I know that mud can feel like a HUGE barrier in an outdoor classroom. So NOW is the time to think through the obstacles. (Actually well before mud season is even more ideal, but let’s take action NOW.)
Set up a time to talk with your coworkers and share information with currently enrolled families so that your muddy play area can be a YES space. Children thrive with daily outdoor time, so canceling outside play time for the entire mud season is NOT an option. Mud builds healthy immune systems, supports physical and cognitive development, and so much more.
I have compiled a FREE “Mud Play Resource” to hopefully make mud easier this year! In this resource you will find links to:
Mud Play articles to share with families
Mud Curriculum Ideas for teachers
Mud Kitchen Resources for teachers
Children’s Books about MUD!
Three steps for embracing mud play! (And then three cheers for bringing back mud pies!)
Muddy Mindset for Staff ~ even BEFORE mud season, schedule a conversation with your teaching team about their perception of mud play. Come to a consensus about your program’s ‘mud rules’ and ensure that children hear the same message from all staff. Perhaps pre-read a Mud Play article and talk about the Pros & Cons at a staff meeting. {During mud season, continue the conversation, document the children’s learning and JOY with mud. Then revisit your ‘mud rules’ after mud season. Step by step is how we make change.}
Muddy Solutions – if you have extended ‘mud seasons’ at the beginning and end of winter….consider investing in Muddy Buddy types of suits, have a place to hang them to dry, and a system for drying boots. Having functional systems for dealing with muddy gear when coming in and how to manage so the indoors space isn’t too hard to clean. {Would fundraising or grant writing make gear more accessible for your children? Think NOW about how to set yourself up for success in the future.}
Mud Chat with Families ~ even BEFORE mud season, prepare families for what to expect. Remind them of your messy clothes policy, share mud articles about why it’s valuable to play outdoors even when it’s muddy, get their support in sending in extra dry clothes, and build in an understanding of what you need for this season to be successful. We need to work in partnership with our families. If families have a bunch more laundry as a result of being in your classroom, they are going to understand the WHY.
Wonders of Worms ~ Spring is a wonderful time to get children digging in the soil and discovering our nearby nature. What a joy is it when a child discovers that first worm?! Something as simple as studying worms sparks children’s wonder and curiosity of nature. Research validates that young children thrive with ample “hands on” learning opportunities. This two hour session will focus on equipping educators with ways to help extend the children’s questions and inquiries about worms, while also aligning to early learning standards!
In this two hour session we will co-create an a *rough draft* of an early childhood “Worm Unit” as a digital download. All participants will have access to print the “Worm Unit” and use with the children in your classroom!
You will hear how experienced nature based educators have moved away from thematic units and into authentic and emergent teaching practices utilizing integrated curriculum design.
Details ~ This two hour workshop is FREE! Date / Time: March 27, 2023 – 6-8pm EST
NOTE: You will NOT get an immediate automatic confirmation (because I am just learning Google Forms) but I will send out Zoom links every few days so it will land in your inbox to the email you put on this form!
A Zoom link will be sent to you a few days ahead of the training and in the morning of the event, so be sure to check the email you listed on the google form.
This session will be recorded and will be published on the April’s Teaching Tree website and YouTube channel.
This session will include an interactive 20-25 minute break out room activity so please plan on having your camera and mic working for that portion of the session.
Participants are encourage to bring ideas with them about how to teach about worms. You will self select the breakout room to engage in and each will focus on a different learning domain: literacy / math / gross motor / science / social emotional / and “Worm Phobic”
Are you “Worm Phobic”? Does “Woes of Worms” sound like a better title than “Wonders of Worms”? Maybe you are sort of curious and also pretty sure you’ve never touched a worm in your life. I invite you to join us, and dig in to think about how to shift your mindset about worms. One of the breakout rooms will be titled “Worm Phobic” and April will spend time with this group thinking about ways to help support your children outdoors while not really identifying as a nature loving teacher! All are welcome!
For all my fellow Vermonters ~ I am a Master Trainer on the Northern Lights / BFIS system and I have submitted this training to count for BFIS PD hours. If you are Vermont ECE and input your BFIS number, you will be able to earn 2 hours of Professional Development that I will submit directly to Northern Lights.
