Thinking Outside ...

Each year we seem to have one or two students per class who become the mushroom “experts”. Their jewel tones attract certain students, th...

Learning Trails are a great way to focus students’ noticing while learning outside and in nature. A learning trail is an activity where e...

📷 Just like rocks and dandelions, children love to collect Fall leaves. As the first leaves reveal their true colours hidden by Summer's...

This outdoor lesson challenges students to create a butterfly habitat that meets the animal’s basic needs (e.g., air, water, food, and sh...

One of our favourite ways to get students outside and observing the natural world is by taking them on a listening walk. It is a very sim...

📷 In 2016, we were asked by Evergreen if they could document our classes during an Outdoor Makerspace session. This video captures the r...

Sometimes a great read aloud is all you need to launch authentic and engaging environmental inquiry. This article 25 Books That Teach Kid...

Have you ever heard “clang, clang, clang” when running the dryer? It might just be a special rock that was tucked away in your child's po...

We love books! And there is nothing as satisfying as finding a great book that engages students and encourages them to explore their natu...

Being able to observe and engage with nature requires us to slow down, look and listen. This task is not always easy. And for our student...

When we first started our Outdoor Makerspace Pilot Project, there were very few, if any, public schools using large loose parts on the s...

We are often asked if, during this unstructured, nature-based learning time: "Do students ever just wander off?" "How do you gather the g...

Environmental Education is woven into the Ontario Curriculum in every subject area and at each grade level. This Ministry of Education d...

Going outside to engage in nature-based learning with students requires careful preparation, but also a bit of imagination and magic to p...

Our first source of inspiration for our Outdoor Makerspace was the Ithaca Children’s Garden Hands-On-Nature Anarchy Zone, designed by ren...

Anybody who has attended one of our Thinking Outside workshops will recognize this cart. Each time I venture outside with students, out i...

We love dandelions! Not only because they are good for the bees but also because, in the late Spring, we are often gifted bouquets from o...

One of the simplest ways for educators to begin taking students outside and into nature is to bring story time into the outdoors. Reading...

A few years ago, students at our school were invited by Nature Canada to participate in a stop motion project. The Monarch Butterfly Life...