Learning Outside: Connecting Children with Nature

Written by John Bell and Patrick Martin | April 19, 2017 at 9:01 PM

Spring days inspire so many of us to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. School sports move outside, while playgrounds and parks become alive with families enjoying time together. Many studies also prove that there is a positive educational benefit of connecting young learners with nature. Author and Early Childhood educator from the Yale Child Study Center, Erika Christakis states, "Active learning, and especially outdoor play in nature, is essential to healthy human development."

Connecting children to nature cultivates the following:

A sensory experience—sights, sounds, textures
A boost to the immune system
Respect for the environment and all living things
A sense of beauty and calmness
An opportunity for curiosity, imagination, and exploration

Collectively, research shows that children's social, psychological, academic, and physical health is positively impacted when they have daily contact with nature.

At Sanford School, we incorporate outdoor learning in our academics, physical education program, and activities; using the ponds, streams, and gardens of our over 80-acre campus in so many creative and imaginative ways throughout the school year:

PreK children collect beautiful leaves, feathers, and other natural wonders in the fall
Lower and Middle School students tend their flower and edible vegetable gardens
Science classes throughout the school explore the campus as a living classroom
Art students draw inspiration from the natural world to sketch, paint, and photograph
Third-grade Oregon Trail Pioneers celebrate, cookout, and square dance
Lower and Middle School students love outside recess time, and all Sanford students love to play in the snow!
Media students film outdoors, performers rehearse, musicians play
Seventh graders test their engineering skills with duct tape and cardboard in the school's swimming pool for the annual regatta competition.
Physical Education classes use the nature trails that surround the campus and
We all walk around campus all year round!

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”
Rachel Carson, Biologist and Writer

John Bell is the Lower School Science Teacher at Sanford School. He earned his bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies from California State University in Sacramento. He received his master's degree in Science Education from Montana State University. He was a field biologist studying raptors across the Western United States before teaching.

Patrick Martin is the Lower School Technology Coordinator for Sanford School and a Google Certified Educator.

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