Doing school outside?

[asmall]

My kids are outside right now. They ran outside as soon as they finished breakfast.:D (They have the week off.) I was thinking of letting them do some of their school outside, so they can be out in the fresh air. Has anyone done this? Do your kids get to distracted? How did you go about it? I saw a cheap outside table at a store last night, and was thinking if I set it up somewhere in the yard, maybe they could do their work there. I love the idea of being outside more, but I am worried that they might not pay attention. Any thoughts?

AL

[Sharilynn29]

I tried it once and it was a disaster. They just could not focus.

[Dmmetler]

We have a screened porch, and at this time of year, often school out there while the weather is nice. Yes, it's distracting, but so is sighing and looking out the window, wishing you're outside. And you can always come up with sentences for dictation practice, or writing prompts.

 

We also will often take a day and "cafe school" at this time of year, where we'll pack school up and go somewhere for breakfast. If you do it after the rush, no one cares if you spend hours there, and DD often gets a lot of positive response from bored waitstaff who, when they have no customers, are often willing to sit with her and let her read her history read-aloud and talk about it with them or show them how she does math. It's a good antidote, I've discovered, when DD starts getting a lot of annoyance from other kids. I think that the test pressure really gets to the kids in her dance class and the like, and that's when she starts to get the "what? You don't go to real school???" comments-so spending a day having these part-time college students telling her how smart she is really helps!

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Yes, we have done school outside quite a lot over the years. I set up a table and bring the whiteboard outside. The kids enjoy it and it is a more relaxed day. Yes, there are distractions but none that would be discouraged. We do change things up some...do more oral work and whiteboard work instead of just sitting and working. Lots of breaks to run and swing. Picnic lunches and read alouds on a blanket under a tree.

[2_girls_mommy]

It doesn't work for us. We have done things sometimes. But it is very distracting most of the time. But a little bit once in awhile.

[Chris in VA]

Oh YES! We love it outside. Mostly reading and read alouds (but we don't do reading aloud anymore, sadly--I'm refering to several years ago).

[Ellie]

There's nothing to be "worried" about. You have nothing to lose by trying it. If it doesn't work out, move back inside. No biggie. :D

[Chrysalis Academy]

We spend part of every day that isn't rainy or cold outside. We do most of our read-alouds out there, as well as discussions and oral narrations of history, lit, science. We do science projects out on the porch whenever we can. We drill Latin vocab. Basically, anything that doesn't involve sitting focused with pencil in hand. Not just sitting outside, but often with her riding her scooter back and forth on the front walk. Miss P is very active and has a ton of energy to blow off. Being outside settles her. And yes, she does retain even when "doing" something physical.

 

Like Ellie said, try it, and if it doesn't work, move back inside! It's a lifesaver for us.

[NittanyJen]

We like the thick clipboards that have compartments inside for storing small notebooks or workbooks, paper, pencils, erasers, etc. they're slightly slanted which makes a nice writing surface (indoors or out) and the clip keeps papers from blowing away or notebooks on the correct page. Ours have a comfy carry handle on one side, good grip size for 8 & 11 YO hands (purchased at Staples-- clipboards, not hands :lol:)

 

The kids love working outdoors when they can.

[KristenR]

I didn't realize it until I started blogging and uploading photos that during winter and spring we do the majority of our school outside. I like to call it pool-schooling because its in our screened in pool area. I don't know if it is because we started young or if my kids just do well outside naturally but its never been a distraction.

[MathGirl]

I let DD8 do her independent school work outside but it doesn't work when I try to do read to all the kids out there. They get too distracted.

[WIS0320]

We have a covered back porch and we've been schooling outside more than inside since March. Love it!

[JenninMN]

If you do try it...and your kids love it.....and beg to stay outside longer to do their reading in the sun...

 

 

 

 

DON'T FORGET THE SUNSCREEN!!!

 

 

Sorry....my poor daughter got burned one year. :tongue_smilie:

[asmall]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will just have to try and see how it works for us. My only problem is I gave the kids the week off, and now I have to wait a whole week before we can experiment with this.:D

AL

[mhaddon]

My son will work way better outside at a picnic table. We give him play breaks, but he is more motivated and concentrates better. Even with anything nature around him. The way our house is set up we don't have an area to set up an oasis for him or we would. When we build one day this will be a requirement, bigger school room and huge windows with bird feeders, etc outside that window. Nature and fresh are make a big improvement for my wiggly outdoors boy :)

[maizeydaizey]

We do school outdoors quiet a bit in nicer weather and it has never been a problem. The fresh air, sunshine, nature.... those all seem to be peaceful for her. As well, my son is busy with his own adventure leaving her to learn. It also seems to be great incentive to move along so she can enjoy the outdoors.

 

We've gone to parks before too with no problems :)

[sweetpea3829]

I have let mine do some school work outside...jumping on the trampoline while doing phonics flashcards drills....etc.

 

But...my DD6 is very distracted and I can only do outside school on a very limited basis with her. She really needs absolutely no stimuli to focus on pretty much all schooling.

 

DS5 can do school anywhere, anytime, anyplace. He once had his speech therapist over...my bestie and her three young kids came over in the middle of his speech session and he didn't even look up.

 

The one big suggestion I can make is to make sure you let them run and play for a good bit of time BEFORE you try and sit them down for school.

[manyblessings]

We're actually getting ready to head outside for science :). All the main subjects are done so I thought it would be a nice treat.

