Outdoor Learning
Outdoor learning is an important part of a child’s education and this is encouraged at Kings Hedges Educational Federation. Exploring, discovering and risk are all important factors that can contribute to further developing a child’s education.
Please enjoy looking at our photos of outdoor learning throughout the school and nursery.
Nursery
Nursery have spent a lot of time in their outdoor area this year, playing and exploring in many different areas to support the EYFS curriculum. During their theme of ‘6 legs or 8?’, the children had the opportunity to go on a mini beast hunt around their outdoor area! They were also able to learn about the lifecycle of a butterfly, release them into the world and discuss the different patterns on their wings. As part of their ‘roots and shoots’ theme, Nursery dug up dandelions to look closely at the roots. They discussed why roots were so important for plants, trees and flowers to grow. The outdoor learning environment is full of vocabulary to help the children learn.
Reception
Reception learn outdoors regularly, with their timetable allowing for 1 indoor and 1 outdoor lab time each day. Although they cover many areas of their curriculum outdoors, specific outdoor activities have been achieved. They have made the most of their woodland area, going on an autumn walk during their topic of ‘Seasons of Plenty’, to find pinecones, conkers and to explore the changes in leaves. As part of their ‘Buggy About Spring’ theme, they went on a Spring walk to find early signs of Spring, including flower buds, growing green leaves and wildlife e.g. bees and birds. In the summer term, Reception have been using the outdoors to build dens using the play pod resources, to build their PSED and critical thinking skills.
Year 1
Year 1 had a great afternoon exploring the 5 senses during their Big Bang. They had a carousel of activities to explore all 5 senses. They had a tasting area where they were able to taste sweet and salted popcorn. There was a sensory trail in the trees to touch different textures. They also had instruments to explore different sounds. Finally, they explored sight by using a magnifying glass to see and things to throw to test their sight.
Year 2
Year 2 had a visit from Wood Green animal charity for their Big Bang day. They learned how to keep safe around dogs by learning some signs, signals and dog body language. They were able to understand how to use this information to protect themselves in the future if necessary.
Year 3
During their Stone Age topic, Year 3 used the Nursey outdoor fire pit to learn about the Stone Age Fire.
Later on in the summer term, Year 3 were learning about 4 figure grid references. They used a map of the field with 4 digit grid references on it to find hidden pictures around the field.
Year 4
Year 4 did some great outdoor learning this year during their theme ‘What makes a good journey’. Year 4 were learning to use the 8 points of a compass. They worked in groups to follow a set of instructions that took them on an adventure! They had a compass, a tape measure and some cones to follow the instructions. They used the compass to work out which direction they needed to head in. They then used the tape measure to mark out how far they had to go in that direction. Finally, they placed a cone down to mark where we ended up. By the end, they all realised that the instructions were taking them back to the place they had started (if they followed it all correctly).
Later in the term, Year 4 took the editing part of their writing outdoors for a change of scenery and so that they could partner up with new people without sitting in somebody else's place. The children were more focused than usual. They also took the opportunity to do some meditation outside.
Year 5
Year 5 have done some fantastic outdoor learning this term. For Science they were writing up a newspaper article about a UFO crash landing. The UFO had crashed outside in the playground and the children all went outside with pens and paper and some with iPads to study the scene. This practical outdoor experience really helped them with their writing and Year 5 produced some great creative written work for this topic.
See some pictures of the UFO crash scene and some examples of their writing below.
Year 5 have also done some geography field work. Before heading out on a trip in to Cambridge they learnt to read ordinance survey symbols, and produce 6 figure grid references. They used these skills to help them plan the journey from the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to the park on Lammas Land. They looked out for landmarks on their way and used these to write down directions.
See if you would be able to get there by following these instructions…
Year 6
Year 6 were lucky to have the ‘Bikeability’ team come to help them learn skills and safety when riding a bike, especially on the road side.
