Outdoor activities have numerous advantages for kids in our Florida, Georgia and South Carolina service areas. With warm weather persisting most of the year, kids can spend more time outside. Schools are increasingly using the favorable weather to their advantage and moving classrooms outdoors.
An outdoor classroom is an open-air learning environment that allows students to take regular lessons in a natural setting. Classes can be conducted on the school grounds or in another nearby space, such as a park or public area. Outdoor classrooms are especially popular in regions with warmer climates.
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic prompted mainstream schools to look for innovative ways to keep students safe while continuing to educate them. Outdoor classrooms for schools allowed easier social distancing, but came with numerous other benefits as well. As a result, the concept has remained popular and is becoming more common in today’s schools.
Forest, farm, Montessori, Waldorf and other nature-centric schools that promote hands-on learning to reconnect with the natural world are frontrunners in using outdoor classrooms. Still, any educational institution can take advantage of the benefits they provide.
Outdoor classrooms for schools have numerous benefits. Outdoor learning positively impacts students, teachers and schools in different ways.
Students who take their physical education classes outdoors tend to be healthier and more capable than indoor learners, showing increased aerobic endurance and ability to run and jump. They also see increased cognitive benefits and enhanced ability to focus on their lessons in subjects like math and language arts, translating to better learning outcomes all around.
Teachers are more likely to engage with students better in a spacious, unrestricted environment. They experience less stress, are open to teaching creatively and form closer bonds with students thanks to learners’ improved focus, which makes it easier to control the pace of instruction.
Anything that helps students learn and makes teachers’ jobs easier has the potential to be tremendously beneficial for schools. With teacher turnover higher than it has been in decades — often as a result of burnout — the reduced stress that comes with students being more engaged and easier to teach can help institutions retain good personnel.
Playworx is an industry leader in commercial playground equipment and amenities for schools. Our installations encourage outdoor play and learning as students practice creative thinking and develop interpersonal skills. From shades and playground equipment to learning-ready benches, we offer everything an educational institution needs to design an outdoor learning environment.
If you can dream it, we can build it! Let Playworx build the perfect playground to complement your outdoor classroom. Call us at 866-806-6541 or request a free estimate.