Today I recorded a video with tips, tricks and some “Functional Systems” for teaching and supporting children in getting ready to go outdoors in winter. I believe that by taking the time to teach and support children in learning to get ready for winter that I am building their skills and confidence. So instead of being overwhelmed by this transition, I look at it as a learning time.
Intentional teaching and support in this process is a great investment of my time as a preschool teacher….and remember, getting ready for outdoor time is part of the ‘curriculum’! Goals for winter dressing include:
Build their independence in getting ready
Help children to become comfortable outdoors for extended periods of time
Communicate their needs and find support with the adults
Reap the benefits of being outdoors in the winter
Resources mentioned in the recording:
Children’s Books for teaching about Winter Gear
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London Thomas’ Snowsuit by Robert Munsch Mrs. Toggle’s Zipper by Robin Pulver Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin and Fumi Kosaka Do I Have to Wear a Coat? by Rachel Isadora The Mitten by Jan Brett A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Stoeke The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats What I Wear Outside in the Winter by Inhabit Education
NOW ENROLLING: “Wonders of Winter Master Class Series” – Ready to feel confident and excited to teach in the outdoor classroom this winter? Join me in January 2023 for a 20 hour professional development series that s designed to equip early childhood educators with the tools and resources to keep children engaged in learning throughout the entire winter. Each session we will dive into practical and actionable steps that educators can take to bring outdoor learning to life! Click here to learn more about the “Wonders of Winter Master Class Series”
Ready to feel confident and excited to teach in the outdoor classroom this winter? This 20 hour professional development series is designed to equip early childhood educators with the tools and resources to keep children engaged in learning throughout the entire winter. Each session we will dive into practical and actionable steps that educators can take to bring outdoor learning to life!
In this master class series you will have:
Ten live Zoom sessions with interactive group work that will allow you to connect with classmates working with similar aged children
Downloadable resources that can be printed and implemented right away
Q & A session for students to ask questions, work through challenges, and get support overcoming obstacles
Student dashboard with all the materials you need including sample parent letters, information to share in your newsletter, and curriculum activities to keep your children engaged all winter
Private “Wonders of Winter” facebook group to continue to share ideas all winter long. (This short term “pop up” group will open Jan 1st and will stay open until April 2023.) Students can show what’s working in their program, share photographs, ask questions, and continue to build their confidence!
Lifetime access to the student dashboard, so you can rewatch the recordings and access the materials all in one spot.
An uplifting and unique opportunity to engage with like-minded educators who want to embrace winter and expand learning opportunities outdoors! The friendships in this professional learning community will give you something to look forward to during darker and shorter days of winter.
Earn up to 20 hours of Professional Development (based on the number of sessions you attend live)
Investment: $197 (payment not due until January)
Date/Times: Begins January 2, 2023, Monday evenings 6-8pm EST
There will be TEN Zoom sessions and the topics include:
1 ~ Winter Woes to Winter Glows ~ Shifting our Mindset & Gearing Up for Winter
2 ~ Policy Development & How to Address Parental Concerns & Worries
3 ~ Winter STEAM Kits ~ Developing grab & go resources for your classroom
4 ~ Children’s Literature, Poems & Songs for Winter
5 ~ Math Outdoors in Winter
6 ~ Science Explorations in Winter (outdoors & indoors)
Are you looking for new ways to add mark making, writing and drawing to your outdoor classroom?! We can bring out paper and pencil and keep things same as usual. Or we can try out a variety of other ideas that might just spark some of our reluctant writers to begin mark making!
Cardboard “clipboard” for each child – these are made from recycled cardboard with a binder clip to hold the paper on.
Clipboards (regular sized or half sized) – attach pencil with string so it’s easy to manage outdoors.
“Pinecone People” – Today I made “Pinecone People” with a group of 20 preschoolers out in the forest. I wasn’t sure how the natural materials would stick because everything was wet from two days of rain. I sort of cheated and pre-glue beads to the pinecones so there would be some level of success, even if the other bits were falling off, at least the heads would stay on! I also had some plain pinecones so children could create whatever they wanted.
