Outdoor Explorer – SUMMER Activities

Outdoor Explorer – SUMMER ACTIVITIES

The natural world acts as a teacher who is always spontaneous and unexpected with new lessons hidden under rocks, in the skies, and even left behind on the ground for students to discover. The SUMMER activities included in the Outdoor Explorer encourage curiosity and stimulate all the senses of your learners. Don’t worry - if you’re in an urban area and finding a suitable outdoor area for your students is difficult, I’ve also provided an option on how you can look into bringing the outdoors into your classroom!

WHAT IS INCLUDED?

1. 15 season-based activities (designed to be given on a weekly basis) that are separated into the following categories: (SEE PREVIEW)

• Search and Find (students are given a task of finding items in nature based
  on color, texture, etc)
• Design and Build (students are given a STEM challenge to use items in nature
  to build a structure or object)
• Illustrate (students sketch, color, illustrate, or graph)

2. Extension activities – six options that you can include with outdoor activity to have students elaborate on their outdoor adventure

3. Program Overview (supports standards-based curriculum - NGSS)

4. Online State Resource Guide (ongoing list that will continue to be added to as more resources are found

Why do our students need natural play?

Students thrive outdoors because they are encouraged to experience their surroundings instead of sitting still in it. Learning is masked by the constant curiosity of being surprised at what they may discover. When students are outdoor explorers, all of their senses are firing. Nature activities not only require observing, smelling, touching, and hearing, they also promote problem-solving skills, scientific and mathematical exploration and inquiry skills.

How does this program work in the classroom?

The Outdoor Explorer activities are meant to be included in the regular curriculum. Teachers have the option as using them in whole-class instruction, or the activities can be sent home for students to complete as weekly assignment.

Younger students can be assigned individual pages, while older students can be challenged to complete many activities in a certain time frame.