Outdoor School Shop connected with nature school parent, Kaela Griffin to ask some questions.
Where is your child at school?
Our son attends A New Leaf School in Nashville, TN. The school has two campuses, one that is more forest school-based with hiking paths, a creek, and outdoor classroom spaces, and the second is on a farm with goats and chickens, hiking trails, and a pond to explore.
How does the school incorporate the outdoors into the program?
The students at both campuses are outside almost 100% of the time. Both campuses utilize indoor spaces daily for a short period, but the kids spend most of their time outdoors. My son is in the preschool program at the farm campus, so they use the outdoors to teach everything from letters to counting. They learn processes by performing farm maintenance tasks like gardening and animal husbandry. They use items found on nature hikes to create art projects. They introduce science by watching the life cycles of the plants and animals they see in the pond and on walks. They’ve even created their playground made from fallen tree branches.
How much time is spent outdoors?
They meet in their classroom space (with beautiful garage doors open to the garden) each morning for a meeting and some free play time. Then they usually spend the rest of their day outside. They play outdoors in all weather but use the classroom space if the weather is unsafe.
Has your child had an adjustment period to the outdoor approach?
Our son attended a parent/child play date at the farm once a week leading up to the start of the school year, but I think the outdoor nature made him feel at home quickly. Dirt and worms look the same at home as at school, right? I think those little signs of continuity made the transition relatively easy.
Would you characterize your family as “outdoorsy”?
Our family enjoys the outdoors, but I wouldn’t use outdoorsy to describe us. We try to spend time in nature, in the garden, or in the backyard, but life gets so busy! We have found the school year more manageable for us to spend time outdoors because our son is in the nature mindset. He’s outside most of the time, so when he wakes up on a day he doesn’t have school, his first idea is to go outside and dig for worms. We don’t have to convince him to stop staring at a screen, and that’s refreshing!
How has outdoor school benefited your child in particular?
I think outdoor school has benefited my son in many ways, but I think the thing that I have noticed most is his confidence. When you hike up hills with goats all day, you learn you can do hard things! He trusts his body, and I think that is beautiful.
Did you pivot from traditional school to outdoor school? Maybe from one child to another, and if, yes, what was that decision process like?
Our child did not transition from a traditional school, but I was a traditional school teacher for ten years before switching to SAHM. Once I had a child of my own, I started to see how little individuality there is in the traditional school system. Public school teachers are generally fantastic, but the system is just made for stillness to equal success. Then I learned about outdoor schools by watching an education documentary, and I knew that’s what I wanted for my child. We luckily moved to Nashville very soon after that, and I found the fantastic program at A New Leaf, so I am living my dream!!
Was it hard to find an outdoor school in your area? How did you approach your search? Did you utilize the free ODSS Outdoor School Directory to find your program?
I did not struggle to find an outdoor school in Nashville, but we have considered moving, and I’ve struggled to find similar programs in other cities. In those searches, I referenced the list of forest schools in The Forest Homeschool blog.
How have friends & family reacted to your choice to embrace outdoor education?
Everyone loves that our son goes to school with goats. People often mention they wish they had that option as a kid—I do too!!
Has it been difficult to find the right outerwear to keep your child happy, warm and engaged at outdoor school? How has ODSS been a resource for you in terms of gear?
After finding ODSS, it hasn’t been hard at all!! I was overwhelmed looking at first. I would spend hours researching what equipment we would need and reading reviews of different options, but then I found the ODSS layering guide and gear checklists, and that was so helpful! We have purchased much of our gear from Outdoor School Shop, and I have been pleased with everything. It is so easy to navigate the site, and I love the thorough product details on each item!