Pinecones are challenging in that they tend not to stand up on their own and have very little flat area to glue onto. So this led to exploring the following ‘adhesive materials’ and I share some thoughts on how it went.
The next picture shows the art materials I gathered that I thought might be useful to adhere natural materials to the pinecones. I wasn’t sure how these would work but I wanted to have a variety of options to test out. (If I was making these indoors I would have used my trusty low-temp glue gun since it makes things stick even if the surface isn’t flat.) But that’s a challenge of being outdoors is figuring out how to make it work even in damp weather! Listed below are some thoughts on these materials!
Liquitex Acrylic Medium – I read about this in Sally Haughey’s book, “Wonder Art”, and thought I would give it a try. It’s much more expensive than glue but so worth the investment. A little bit goes a long way and it seemed to work well with a wide variety of textures. Obviously the drier the material the easier things seemed to stick, but even with some damp materials it all stuck really well. So I would definitely suggest adding this to your teacher art supply kit. I used a popsicle stick to get a little out at a time and kept it in a little scoop so I could keep track of it.
Glue dots sort of worked especially if stuffed into the pinecone. If the materials were lightweight and dry, they seemed to hold fairly well. Today with the damp though, wet materials did not stick well.
White glue was all but useless since pinecones have very little flat surfaces and take way too long to dry. This was frustrating for some kids and though they can be independent with the glue it really didn’t work well.
Twine & yarn was woven into the pinecone independently as decoration and with adult support the yarn was used to tie the leaves on like a belt or scarf.
Fuzzy sticks (pipe cleaners) ended up being a great tool. Many preschoolers could independently twist them onto the pinecone and have their people holding acorn babies or used to hold on their wings.
Air Dry Clay was not really great to get the materials to stick together but some enjoyed squishing materials into the clay and squishing small bits into the pinecones.
Wool roving wasn’t in my materials bag today but in hindsight I could see the kids enjoying weaving it into the pinecone, creating hair, or making arms with it.
Moss also wasn’t in my materials bag today but would have been fun to add for hair or decorations.
Milkweed Pods all the little pinecones became ‘babies’ and I was wishing I had some little pods to use as cradles!
A related discovery was that using washable markers on wooden beads led to smears and bleeding. I discovered that the wooden beads and colored pencils worked well though the color was light. I was tempted to use a permanent marker but knew that many other aspects of the projects needed adult support.
Have you ever made “Pinecone People”? Any tips or tricks that you discovered?!
Often we see quiet spaces or calm down spaces indoors in early education programs, but what could it look like if created a similar space outdoors? I believe children benefit from having a similar structure in their learning environments, both indoors and in their outdoor classroom. Here are some tips to get you started!
(Do you have pictures of your outdoor quiet space? I’d love it if you share them so I can add a variety of pictures to this blog post!)
Tips on creating your Outdoor Quiet Space:
Establish a space in your program as a “quiet” place and teach that this is a place a child can go when they need to relax, reset, and calm down.
In one program they had designated spots outdoors as “Quiet Zones”. They used rope and triangle cloth flags to indicate these spaces (see picture above). This could be an easy way to create multiple areas and children could even help with the creation of flags so they had some feeling of ownership or belonging to the space.
I often establish a bean pole trellis (see picture below) that is easy to create and affordable. I just set up five bamboo poles that are 6 feet tall. Tie the top and create a trench around the base to plant bean seeds. This is a small enough space that creates some privacy and feels cozy. This same structure could be covered with cloth for similar privacy earlier in the season or when the plants have died off.
Another affordable space would be to build a simple fort structure. My son built the photo below for an outdoor program in my area. He built a solid main structure and the children added pine branches, other sticks, and leaf debris to create privacy.
Maybe the space is mobile ~ What about establishing a special “Quiet Chair” ~ perhaps tucked away in the garden or in an area of the Outdoor Classroom that tends to be less busy. Having a folding chair makes it mobile and could give children the options of moving their space or having multiple spaces.
