Activities to Take Literacy Learning Outdoors

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We know that taking learning outside may seem intimidating! It might feel challenging to make connections between outdoor play and learning and to shift from a teacher-led approach to one that enables child-led inquiry. Perhaps you feel the need to highlight the learning to parents or you wonder about how to provide a focus for play and learning outdoors.

Small steps to begin outdoor learning

Take a breath. You can do this a little at a time. Start off by taking a book outside to read together or doing a math-based treasure hunt as you collect and count or identify shapes. Enable scientific inquiry by observing changes in the environment or by planting seeds and monitoring growth. With every small step you take, you will start to feel empowered; soon enough, you will be able to comfortably facilitate outdoor play and learning, and step back and observe the children’s joy and exploration.

To help you get started, we have created this Nature Tales resource to provide play and learning experiences which are all connected to an outdoor story. Inside, you will find ten picture books, each with five connected playful learning experiences. That’s 50 ways to bring literacy outdoors, as well as facilitate and provide play opportunities! The suggested learning experiences also connect to areas of development – creative play, expressive arts, science and understanding of the world, mathematics, physical development, communication and language, role play, literacy and personal, social and emotional development.

You can also share this with parents with specific reference to areas of development and learning!

See? You got this!

How to use this resource:

Choose an adventure with one of the suggested texts
Engage the senses as the story comes to life
Stimulate curiosity and play with nature as your backdrop

Author

Lisa Kane

Director of Early Years Curriculum at Toddle

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Lisa Kane

Lisa is a passionate early years educator, having found her way into the field after being fascinated by the rapid and wondrous development in the first years of her own children’s lives. Following these curiosities has taken her through a degree and post-grad in Early Years education, and clocking up over 20 years of hands-on experience in a variety of international school settings. Lisa believes that learning is co-constructed alongside the smallest humans, and is energised by the curiosity, awe and wonder they generate.

Booklist for Outdoor Learning

We know that taking learning outside may seem intimidating! It might feel challenging to make connections between outdoor play and learning and to shift from a teacher-led approach to one that enables child-led inquiry. Perhaps you feel the need to highlight the learning to parents or you wonder about how to provide a focus for play and learning outdoors. Small steps to begin outdoor learning Take a breath. You can do this a little at a time. Start off by taking a book outside to read together or doing a math-based treasure hunt as you collect and count or identify shapes. Enable scientific inquiry by observing changes in the environment or by planting seeds and monitoring growth. With every small step you take, you will start to feel empowered; soon enough, you will be able to comfortably facilitate outdoor play and learning, and step back and observe the children’s joy and exploration. To help you get started, we have created the Nature Tales resource to provide play and learning experiences which are all connected to an outdoor story. Inside, you will find ten picture books, each with five connected playful learning experiences. That’s 50 ways to bring literacy outdoors, as well as facilitate and provide play opportunities! The suggested learning experiences also connect to areas of development - creative play, expressive arts, science and understanding of the world, mathematics, physical development, communication and language, role play, literacy and personal, social and emotional development. You can also share this with parents with specific reference to areas of development and learning! See? You got this! Take a breath. You can do this a little at a time. Start off by taking a book outside to read together, or doing a math-based treasure hunt as you collect and count or identify shapes. Enable scientific inquiry by observing changes in the environment or by planting seeds and monitoring growth. With every small step you take, you will start to feel empowered; soon enough you will be able to comfortably facilitate outdoor play and learning, and step back and observe the children’s joy and exploration. To help you get started, we have created this resource to provide play and learning experiences which are all connected to a story. Inside, you will find ten picture books, each with five connected playful learning experiences. That’s 50 ways to bring literacy outdoors, as well as facilitate and provide play opportunities! The suggested learning experiences also connect to areas of development - creative play, expressive arts, science and understanding of the world, mathematics, physical development, communication and language, role play, literacy and personal, social and emotional development. Now you can share the learning with parents with specific reference to areas of development and learning too!