trail thing out behind the high school that used to be used for outdoor learning I believe... But I think they stopped maintaining it and just slowly became forgotten. #KinderChat
This was not a question in my list, but I am wondering what people see "outdoor learning" as. Recess is awesome, but not really what many see "outdoor learning" as. #kinderchat
I kinda mentioned it earlier but I view outdoor learning as going outside at a time other than recess with a set learning plan. If that makes sense... #KinderChat
True. know with my students,our oral language skill development at this time is key for my ELL kids. They are trying social language in a very different environment. I also find the kids start telling some fantastic stories outside when we are pretending with sticks. #kinderchat
Yeah. It seemed like they stopped maintaining it after a 2007 ice storm as a lot of trees fell and stuff. But I think it was set more for high school / middle school anyway. Plus in '99 they moved the elementary building two miles away from it. #KinderChat
To me "outdoor learning" is when students either complete their normal studies outside or when they are free to explore and learn from nature. Instead say of learning about ants in a book they watch actual ants! #Kinderchat
We intentionally create opportunities for children to explore early measurement concepts by filling and pouring at the sand and water tables using a variety of materials that we may not be too excited to use in the classroom. #kinderchat
Q3: I don't know if this a BC thing, but I was wondering if anyone uses your outdoor learning time to explore indigenous culture/history? And how? #kinderchat
You can learn in both settings-recess and outdoor classrooms. Although for outdoor classrooms, I see it more as using more natural materials, structured or unstructured. Exploring the environment around them. #kinderchat
This is so true! We encourage our students to tend to our gardens. It is not uncommon to see kids munching on kale during outdoor learning. #kinderchat
You can learn in both settings-recess and outdoor classrooms. Although for outdoor classrooms, I see it more as using more natural materials from nature, structured or unstructured learning. Exploring the environment around them. #kinderchat
A3: The only outdoor learning I have done at summer camp is going to the zoo with students, and they are able to learn about animals and the history of where they come from. #kinderchat
A3: We are fortunate to have some cedar trees on our property, so we go outside and look at the bark, talk about how it can be stripped, and explore how the First Nations in our area might have used the bark. We also practice the oral tradition by telling stories #kinderchat
A3: Kids play tag or other games that requires counting how many participants there are. Also some kids like to write with chalk which helps with their literacy, spelling and vocab. #kinderchat
I agree with this, for when I was a kid my friends and I would play games related to what we have read, watched, or just from our imagination. #kinderchat
We went to a military base / camp thing in third grade where they were digging for things like arrowheads and other stuff from early settlers. #KinderChat I LOVED IT!!
I take our water barrels out in the spring to make mud pies. The kids practice measurement by creating pies in different containers, writing, by creating recipes, collaboration skills, oral language skills, #kinderchat
A3: When I was in elementary school, we had days where we would go out and do activities geared towards Native American Culture. We also took field trips to places that also had strong Native American backgrounds. #Kinderchat
Q3: I don't know if this a BC thing, but I was wondering if anyone uses your outdoor learning time to explore indigenous culture/history? And how? #kinderchat
A3: The elementary school I was a cadet teacher for had an annual field trip to a nature reserve where they also educated students on the Native American artifacts found in the area #kinderchat
As part of my Global Ed course we’ve been reading about environment as global ed. I love this idea. My class has “everyday hero” time- this might be an everyday hero activity… #kinderchat
In reply to
@tiegradloeppky, @yperez8080, @KC_SEASportsFan, @KtMcCrone
This is also something I have found at the elementary school I was a cadet teacher for! Field trips are always an awesome opportunity to engage students and show them another side to what is outside, and what we can learn from it. #kinderchat
A3: I'm not from Canada, but we have a state bird, state tree, etc. That could be planted or incorporated into our learning area. We could also have lessons about Native Americans, pioneers, and farmers! #kinderchat
A3: I am not yet a teacher but I will definitely consider doing this with my students, so they can learn while having fun and enjoying an atmosphere outside of the classroom. This might help them to actually enjoy the material more as well. #kinderchat
Our First Nations curriculum is embedded in our curriculum. We use materials outside to show how the First People in our area might have used resources for trade, as tools for numeracy, how the seasons affect what the Sto:lo people hunted, gathered, and did. #kinderchat
That would be cool. I would love to find out more info on our native area plants and trees and how the Sto:lo people used them. I think a First Nations/Native American garden at school would be fabulous. #kinderchat
Kids at the school I'm at love using sidewalk chalk!! so one of the lessons I took them outside and they all had a section to do their math on the sidewalk with their chalk! #kinderchat
I just remembered... Our middle school had this indoor plant thing inside the commons area (it didn't have vegetables or anything like that) but as far as I know... We never touched it as the admin maintained it. #KinderChat
Cool! I had a friends who made sight word hopscotch for her grade ones with sidewalk chalk. Sidewalk chalk is a great way to incorporate literacy and number practice.
