Advantages Of Outdoor Classrooms

School is out! Which means, it’s a great time to start planning ahead for next year. One thing you might want to add to your summer to-do list is to spruce up your school. And, a great way to do this is to consider adding outdoor classrooms. 

Benefits of Outdoor Classrooms 

Outdoor classrooms are a wonderful way to help foster the cognitive and physical development of your students. Here are some of the many benefits they offer.

1. Learning outdoors helps kids to be more focused and attentive. 

According to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, “learning outdoors is not just a fun, novel experience for kids, but it also helps them focus,” even once they return to an indoor classroom. This article goes on to suggest that outdoor classrooms can also help kids to retain information longer than learning in a regular indoor class. 

2. Outdoor classrooms help kids to like school more. 

The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley explains that teaching outdoors “increases students’ interest in a subject” as well as increases “their intrinsic motivation to learn.” According to lead researcher Ming Kuo of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who has been conducting research on outdoor learning, kids genuinely like learning outside, and they “report liking school more when lessons are held outdoors.”

3. Learning outdoors can help improve the health of students. 

According to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, outdoor learning can help improve the health of your students by “reducing stress and improving immune function.” 

And, if you read our post. Play Time During The Winter: Tips & Tricks, you know that fresh air can help improve one’s mood, energy, and self-esteem. 

Plus, getting some sun helps kids get vitamin D, which according to Healthline, is linked to many health benefits, including:

• Enhanced immune system
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Insulin regulation
• Bone health
• Improved mood

4. Outdoor learning nurtures a child’s development. 

Outdoor classrooms nurture a child’s overall development. According to an article published by the Norwegian Centre for Child Research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, outdoor “education and play support emotional, behavioral and intellectual development.”  The article also points out that learning outdoors helps children develop:

• A sense of self
• Independence
• Confidence
• Creativity
• Decision-making skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Empathy towards others
• Motor skills
• Self-discipline
• Initiative

Best Furnishings for an Outdoor Classroom

When designing an outdoor classroom, it’s important to keep the weather in mind. So, anything you install should be durable and weather resistant. Easily portable furnishings are also good to consider. Here are some great furnishings for an outdoor classroom:

• Park benches
• Picnic tables or weather resistant tables 
• Garden beds
• Activity panels
• Play tables
• Portable whiteboards
• Trash cans and recycle bins
• Outdoor storage
• Shading 
• Sanitizing stations 

Southeast Outdoors Solutions Designs and Installs Outdoor Classrooms!

Interested in creating an outdoor classroom? Southeast Outdoors Solutions can help! We can create an amazing outdoor classroom that will encourage your kids to explore, interact, imagine, and learn. Here are two outdoor classrooms we recently designed and installed: Outdoor Classroom with Sanitizing Station and Outdoor Learning Space.

Build it today! Or, if you want to learn more about our outdoor classrooms, click here to fill out our contact form or give us a call at (770) 709-5605.

One thing we want you to keep in mind is that it could take a good 8-14 weeks to get the materials needed to build an outdoor classroom. So, if this is something you’d like to make happen before school starts back up in August, you definitely want to plan ahead and get in touch with us ASAP.