Reinforce that this is a safe and cozy space that helps us feel calm and safe and that children can choose to go to this space to play alone for a while
Offer calm down materials, which outdoors might look like a bin that you bring out from storage with a few board books, a non-breakable sensory jar, and various loose parts to explore.
Post a visual of the calm down technique you use in your program. To make this work outdoors, I laminate the visual and post it on the storage bin so it’s protected from the elements. In my preschool classroom I use the Tucker Turtle Technique. (see resources below)
Create a durable mini version of books that you use to teach social emotional skills. Lamination can help them last longer and you still may need to replace them yearly.
Introduce the space during outdoor circle time and model how it is used. For our indoor “Tucker Turtle’s House” we only allow one child to be in the space, but I find this harder to manage outdoors. I would decide with your teaching team if it’s an ‘alone space’ or if a pair can be in there together.
I tell a lot of social emotional stories with my turtle puppet. There are many life lessons that we can
Reinforce with simple tales of how turtles see things differently. Moving at their own pace, taking time to tuck & breathe, resting when they need to, have calm and confidence to race a speedy Hare, and the list goes on.
Work with small groups to practice using the space and revisit it often so children remember why the quiet space is there.
Reinforce the quiet place when you see them experiencing strong emotions or if a child seems like they need to regroup
Reinforce to staff that this space is NOT used as a punishment.
What if your group is on the go? Instead of a designated spot for the quiet space, maybe have a piece of cloth or small portion of yoga mat that serves as a spot that children can go to be alone.
Our space indoors is a wooden cube, and using more durable materials I can imagine creating something similar outdoors though I have not yet created that myself. (If you have, I’d love to have additional pictures to add to this post!)
Affordable & easy quiet space ~ bean pole trellis! Simple fort structure & kids add pine branches or leaf debris
Related Resources:
“The Quiet Chair” ~ tucked away in the garden
Resources for teaching “Tucker Turtle” from the Pyramid Model / Challenging Behavior
Animal Tracks- after a fresh snowfall, it’s so much fun to find and follow a set of animal tracks in your backyard (even cat tracks are fun to find and follow). See how far you can follow the animal tracks and try to figure out who left those tracks.Older children might enjoy drawing the tracks they find into a journal and identifying them. If you carry a digital device you could also use an app like “SEEK” to help you identify the tracks in the moment.
Fiction Book to get your tracking started – Read the book “Tracks in the Snow” by Wong Herbert Yee about a little girl who sees tracks out of her window. A refrain in the book is wonderful to share when you go outside on your tracking adventure…. “Tracks in the snow. Tracks in the snow. Who made the tracks? Where do they go?”
Snowshoe Stomping Paths- who made this heart? As a big kid, I love to put on my own snowshoes and stomp out special messages or create paths for my preschoolers. I think it’s important to show children how much we ourselves enjoy playing outdoors all year round!
Mini World Animal Play – adding cotton batting to the indoor science area, providing small play animals, and books is a great way to extend their learning.
Photograph Tracks & Research – Take a photograph on tracks on your hike, then print out the pictures, and look in a tracking book to find a match. One of my favorite books to have on hand in my classroom is called Tracks, Scats, and Signs by L. Dendy. Helping children to learn how to use books as a tool is wonderful life skill and children love to feel ‘grown up’.
Follow the Footprints activity: Make animal footprints that are to scale of the actual size of the animal. (I am using Deer & Moose this year.) Before the students arrive, put the footprints out in the outdoor space. Then have the children track the prints down and follow the animal.
Flip Flop Tracks – there are lots of pins on Pinterest showing how people transform flip flops into various animal tracks. It would be fun to make these so they could be tied onto a pair of boots, then kids could stomp out their own versions of animal tracks.
Animal Signs in Winter – Look for other signs of animal activity – nibbled twigs, chewed acorn shells, pinecones that have been shredded, scat, or scratches in bark – as we go on our winter walks we look for signs that animals have been there. There is a great one page handout in the Cultivating Joy and Wonder curriculum (on page 228) to use as a reference.