[thefragile7393]

We do it a lot but I try not to go to many outdoor areas that are interesting (aka a park) until lessons are finished. It works well in my parents' back yard and our front yard, but they can find something interesting anywhere if they set their minds to it lol

[NittanyJen]

We do it a lot but I try not to go to many outdoor areas that are interesting (aka a park) until lessons are finished. It works well in my parents' back yard and our front yard, but they can find something interesting anywhere if they set their minds to it lol

 

I love reading how different we all are! It reaffirms my choice to home school many times over... How could one teacher ever match so many learning styles when they are this young?

 

We love park schooling. We stake out a table, do a few lessons, then play for 30 min; come back and do a few lessons, go play for 30 min; eat lunch, read our read aloud, play... Makes for a long day, but a joyful one. And we often attract a few extra "students" of all ages from 3--93 along the day :)

[mommytime]

I love reading how different we all are! It reaffirms my choice to home school many times over... How could one teacher ever match so many learning styles when they are this young?

 

We love park schooling. We stake out a table, do a few lessons, then play for 30 min; come back and do a few lessons, go play for 30 min; eat lunch, read our read aloud, play... Makes for a long day, but a joyful one. And we often attract a few extra "students" of all ages from 3--93 along the day :)

 

What a neat idea! I would never have thought of this! Thanks! Not sure how it would work with the nursing baby and her naptime, but I think I'd like to try it a little. I've always thought the boys would be too distracted. I think my biggest problem would be trying to keep the baby from getting sunburned.

[bamagirl]

Yes! A lot of our schooling is outside...we read, do science,spelling, math and art projects. I bring their little table out into the driveway along with the supplies usually followed by a picnic lunch. Spelling words are done on the driveway in sidewalk chalk too, math games playing hopscotch...fun stuff. Unfortunately our summer here a very hot and humid, so fall and spring are our favorite seasons to this.

[Another Michelle]

I love reading how different we all are! It reaffirms my choice to home school many times over... How could one teacher ever match so many learning styles when they are this young?

 

We love park schooling. We stake out a table, do a few lessons, then play for 30 min; come back and do a few lessons, go play for 30 min; eat lunch, read our read aloud, play... Makes for a long day, but a joyful one. And we often attract a few extra "students" of all ages from 3--93 along the day :)

We did this all the time! I wish we still could but I have so much going on with 5 school aged kids now! My kids do their independent work where ever they want, my oldest goes to the park (about a block away) almost everyday when it's warm enough.

[KAM]

We do a lot on the screen porch and I will let the kids who are doing independent work go out in the yard as long as they can stay somewhat focused. I set myself up on the porch to do read-alouds and one on one work. It's great.

[Tasia]

I only have one son doing school at home this year, but he's started doing his math on the porch every morning while we sit out and have our morning "coffee" (chocolate milk for him). I imagine it could become chaotic with several kids, but it sounds like it's worth a try!

[ClassicalTwins]

We love park schooling. We stake out a table, do a few lessons, then play for 30 min; come back and do a few lessons, go play for 30 min; eat lunch, read our read aloud, play... Makes for a long day, but a joyful one. And we often attract a few extra "students" of all ages from 3--93 along the day :)

 

This is what I've done with my boys. I remind them when we get to the park if we can't do our work then we will have to go home. So they play 20 mins or so then do a subject...play a bit....do another subject. :auto:

[Mommy22alyns]

Mine would be completely distracted.

[thegirlwhopaintedtrees]

I love the idea of going to the park for school. We often do school in the backyard. It's easier because my 2.5 yr old can play while the 4.5 yr old has lessons. We work on a big blanket though so it's not the most comfortable for her to do a lot of writing. I usually leave any lesson that is going to involve a lot of writing for once we are back inside.

[momtoamiracle]

we do phonics and math outside quite frequently. My son loves it.

[Tarreymere]

We do school outside quite a bit in the nice weather. What works for us is that I have a timer and have them do X minutes of work to get X minutes of running around time. We go to playgrounds, beaches, and nature areas as well as coffee shops and other fun places. It is true that they generally don't pay quite as much attention when we are out and about as they do when we are home, so I usually plan to do anything I think will be more difficult when we are at home.

[Homemama2]

I've found that for us any kind of reading works well (them reading, or me reading lit., history, science etc.. We just grab a big blanket and flop down in the backyard. It's when we try to do worksheets or things that can 'blow away' that it's a pain. It doesn't even need to be windy...everything just blows around regardless. :confused:

[Amy Jo]

We do school outside quite a bit in the nice weather. What works for us is that I have a timer and have them do X minutes of work to get X minutes of running around time. We go to playgrounds, beaches, and nature areas as well as coffee shops and other fun places. It is true that they generally don't pay quite as much attention when we are out and about as they do when we are home, so I usually plan to do anything I think will be more difficult when we are at home.

 

That sounds like a good way to get some reading time in for me. I think I like this idea - assuming it ever stops raining. :D

 

Off to talk to DH about that promised picnic table.

[Tanikit]

My DD can only do "school" outside if it is play based - so she can "write" her letters by painting the wall with water or she can build a mountain or pyramid out of mud in the back garden and we have done some hands on math outside - making shapes, or doing simple addition and subtraction, but she WILL NOT let me read to her outside ever - outside is for playing as far as she is concerned. We usually do any worksheets inside followed by play time outside so its in and out all day whether the weather is nice or not (we never get snow here and its freezing in the house in winter and warmer outside - we probably spend even more time out doors in winter than in summer)

[kolamum]

We have a giant picnic blanket that we take outside {or sit on the patio} to do school when it's nice out. I do allow breaks to go run, jump, etc. It works. My kids are also pretty well versed in the rules of school outside. ;)

 

AND, they also know they have to finish one thing before getting that quick break. Soooo they attend to their studies quickly to be able to go play.

[DJgang]

First day of school is always outside, a celebration.