Lizzette Anders, second-grade Spanish immersion teacher at Reidenbaugh Elementary School in Manheim Township, traces the origins of the grant she received in May from Manheim Township Education Foundation (MTEF), an organization dedicated to making resources available to educators in order to enrich student experiences, to a well-known horticultural wonder in Kennett Square. "I had completed a couple of workshops with Longwood Gardens about five years ago," said Anders, who noted she has always enjoyed getting students outside to explore and be inspired. She also took inspiration from a similar grant written by a teacher at Bucher Elementary.
The $15,000 grant will allow Anders to create two outdoor classrooms in areas adjacent to the school building. Anders has chosen a spot near her classroom and another on a front corner of the building where a landscaper will create learning spaces to accommodate 25 students with space for social distancing. The second area is only a short walk from a spot where picnic tables are available for students to work at individually following a lesson. One area would be based on an amphitheater design and located in a naturally shaded spot. This classroom would include seating made from stumps and logs. The second outdoor classroom would have a grid configuration in a naturally tiered area.
"I put them in a spot where there are outdoor closets so we can take things out and put them away easily," said Anders, who noted that she plans to have a white board or other apparatus for teachers to write on, as well as a table for experiments.
According to Anders, the outdoor classrooms fit perfectly with the curriculum for her second-graders. "We learn about monarch (butterflies) and pollinators, bees, and hummingbirds," she noted. "I am big on hands-on science exploring. I think it's better to take the students outside." She plans to include a butterfly garden of native plants that will provide a barrier between the classroom and the playground as well as a place for students to work. She noted that science can make more sense outside. "(We can) do experiments that can be a little bit messy because we are outside," she explained.
According to Anders, classrooms will be handicapped-accessible, and they will be used for more than science- and environment- centered learning. "We can incorporate reading, writing, listening to a story," said Anders, who noted that math units lend themselves to outdoor learning, recalling times when she has taken children outside to measure the size of a whale in the playground area. Anders' grant application noted that studies have shown that outdoor learning experiences heighten attention and recall, while decreasing stress and anxiety and inspiring physical activity. Anders, who grew up in Puerto Rico, experienced outdoor classrooms as a child. "It was just the way you learned," she recalled. "Being outside in the fresh air is just special."
Readers who are interested in learning more about MTEF may visit http://mtef.net, call 717-735-1751, or email administrator@mtef.net.
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