Outdoor Learning
" I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand."
Confucius (551 - 479 B.C)
Subject Overview
At Rockmount we believe that learning need not take place solely within educational buildings. We are fortunate to have well-developed school grounds to support a wide range of outdoor learning experiences. These often provide the most memorable learning experiences and help children to make sense of the world around them by putting their learning into a meaningful context. Recent studies have highlighted some benefits of outdoor learning for children:
- Higher levels of conversational language.
- Greater independence.
- Improved health and sleeping patterns.
- Greater physical competence and agility.
- Improved time focus on activities and more concentration.
- A greater understanding of nature and the environment.
- Improved social skills, involvement and initiative.
We believe that every child should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development. The outdoor environment has a massive potential for providing learning opportunities. The outdoor environment offers motivating, exciting, different, relevant and easily accessible activities from Foundation through to Year 6. Our outdoor learning experiences are delivered through a combination of school-based outdoor learning, visits to other places and residential programmes in Years 5 and 6. Learning outdoors can be enjoyable, creative, challenging and adventurous and helps children gain experience and grow as confident and responsible citizens who value and appreciate the natural environment.
Outdoors with Grace
Every class enjoys an exciting outdoor learning session with Grace Bartlett each half-term. Grace plans the activities to complement the curriculum for that half-term; our children enjoy sessions based on camp-fire cooking, map making, orienteering, re-enacting key historical events, creative art with natural materials and many more.
Working with Wendy, our gardener, in the Edible Garden
Our Edible Garden is now well established after years of hard work and tender care! Wendy works with us in the school garden for two days each week to help us all learn to sow, water, grow and harvest our crops so that we can then eat them at lunchtimes or use them to cook some amazing things in our Learning Kitchen. The Edible Garden green tomato chutney was a sell-out this year after using all the tomatoes we grew. As well as the planned class sessions, pupils can join Wendy in the garden areas at lunchtimes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11.30-1.30 to develop those green fingers!
Community Club Sundays
We hold a Community Club session based in the school garden areas from 10.00 - 12.00 on the first Sunday of every month. Every one is welcome to come along and help get some planting, weeding and tending done, feed the chickens, cook on the camp-fire or just have a chat! These sessions have gone from strength to strength with a great regular group of families who help to run the sessions as well as those families who enjoy joining us whenever they can.
Golden Threads
