Have you ever thought about what 5th grade would be like without The Outdoor Lab trip for students? I think The Outdoor Lab is a valuable experience for a child's learning. Some people believe The Outdoor Lab is not that practical, but I disagree. First, it helps kids use their five senses instead of just using one. Next, it teaches kids to work in groups collaboratively. Lastly, it allows students to experience their learning instead of just reading it in a book.
First, it helps kids use their five sentences instead of just using one. For example, when l was at The Outdoor Lab, instead of just looking at a drawing of a bug I got to experience the real thing by holding one. Next, students learn life skills like being able to describe things with great detail. When I went to The Outdoor Lab, I got to hear the different animal sounds on the nature hikes. Along with getting to hear the animal sounds, I got to see all the old landmarks on the trail.
Another reason that The Outdoor Lab is a valuable experience for a child's learning is that it teaches kids to work in groups collaboratively. First, we learned how to get one result out of many different ideas. As a result, when we are older we will be good with working in teams. Another example, is that we learned how to listen to the whole group's ideas, even if we didn't agree with them. To conclude, we learned to help each other. lf someone was struggling we would all work at the same pace.
Lastly, it allows students to experience their learning instead of reading it in a book. For example, you learn more details about something by touching, smelling, etc., than by just Iooking at it. ln addition, by simply looking at something, such as a snake, you still wonder about what the snake feels like, smells like, etc. Another example is "The Disappearing Log" activity. I was able to feel the different textures of the log to solve the mystery. Finally, on the night hike, I was able to hear real owl noises! I would not have been able to do that in the classroom.
The Outdoor Lab is a valuable experience for a child's education. First it helps kids to use their five senses instead of just using one. Next, it teaches kids to work in groups collaboratively. Lastly it allows students to experience their learning instead of reading it in a book. ln conclusion, if you have not experienced outdoor learning, you might not have developed all of these life skills. How do you think these life skills could help you?
The writer is a student in Julie Dunn-Campbell’s fifth grade class at Taylor Elementary School.