1. Hi Kate, you reached out to Outdoor School Shop in August of 2023 and requested outerwear for 1st graders at an independent school, for a new program you were about to start. Tell us more about it!
I am new to my school in the 2023-2024 school year. It’s the school I attended for middle and high school. I had such wonderful experiences here as a student, and it feels good to be back and contribute to the school as a teacher. The school is on a beautiful 120-acre campus with lots of forest. I pitched the idea of a Forest Friday-type program to my principal, and she said, "Absolutely! You should apply for a grant from the parents' association!" I did, and it was accepted in the fall of 2023. That's when the fun began of ordering the gear from ODSS!
2. What sparked your idea of developing this program?
Well, I love to be outside, and I loved playing in creeks as a kid, climbing trees, etc. I love to go for walks in the forest with my dog now and be in the water during warmer months. Generally, I enjoy sharing my passions with my students. Before moving back to the US, I had worked for 2 years in Japan, 7 years in India, and most recently for 2 years at the International School of Latvia in Riga. In much of Europe, especially northern Europe, kids and families are outside no matter what the weather. I was surprised that this carried over into school. There was rarely, if ever, indoor recess. Students come to school with appropriate rain and snow gear every day and go outside regardless of the weather. I was really inspired by the love of the outdoors and the importance of nature to Latvian culture. This, combined with working at a school with a forest ON CAMPUS, was a no-brainer. I knew I had to do something to incorporate the two!
3. How did you choose the outerwear? How was it working with ODSS?
Working with ODSS has been fantastic! I didn’t have any experience with purchasing any type of gear for students, and everyone I worked with has been fantastic and so helpful. I chose the outerwear more for rain and mud protection, as it doesn’t get very cold where we live. I knew we wouldn’t be exploring in the creeks in freezing temperatures, so we didn’t need insulated gear. It was an easy sell as well because blue and gold are our school colors!
4. Have there been any hurdles along the way?
Not really. There has been so much excitement from kids and families about this program, and it’s all been going well so far! The hurdles are really finding a place to clean the gear at our school in the winter. We’ll get a hose hooked up in the spring so we can hose all the gear down. The other hurdles are teaching the kids how to get into and out of the gear, hang it up appropriately, and take care of their gear because we want it to last for many years so many kids can have the same experiences.
5. Had it been difficult to encourage the kids to put on their outerwear and explore outside in the elements?
It hasn’t been difficult at all! They are so excited to do something new. The growth we’ve seen, even within the first hour in the forest from some kids, has been amazing! The risks we’ve seen them taking, the learning to be uncomfortable in the wet/cold/heat, and the different sides of kids that we’ve seen come out, have been so cool. Before our first session, we gathered with all the first graders and talked to them about what we were doing. We asked them why they thought we might be doing this and then asked for any questions, worries, or things they were nervous about. Initially, kids were worried about getting lost, having a tree fall on them, and things like that.
6. Do you have a sunshine story to share?
Last week, our Forest Friday time was spent with our fourth-grade buddies. We have buddy time every two weeks, and usually we do things inside. It was so wonderful to see the kids exploring together, nine and 10-year-olds doing the same things as six and seven-year-olds—enjoying climbing on a fallen tree log, crossing over a stream, playing with sticks, and digging in the mud. The partnership between older and younger students outside was really lovely to see. We plan to do the same thing again with our fourth-grade buddies in the spring.
7. Any advice to other schools who are curious to work towards the same goal?
Start small! Explore a local park together, do a read aloud outside, go to a new playground and give the kids unstructured playtime. Let them play with sticks, let them get muddy, and then depending on their age start to incorporate some academics outside into nature. Do mindfulness outside, do a design and build challenges outside, have the kids write poetry. The possibilities are endless! Everybody deserves access to the outside, not just kids whose parents are also into the outdoors!
Bullis School
Website: https://www.bullis.org/
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