06/05/2026
Play-based learning at its finest: many of our students spent literally three hours of our day designing and building "traps". What they were trapping who the heck knows? But amidst the fun, they were tieing their own knots, measuring various lengths of rope (using non-standard units of measure), experimenting with various pivotal points (fulcrums), experimenting with the various angles of their dead fall traps, comparing weight, etc. Not to mention all the "soft skills/learning skills" they are utilizing, such as hypothesizing, communicating, reflecting, designing a simple machine, developing a plan etc. which all develop the vitally important and nebulous skill of executive functioning as well as building resiliency AND that learning is intrinsically motivated and FUN. We don't dwell on all the edu-babel stuff very often but sometimes you just have to stand back and name the learning that's going on in front of all of us. One side of the coin says it's just a bunch of kids banging around in the bush (and it is), but there is a place where we as educators and loving adults should take a minute and appreciate the learning occurring. And to foster it. School tries to make learning happen, outdoor education just seeks to make space for the learning to occur. You couldn't stop it if you tried. Such a fun day with these lovely rascals. ð