#kinderchat
Definitely! We discuss the vegetables and how they help our bodies grow and develop. We also have special harvest days where we use the food grown in the garden to make something new and encourage the children to try it. #kinderchat
In reply to
@misscohen3, @KtMcCrone, @tiegradloeppky
This is great! So basically you look at what you have in your specific environment, think about how it could be utilized by people and how it is likely that those First Nations would have utilized those plants? Would herbalism fall into this category? #Kinderchat
Q4: I see we have many pre-service teachers here. Before we close, what advice would you give them about starting outdoor learning with their students in their practicum and in their classrooms? #kinderchat
Q4: I see we have many pre-service teachers here. Before we close, what advice would you give them about starting outdoor learning with their students in their practicum and in their classrooms? #kinderchat
I believe so. Where I am struggling is in finding actual information about the plant life that is native to this area. My town was a lake, so it's a bit challenging and time consuming. #kinderchat
A4: Know your outcomes and think big- how can you meet those outcomes through outdoor learning. You’ll find it isn’t so hard. But also find a way to defend your beliefs, because you might have to do that more than you think! #kinderchat
Especially if it's a school system like the one I went through. I guess they were just afraid of something happening or someone getting hurt. It felt like they wanted to always keep us in the classroom. #KinderChat
A5: Where do I begin. Just take them out. Use a whistle. Bring band aids. Put something bright on them at first so you can see them. Let them get dirty. #kinderchat
I love the idea of challenging yourself to create new ways of learning with the resources you have. Breaking things down and using nature as an example is certainly something I'd love to do in the future! #kinderchat
They once took us outside to play in the snow. I remember that stuff more than I do whatever we studied that day and goes for the other times we went outside. I felt like mixing it up will allow students to retain it better than just staying in one spot #KinderChat
Now of course... Going ouside and playing in the snow isn't gonna really allow learning... But my point is... When we did go outdoors learning the minimal times that we did... I retained it better than if we did something as to it in a classroom #KinderChat
A4: It's not about the product, it's the process! For practicum, I didn't have a garden area and I had kids plant seeds in cups. The kids didn't care. They were just excited and checked daily if they sprouted! #kinderchat
#kinderchat thank you so much for this! It really is awesome to hear from teachers who want to help future teachers! I love that you mentioned that we need to stick to our beliefs. There's a lot of controversy in education today.
A4: Know your outcomes and think big- how can you meet those outcomes through outdoor learning. You’ll find it isn’t so hard. But also find a way to defend your beliefs, because you might have to do that more than you think! #kinderchat
A5: Tell parents you are going to go outside because learning happen outside. Let the kids take pictures of what they see. (Yes, we take our ipads outside sometimes). Start planting something somewhere with your class and let it be the class secret :) #kinderchat
A4: Think outside of the box. There is always learning to be done outside, especially if you have children from areas whose weather is different from where they are from. #Kinderchat
Get dirty! I like it when teachers aren't afraid to let their students explore and experiment. I'd like to see more teachers getting down in the dirt with the kids too, we learn so much from observing how our students react to what we give them. #kinderchat
My 5th grade teacher took us outside to build igloos one day right after a snowstorm. I learned more in that day than probably all of 5th grade. I will always remember that lesson. #kinderchat
Thanks so much, everyone! This was fun! I'm not sure who and what topic is up next week, but I'm sure it'll be great! Thanks again for coming to play. #kinderchat
