A New Kindergarten Year

It's time to start thinking about the new school year and with that comes important decisions about what to introduce to your new group of learners. Because such a big part of my program is the outdoor portion I have been thinking about what are the key components that I want to share with the new parents and children. 

I always offer a brief family session so that parents can review what their children will be doing at school including the outdoor program. I also want to acclimatize the children to the outdoor program and the routines that I use to keep them safe walking to and from the outdoor site, frameworks we will be using while at the site and set the expectations for their behaviours while at the site.
During the family session I would like to include some of the indoor learning their child will experience so that they can envision the classroom's daily flow. However I also want them to be confident that their child will be safe and productive in the outdoor program and in what ways they can support this teacher initiated program.
The key components of the outdoor program will include the Walk and Talk, Circle Conversations, a Wide Area Game, Snack, Exploration and often focused learning such as using nature objects to explore math, art, literacy or science. All of these pieces will be introduced and practiced on the school site and when the children are ready will transition to the forest across the street and the nearby seashore. Next we will begin our weekly journey by city bus to a larger forest and seashore.
A more substantial description is included in my book, Outside Our Window: developing a primary nature program which is available for online purchase through Amazon and Strong Nations booksellers was well as our local teacher store Kool and Child . Just click on the seller name and it will take you to their site.