#optoutside Oak Grove on Tues, Dec 2, 2025

Teacher Outdoor Learning Survey

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What is Nature Deficit Disorder?

Outdoor Classroom Management Strategies

Teachers - upload your #OptOutside activities

 Research on Outdoor Education shows:
-School performance increases when children learn outdoors​
-Learning outdoors is healthy
-Learning outdoors supports child development
-Teaching and learning outdoors is fun
-Learning outdoors helps develop a sense of place and civic attitudes and behaviors
-Outdoor education engages families and the community

Ideas for #OptOutsideOakGrove include:
- Nature Walk
- Scavenger Hunt
​- Hand Lens Walk
- Journaling
- Reading
- Measurement
- Mapping
- Observation
​- Collecting Data
- Estimation
- Making letters and numbers with natural objects
​- Level Up Challenge
- Leaf sorting
- Living / Non-Living
- Shadows/Sundial/Human Clock
- Habitats
​- STEM Challenge

Funds from Rent the Rock were used to create #optoutside buckets for classes to use when learning outside.  Buckets are easy to transport and contain the following items:
-classroom set of clipboards
-classroom set of seat cushions
-classroom set of hand lens
-sidewalk chalk
-clothespins
-classroom set of pencils

Please remember there is a dry erase board in Williams Pavilion (BYO markers and erasers) and a clothesline in the outdoor classroom located on The Birdsong Nature Trail. 

EVERY KID OUTDOORS 
Fourth graders and their families get free access to hundreds of parks, lands, and waters for their entire year 4th grade year.  OGE fourth graders received their passes during a field trip to
​Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield. 
https://everykidoutdoors.gov/
​ Find a National Park site in Georgia at nps.gov
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The ABC Walk on the Birdsong Nature Trail
**each student can be assigned a letter and then write a poem or story using the words on their sign.

#optoutside for writing prompts, creating poetry, or vocabulary

Keva challenges in nature where students design trees, insects, birds and even trails. 

13 Outdoor Classroom Activities for Anywhere, Anytime
Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots Outdoor Resources
UGA Standard Based lessons for School Gardens
Project Learning Tree Creativity Boosters 
​The Globe Program
​EcologyProject.org
OGE Scavenger Hunts

Students can count gnomes in the garden, then answer the question "What makes a good gnome habitat" through creative writing or drawing. 

Level Up challenges keep all students engaged while allowing different levels of comfort and creativity. 

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FALL 2023 #optoutside day

Oak Grove will be celebrating outdoor learning with our first
#OptOutsideOakGrove week November 13-17 
The #OptOutside movement was started by the outdoor retail company REI in 2015. They shut their doors on Black Friday and encouraged people to go outdoors instead of shopping. For #OptOutsideOakGrove week, we are encouraging classes to #optoutside for a lesson. 
 Don't forget to reserve the courtyard, Williams Pavilion & Birdsong Nature Trail* if needed. 
*vinyl table cloths are located in the garden nook on the yellow cabinet for use on picnic tables on nature trail