ABOUT 300 primary school students embraced the natural environment at Perry Lakes Reserve on Australia’s first Outdoor Classroom Day today.
Ten schools took part in interactive outdoor activities including kite decorating, seed bomb constructions, cubby house building and journal writing in a rare opportunity away from their indoor classrooms.
Outdoor Classroom Day is a campaign to highlight the importance of outdoor play in children’s development.
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READ NOWResearch showed 85 per cent of Australian children spent less than two hours of play outside – 36 per cent less than previous generations.
Nature Play communications manager Katherine Healy said teaching kids outdoors was beneficial in every aspect of their lives.
“We are delivering the Australian curriculum outdoors, so we have got science, maths and art lessons,” she said.
“Outdoors does not have to just mean physical education or outdoor play at recess… any class you can deliver inside can be done outdoors.”
Dalkeith Primary School Year 5 student Erica Hancock said she would like work outside at school more and take part in Outdoor Classroom Day again.
Meadow Springs Primary School Year 2 student Ebony Smith said during the “digging deeper” exercise, she saw a bird, ant and brown caterpillar and drew it in a journal.
Lockridge Primary School student Harley Mogridge said it was fun to design and fly a kite outdoors.
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