Giving Tree School

At Giving Tree School, we have continued to explore new ways to interact with and utilize our Outdoor Classroom.

This year we have strengthened our commitment to getting our kids outdoors by instituting a classroom schedule that prioritizes at least two hours outdoors each day (often we spend even more time outside). Teachers have taken many of the daily activities such as small and large groups outside on a regular basis.

We observe the changes of the seasons and plan activities around this natural rhythm, such as hatching monarch butterfly chrysalises in early fall, hunting for animal tracks in the winter snow, and planting and harvesting from our garden beds in the spring and summer.

We continue regular upkeep on the Outdoor Classroom as well, such as keeping our old-fashioned hand pump running for warm-weather fun, replenishing wood chips, and repainting our classroom signage on a yearly basis. We have established a new area around a pair of fallen trees, where the children enjoy excavating and building with large woodblocks.