Bringing in the Outside

Children have a natural inclination to learn about nature.  It is up to us as their teachers to provide them with a rich environment that provides them with the opportunity to inquire, observe and discover an understanding about the world around them. 

When it came time for me to redesign my science lab center I wanted this area to reflect the outdoors.  We want the children to feel like this area was just an extension to the outdoors.  We did this by adding reed fencing around the area to give it a more outdoor feel.  We also brought in stumps to give the children an uneven walking surface.

The reed fencing was also attached to the back side of a storage shelf to give the children a feeling of sitting outside.  Outdoor pillows were also added to give the children the opportunity to stay awhile and explore the nest collection or look at the rings on the stumps with magnifying glasses.  Children can also pull out balancing scales to observe the different weight of natures treasures.  

We also created a natures collection wall by attaching the reed fencing to a bulletin board.  This area gives children the opportunity to collect natures things and have a place to put their important treasures that they have found.  Children can also bring things in that they found while playing at home.   

To give the finishing touches to the area we found this great carpet from Kids Capet.com.  We could not of found a more perfect carpet for the area.  Not only did it give the nature quality but it also provides the children with opportunities to discover different sizes of owls, recognize numbers and letters.   

Are you wanting to redesign your science area?  Here is a free download to let you do just that. Simple go to Teachers Pay Teacher or Teachers Notebook.

If you are thinking of taking the challenge of redesigning your whole room then here is a workbook to help you do just that.

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook