Growing With Nature Supporting Whole-Child Learning in Outdoor Classrooms

The authors write about ways natural outdoor classrooms can support children’s desire to write: “As children’s spoken language becomes more sophisticated, they begin to understand that communication can happen through written expression as well. Many activities children engage in on outdoor classrooms can help them develop writing skills. Making maps of their outdoor space, drawing shapes found in nature, or sketching flowers can all be pre-cursers to learning to write letter and words. Interactions with nature often motivate children to want to share what they know with others or record personal discoveries. Wise teachers use this motivation as a way to encourage writing.”