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|  March 1, 2010 Outdoor classroom: a natural fit
The goal of the Byrd HSA this year is to raise enough money to make our dream of an outdoor classroom come to fruition.
An outdoor classroom, sometimes referred to as a schoolyard habitat, is a space set aside outdoors in which students can learn about science and the outdoors through hands-on experience. Although most of what is done in an outdoor classroom relates to the environment, it is also an interactive opportunity for students to learn how math, literature, history, art, and music are influenced by nature and our natural resources. 
Outdoor classrooms help to pique the interest of students in the world around them. This alternative classroom provides boundless educational activities for teachers and students. The "classrooms" come in many shapes and sizes and can include ideas such as butterfly gardens, gardens with particular themes (art gardens), amphitheaters, and courtyards.
Teachers and students will see this outdoor space as a valued resource in which they can apply knowledge in an authentic setting that connects academics from the classroom to the outside. The use of outdoor classrooms has been linked to academic success and pride in the community. They can be sites for inquiry-based science; address the different learning styles of students; be used for reading circles, creative writing and observation; can be used to weave content areas together and can introduce the wonders of the world with modern technology. In outdoor classrooms, students transform information and knowledge into experiences and skills. They explore their world, thus generating new ideas; they explore patterns, cycles, and change over time; move from awareness to knowledge to understanding, and have a place other than the traditional classroom to explore and learn. We hope to build the outdoor classroom on the Marinus side of the building, between the nurse's office and the second grade classrooms, with a plan that blends in with the natural environment and the neighborhood setting. I am very excited about this project, and hope that you are as well!
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| UPDATES HATS OFF TO HAITI - Pay $1/day for any day or $5 for all five days to wear a hat during school.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us in our efforts to help the people of Haiti! |
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