Outdoor Classroom at Lower School Gives Students Chance to Learn and Explore

The outdoor classroom was completed last spring and began to see regular use by the school’s Summer Programs. This fall, it is being fully utilized by the Lower School. 

 

The Garden features a fruit and vegetable garden with okra, corn, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, squash and more. There is a gathering space with an expansive sandbox at its center, a marimba and a bongo, a "fairy garden" and a water feature.

 

Head of the Lower School Jordan Love said he envisions all students in the Lower School participating in engaging experiences in the Best Garden, whether it's kindergarteners sharing what they hear and feel, or second graders studying how plants grow and the impacts of erosion.

 

"It just feels like a deeper investment in our Lower School students," said Danielle Collins, Director of Lower School Admissions. "So much careful thought has been given so they can learn at the different stations. For me that’s been so exciting."

 

The idea for the classroom came from preschool teachers who wanted to expand the school's project-based play curriculum outdoors. They earned a SAPA summer grant in 2013, and planters near the playground were dedicated to the effort the following school year. 

 

But they wanted to do more and advocated for space to grow. The result was the conversion of an upper playground area into the outdoor classroom. 

 

"It was the teachers' vision that made this possible," Love said. "We were able to accomplish this through their dedication and determination."

 

Love announced the project in spring 2015, as well as the school's intention to name the classroom for Peggy Best, a long-time St. Andrew’s and St. Francis preschool teacher who retired in 2015 after 28 years of service. Best was among the teachers who collaborated on the classroom concept.

 

Love said research shows the more children are connected to nature and real world experiences, the more learning moments will stick.

 

"Children are naturally curious. They need and deserve a learning environment that enables them to seek out and act on that curiosity," Love said. "The outdoor classroom space is an ideal environment because it has a lot of choice."

 

This summer, specialist teachers at the Lower School applied for a SAPA summer grant to explore how disciplines like language arts and physical education can best utilize the space.

 

"Children will make their own meaning in a learning space like this," Love said. "In many ways, this garden will be a hallmark of us living out our mission."