As addressed in previous posts, providing children time to go outside and play reaps benefits across multiple domains of a child’s development. It promotes gross motor development, allows kids to use their imagination and creative thinking skills while tackling social development milestones… the list is endless. However, when thinking from an educational standpoint, this idea of an outdoor classroom is not something that is new and has been seen 40,000 years ago!

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19’s sudden switch to online learning, a lot of classrooms have spent less time outside. This has created questions in the benefits of integrating nature into classrooms and whether this new style of education is beneficial or harmful to students. Today’s article brings to light the history behind outdoor classrooms; where we first saw examples of them, how they have changed, and what they look like now post pandemic.

To read more, click here!

Mikayla Clemens

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

---