AD. Outdoor learning is a great way to give your child the chance to develop their skills in new and exciting ways. Learning doesn’t just have to happen in the classroom, and it means that your child can learn to embrace the world around them in different ways. In this guide from this independent school in Surrey, we take a look at 5 outdoor learning activities you can try with your child to enhance their development.
[Photo by Marcus Wallis on Unsplash]
Outdoor Learning Activities
Camping
Setting up a tent, making a sleeping area, cooking marshmallows over the fire and going for a hike will teach your child about how they can manage on their own. It’s also a great experience for your child to learn about being responsible, as well as developing their critical thinking skills.
Outdoor Swimming
Head to the beach or an outdoor swimming pool to try out some swimming with your child, their friends or the family. Swimming outdoors gives your child a whole new experience with the sport as well as improving their muscle memory and coordination skills.
Orienteering
This involves going on a walk to a location that relies on using a map to find the location, and a compass to direct them. It teaches children about being able to solve a problem, and learn how to read a map properly to help them figure out exactly what’s needed to work on their decision making skills.
Hopscotch
A classic game that only needs chalk and pavement is hopscotch. Your child can tot up the total of the squares they stand on, or they can throw stones to the numbered square it lands on.
Gardening
Planting flowers and crops is a great way for children to learn about understanding textures, how to work with tools and make a little patch for your garden. A lot of fine motor skills and critical thinking skills can be taught in this environment, great for a child’s natural development.
Which outdoor activities for kids do you do most to help their learning development?
I definitely feel like I gained the most when I was a kid from the activities I did outside. In fact I rarely remember anything I did inside apart from playing with Barbies!
Great ideas, I like outdoor swimming and going out to the beach. It's been a minute since going to the beach or swimming for being busy haha. Thank you for sharing these awesome suggestions!
I'm definitely going to try and encourage our child to take part in as many outdoor activities as possible, even if it's just playing outside with their friends! I used to love playing outside as a child and I feel like it doesn't happen as often anymore!
Amy x
callmeamy.co.uk
When I was a teacher it was always a delight to get my class outside and learning and basing lessons off activities we could all enjoy. I love your suggestions here as they can really get children involved and curious!
I love these ideas, and encouraging children to go outside is so important! I LOVED camping and swimming as a kid 🙂 x
Camping can definitely help children more about the outdoors. Gardening can give them that chance to learn about the different types of flowers and insects too, a great post! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Gardening is an awesome one!
I don’t have children myself but I’ve got friends and family who do and I’ll for sure be sharing this with them. I love your suggestions as it’s something I’ll certainly do with my family one day. Thank you so much for sharing this with us lovely. Xo
Elle - ellegracedeveson.com
Leo LOVVEES the great outdoors, I can't wait to do more stuff like this in the summer!
Corinne x
These are all amazing ideas! I so loved gardening with my parents and hopscotch when I was a kid! I can still remember passing summer afternoons until evening spent playing outside! I love the idea of camping, but must admit that orienteering had never been my forte! x
Growing up, did we do anything inside? Sometimes even eating was done outdoors. Of course the weather helped.
Hopscotch a game I remember with very fond memories. A bit of exercise, some hand/eye coordination and balance. Not too taxing. I hope the kids of today still play it.