Look for the ends of twigs that have been gnawed, nibbled, or snapped off
Look for bark that’s been gnawed or stripped off, or the the remains of nibbled nuts
Look for poop! Animal poop (scat) can help us identify the naimale and what it’s been eating
Look for animal homes (squirrel leaf nests, holes in trees, dead logs)
Winter Track Walk Data Collection: Taking a winter walk in the forest looking for animal tracks can be quite the adventure for young children. Explain that in addition to tracks people also look for tree scarring and scat (animal droppings). Look for real animal tracks and other signs that animals have been there. Help the children learn how to approach the tracks slowly without disturbing the tracks so all their friends can see before we make our own tracks over top of them. Over time continue to take photographs of the tracks so that you can print and make a classbook of your discoveries. Who are the frequent animal visitors in your area? Make tally marks or some other data collection so you can see who are the most frequent visitors.
Animal Track Pattern Cards – give each child their own ‘Animal Track Pattern Cards’ to wear as a necklace. Help children learn the four categories of animal movement (straight walker, hopper, waddler, bounder) and test it out with your own body. I like to start with teaching about the “hoppers” and pretend we are snowshoe hares. When children feel this movement in their body it is easier to understand how different animals move. This makes for a great gross motor game to play! You can get a free printable “Track Patterns” from the Shelburne Farms Cultivating Joy and Wonder book on page 221 – https://shelburnefarms.org/our-work/resources/cultivatingjoyandwonder
Looking for a few more curriculum ideas? Check out these three elated lessons from the Cultivating Joy and Wonder book from Shelburne Farms:
“Active in Winter! Animals on the Move” p.102-103 (115-116)
Small Scale Track Making : Bring a few plastic toy animals outdoors. Show the kids how they can make the animals walk through the snow leaving behind mini tracks. Tracks can also be made with toy vehicles. Play a version of hide and seek where children make tracks with toys and another child goes to look for where they end & find the toy. Tracking Basket: in the outdoor classroom, display an animal track identification poster on the fence or wall. Keep a small tracking manual or plastic tracking cards available for the kids to explore. Animal Tracks matching cards could be laminated and kept on a ring. One set that is very preschool age appropriate (though the tracks are not to scaled) is at PreKinders. This link takes you to a *FREE* printable animal track book with predictable text “This is a raccoon track.” with color pictures and clip art of the track. There is also a set of animal photos and track cards that can be printed out and made into a matching game. https://www.prekinders.com/animal-tracks-book/
Children’s Booklist for Animal Tracks:
Arnosky, Jim. Wild Tracks! (This is a wonderful book with amazing fold out pages of life sized tracks) Arnosky, Jim. I See Animals Hiding. Benjamin, Cynthia and Jacqueline Rogers. Footprints in the Snow. (This is an easy reader book that is often found as a $1 book through Scholastic Book Club.)
Dendy, L. Tracks, Scats, and Signs. (Favorite reference book to keep in my backpack to use to identify animal tracks and scat.) Dodd, Anne Wescott. Footprints and Shadows. Dorros, Arthur. Animal Tracks. George, Lindsay Barret. In the Snow: Who’s Been Here? George, Lindsay Barret. In the Woods: Who’s Been Here? Hulbert, Laura. Who Has These Feet?
Hodgkins, F. Who’s Been Here? A Tale in Tracks. (includes tracks from: cat, turkey, moose, skunk) Jones, Jennifer. Who Lives in the Snow? Judge, Lita. Red Sled
Levine, Lynn and Martha Mitchell.Mammal Tracks and Scat: Life-Size Tracking Guide (Another great reference book with actual size tracks that make it easier for children to identify.)
Miller, Dorcas. Track Finder: A Guide to Mammal Tracks of Eastern North America. Selsam, Millicent E. Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints Sams, Laura.Stranger in the Woods – Photographic Fantasy. Lawlor, Elizabeth P. Discover Nature in Winter (Discover Nature Series) Stall, Chris and Steve Whitney. New England Animal Tracks. Wilson, Karma & Jack E. Davis. Moose Tracks!
Yee, Wong Herbert. Tracks in the Snow.(A great story to introduce young children to tracking. A girl follows tracks around her home and discovers that they are her own tracks from the previous day.)
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April's Teaching Tree 