Introduction

As family life has now come to be busier, school life is becoming increasingly more important in children's lives.  Children are finding less time at home to play and with security fears growing it is easier for parents to allow their children to play on their computer in the family home, than to let them out into the woods with their friends (Anning et al. 2010).  This has a negative effect on children's growth and as children lack the chances to improve important life skills, such as social and motor skills, in their own home, schools simply have to incorporate this into everyday teaching.

It is not effective to teach all skills in the classroom environment and not all children learn in the same way.  New contexts have now been introduced into some schools to improve learning and I have described in detail the advantages and some disadvantages to teaching in these ways.  I have chosen to cover Play, Museums, Montessori settings and Forest Schools and have included pictures and inspirational videos to support why I believe these have proved to be successful and are important in building children's skills.  Although these may not seem like new ideas, they have been adapted to suit the ever changing curriculum and most importantly ensure the best is obtained from each child as they achieve the education they deserve. 

I have used several reference sources to support my findings which I have referenced throughout each context and non-electronic sources are listed at the end of each post.

Reference List

Anning, A., Cullen, J. and Fleer, M. (2010), Early Childhood Education Society and Culture. London: Sage

Forest School and Outdoor Play

Forest School is a fantastic way of taking learning outdoors and as proved in the Scandinavian countries it originated, is very successful.  After a visit to Denmark, in 1995, a team from Bridgwater College established the first forest school in the United Kingdom, which now provides training to almost 200 schools across the UK. (Pound 2005)

Taking learning out of the classroom has enabled practitioners to teach all subjects across the curriculum through a range of survival and real life activities.  Due to growing concerns regarding children's safety O'Brien (2009) suggests children are not playing outside and adventuring as much as children used too.  This means they are missing out on great experiences but through Forest schools, whatever the weather, children are taken out in small groups to a safe, familiar, wooded area and encouraged to experiment, knowing there are only a small number of rules they have to adhere to, ensuring their safety.  I feel this is important and allows them freedom to play using the natural resources surrounding them and a chance to problem solve and learn from their mistakes. Teachers and other children scaffold learning but it's very much a child led context which increases independence.  The children's concentration improves as they are released into the fresh air, which boosts their enthusiasm, energy levels and makes learning exciting.  Only today I saw this demonstated as I walked through a field and past a group of very enthusiastic children building the den in the picture below.  It is made from basic materials and does not look special, however, the enjoyment and skills they were learning were very clear to see.

As seen in the short video below, children are taken back to basics in forest school, learning skills such as how to cook, light fires and how to use adult tools, including saws and pen knives, safely.  All skills can be transferred into everyday life which makes learning relevant to children. If a child can see the relevance of a subject they are more motivated to learn, to achieve the end product.   As Edgington (2003) states being in the outdoor environment encourages a healthy lifestyle and improves gross and fine motor skills. The activities improve such skills as thinking, problem solving, communication and team work, which are all extremely important for a child's social development.  At All Saints' School in Lawshall, Forest School has proved very successful when teaching PSE to all year groups and crucially has the full support of the head teacher (Lamb 2011) .  By making regular visits to the area, children are able to build on their knowledge and teachers can link these visits with studies they are working on in the classroom. Forest school is a wonderful way of getting children to understand their local environment and the natural environment which surrounds their home. 

The  teaching approach has also proved successful in helping schools and organised groups to engage with disengaged children, who may have issues with authority.  Being outdoors, in a calming and non-pressured atmosphere, away from the static classroom environment helps them to relax and see the relevance of the subjects they are studying.  The 'hands-on' method means it very much suits kinaesthetic learners and this may be why these students misbehave in class but not in the great outdoors.  The following video explains this in more detail and focuses on a group showing how successful this idea can be.

Outdoor play has been encouraged by schools for many years and it is no coincidence that children are let outside in their break times.  Outdoor play relieves tensions that may have been building in the classroom and allows children to let off steam.  This I have witnessed for myself when it has been raining outside and children have not been allowed out.  Even though they are allowed to play inside they do not have the space to run around and can be restless for the remaining day. I am a great believer in children discovering the great outdoors.

Reference List

Edgington, M. (2003), The Great Outdoors. London: Early Education.

Lamb, C. (2011), Forest School a whole School Approach. In Knight, S. (2011) Forest School For All. London: Sage.

O'Brien, L. (2009), Learning Outdoors: the Forest School approach, Education 3 - 13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 37:1, 45-60.

Pound, L. (2005) How Children Learn. Leamington Spa: Step Forward.