“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.”
The first line of the proverb clearly explains that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring. However, the second line means that only play, without engaging the mind meaningfully does not help in learning. Education is all about the overall development of an individual. Therefore, there needs to be a balance between active engagements both indoors and outdoors to develop the mind, body, and soul.
A few other Benefits Of Outdoor Education are:
Better Health:
Every part of our body needs to be energized and outdoor play definitely caters to that, thus leading to better health of learners. Studies have revealed that outdoor education can be a key factor in avoiding childhood obesity. It helps learners be in natural surroundings that develop their senses and leads to physiological and psychological growth.Increased Motivation:
Kids of any age naturally have the need to move around. Sufficient amount of physical activities outdoors freshens the mind and body. Thereafter, children are happy, motivated and relaxed to do activities indoors. They can focus better on the task at hand as play stimulates the neural connections in the brain and helps in regulating emotions, making plans and solving problems.Enhanced Communication And Socio-Emotional Skills:
Outdoor education calls for collaboration and team building tasks. Children learn to communicate with each other, problem solve and build healthy relationships. It gives them the space to explore, discover and think freely, thus reduce barriers to communication.Improved Memory And Imagination:
Spending time in a fixed environment or lighting throughout the day create a fixed pattern, however, moving outdoors for some time opens up a world of fresh stimuli, resulting in making better connections to learning and improve the power of recall and retention.Better Overall Behavior And Reduced Stress Levels:
Children and young adults are constantly growing, changing and evolving, having to deal with many things at a time. Outdoor education allows them to build essential life skills and better coping mechanisms., for example, while playing a sport/game, failure/ inability to do a task well teaches one to understand the cause for the same and helps one stand up on the feet to try again. Seeking support and cooperation from the peers and facilitators creates a positive outlook and reduces anxiety/stress.At JBCN International School, Borivali our curriculum focusses on the MIND, BODY, SOUL philosophy, wherein the holistic development of every child is given utmost importance. To facilitate this, outdoor education is an essential part of every day at school. Following activities conducted at school will throw light upon this.
Co-curricular Activities:
Right from the Pre-primary years, to primary, middle school, secondary and higher secondary, learners are exposed to different activities at each grade as per the age and developmental stage of the children. There are outdoor activities like Physical Education, Gymnastics, Swimming, Skating, Cricket, Football, Basketball, and many more that are a part of the curriculum and are spread across the week such that every day the learners have at least 1 or 2 outdoor games to indulge in.
Field Trips/Edu Tours And Excursions:
We believe that learners should acquire practical knowledge at every step; therefore, learners are taken for field trips every quarter in the Pre-primary and Primary years which helps in experiential learning. The learners in Primary, Middle school, Secondary and Higher secondary also have Edu tours and Excursions in the course of the academic year that gives them exposure to larger concepts, also making them independent and confident.Lesson Outdoors:
An exciting change is always welcoming and the teachers take a few sessions in the outdoor space of the school with different activities. For example, there could be a storytelling session in the lawn area or an art session in the mini amphitheater on a day, which actually opens up the minds of learners and their creativity, imaginative and literary skills are expanded.Events:
Through the year, many academic and cultural events are conducted in the outdoor spaces across grades. Our learners, parents, and facilitators collaborate and participate in different activities which make learning fun for all.In order to lead a healthy lifestyle, spending quality time outdoors in the form of a sport/game, exercising, traveling or being one with nature is very important. Instilling the value of it in the early years of life at school lays the foundation for a brighter tomorrow.
Written by, Shubhra Irani
(Head of Pre-primary at JBCN International School, Borivali)
