Today we had the distinct pleasure of joining in the learning at Homma School's Outdoor Classroom. It was such a privilege to see a school garden that has been running for a good period of time (10 years!) and with so much success. The students allowed us to join them and eagerly taught us about some of the plants growing there and showed us the weeds that needed to be managed. Teacher Megan Zeni toured us around and chatted with us answering questions in between classes. She has been teaching exclusively in the outdoor classroom for several years and has worked to incorporate risky play, loose parts, and social emotional learning as part of the elements of learning taking place for Homma students each time they enter the garden. Many of the vegetables are close to being ready for harvesting and we were able to partake of garlic scapes cooked five minutes after being cut from the garden.
The discussion around resilience and autonomy within the parameters of outdoor learning grabbed my attention. The tendency of adults these days is to mitigate risk for children by keeping them within the realm of safety and consistently reminding them to "be careful". This insulation of kids can restrict them from learning the own boundaries and knowing what their own limits are. By offering kids a chance to play in the garden they can have opportunities to unleash their imagination, have autonomy over their decision making while they are outside, and understand what they are capable of.
For more information you can visit Megan's website
https://meganzeni.com/ and follow her on her social media sites under her handle @roomtoplay
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