Outdoor Classroom Day

The International Baccalaureate® aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect”.

IB Mission.

Creating a better and more peaceful world can be a big challenge. As a teacher What I have to teach to make them understand that? As a parent how can you support this idea?

Sometimes we can be overwhelmed with situations like this, but every journey even if it’s long or tough, starts with a step. The small steps are our thing in Pre-k and Kindergarten. So, What can we teach to the youngest kids of the school the importance of being part of this global world and being aware of it needs? First we can create a link of love and respect of the things they have around them. We can show them to love and respect nature and living

As adults we are their models, if we read, they will read, if we like vegetables (eventually) they will like them or at least recognize the importance or healthy life style, and if we like nature, they will like, enjoy and respect nature too.

This week at CISS we join the Outdoor Classroom day movement. And what is this movement?

Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to make time outdoors part of every child’s day. On two days of action each year, teachers take children outdoors to play and learn. All year round, the Outdoor Classroom Day community campaigns for more time outdoors every day.

Children are spending less time outdoors than ever before and this is affecting their health, wellbeing and development. Time outdoors – on Outdoor Classroom Day and every day – will make children happier and healthier, as well as equipping them with the skills they need for life.

Outdoor Classroom day

The outdoor classroom day it’s the perfect opportunity to show the learning community that teaching and learning can be everywhere and not only inside the school. Why? There are many benefits of learning outside the classrooms. One of them it’s the fact that being an adult you can work in many places not only in offices. The world’s not divided into subjects like in school. That is why I am very proud to be in an IB school where we can work transdisciplinary through inquiry.

Another good reason is that teaching and learning outside, the children can learn, can touch, can smell, feel,… experience things that inside the school we only can learn using books or media. They can learn in first person the benefits, the needs, and the problems our world.

And one last reason: It’s fun, and we do know that when the kids are enjoying the activity they will learn better and more, because the learning will be connected to a good emotion. Please look at the pictures and tell me what do you see in their faces.