It Not "Just Recess" Anymore!

Teachers often heave a sigh of relief when they take their students out to recess. Finally! The children can burn off the pent up energy they had been accruing for the past few hours indoors. But what if we change our outlook on outdoor play time? What if we create an outdoor environment that offered all of the learning opportunities that one would typically find indoors? What if children could run out to a well-planned play yard to find experiences in math, science, nature, dramatic play, water, building and construction, sensory activities, physical development, art and music? What if they play yard developed critical thinking, discovery, problem solving, and cooperative skills? The result would be that we wouldn't have "just recess" anymore. We would have The Outdoor Classroom!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Race Car Painting

I have done this activity several times with young children and it never seems to tire (no pun intended...haha!). You can do this on a flat surface or on an easel like I did. Basically, just set out a few flat dishes filled with various colors of paint. Let the children run the cars through the paint and then onto the paper. This project was completed over the course of an hour with many hands contributing to the project.

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