Outdoor Learning Activities – Sit Spots
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 05, 2024
With mild Spring weather comes lots of great opportunities to escape the four walls of the classroom and head out to learn in the great outdoors! The second the rain stops here in BC, I start searching for new ways to take our learning outside. Those who have been following my blog for a while know that I am wildly passionate about sharing outdoor learning activities.
Looking for some resources you can use to implement outdoor sit spots with your learners? Click on the image or button below to see all of the Outdoor Learning resources available in my TPT shop – they all come with sit spot activities!
In a previous post I talked all about using Sit Spots with your students. Spending time in quiet nature observation is extremely beneficial to students in a wide variety of ways. Today I share some of the benefits of using Sit Spots with your learners.
What are the benefits of using These Outdoor Learning Activities?
After using Sit Spots with my students for a number of years, I have noticed a wide variety of benefits. It is a practice that has helped my students in a multitude of ways.
1- Sit Spots Encourage Students to Slow Down
Sit Spots ask students to sit quietly for a prolonged period of time. We live in a fast paced world, and most students rarely have the opportunity to sit in quiet reflection with nature. Sit Spots allow for a sort of meditative reset, asking students to pause, focus, and breathe.
In the classroom, I often have students who rush through their work. The practice of slowing down and focusing in their sit spots for extended periods of time is really beneficial for them. Students are given a set time to be in their spots. Because of this, they are unable to simply rush through their activity so they can go do something else.
2- Sit Spots help students hone their observation Skills
Through quiet observation, students are asked to look closely at the world around them. In everyday life, we tend to miss a lot of the things going on all around us when we are lost in our busy worlds. However, Sit Spots ask us to slow down and focus on careful observation.
3- Sit Spots Encourage a connection to Nature
Students visit the same spots multiple times throughout the year, and record and reflect upon the changes they notice. Through this practice, the students get quite attached to their special spots, helping them to connect with the space around them. Students often return to their spots outside of the school hours, even bringing their families to see their special space.
We live in a world full of hustle and bustle. Because of this, I hope this post inspires you to encourage students to slow down, breath, and focus by trying these engaging outdoor learning activities with your learners.
For more information on outdoor learning, check out our posts on place-based education and outdoor math activities!
Looking for more Outdoor learning activities?
Click on the image below to go directly to the Outdoor Learning section of my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I have a wide variety of different outdoor lessons available!
Looking for my previous Outdoor Learning posts?
Click on the link below to go directly to my previous outdoor learning posts.
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