Nature: The Perfect Classroom
Willow uses the outdoors as a dynamic learning laboratory. On any given day on Willow’s 34-acre campus you can find Willow students observing nature to better understand and appreciate how we are all connected, conducting soil experiments, planting and tending to their garden beds, making art outdoors, building forts in the woods during recess, or simply reading a book under a tree. These activities are only a couple of the many ways our students learn in and from nature as they discover their responsibility to care for our world.
Willow’s outdoor learning program is built into our mission, giving us over 20 years of experience teaching students in and about nature. Willow’s campus is purposefully designed to teach and support ethical relationships within the community and the natural world, empowering Willow students to make a difference.
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Benefits of Outdoor Learning:
- Children develop a greater sense of happiness, benefit from more physical and mental energy, and experience a decrease in stress and anxiety.
- Students have more opportunities for hands-on learning and are able to observe and make connections between themselves and the natural world more organically.
- Students perform better on standardized measures of academic achievement in reading, writing, math, and social studies when outdoor lessons are included in their day.
- Children are more engaged and enthusiastic in class, both during outdoor time and during indoor activities following an outdoor learning experience, and there are fewer discipline/classroom management issues.
What Makes Outdoor Learning at Willow Unique?
- Willow starts outdoor learning at an early age with hands-on experiences with nature that center on joy.
- We use the environment not just as a space for learning, but as a tool for project work.
- We create boundless opportunities for students to explore, collaborate, and take advantage of the inherent diversity of nature.
- Visitors are impressed by our LEED-certified facilities, and the fact that Willow students can explain its complex systems of water preservation, energy use, and more.
- Updated outdoor classrooms give our students more opportunities to be outside
See our Outdoor Learning Program in Action:
Dummy to Close First Accordion
Willow Kindergarteners
WILLOW KINDERGARTENERS learn from trees found in our woods. Through hands-on exploration, they begin to make connections between the trees and our interdependent community.
Willow First Graders
WILLOW FIRST GRADERS adopt monarch caterpillars, tracking their evolution into butterflies in science class before releasing them back into their natural habitat.
Willow Third Graders
WILLOW THIRD GRADERS love Ms. M’s Nature Challenges! ‘Find Herman the Worm’ is a fun way to learn about natural decomposers (e.g. worms) while discovering how they play a healthy part of our ecosystem. Third graders take responsibility for the school’s compost, helping to reduce waste.
Willow Fifth Graders
WILLOW FIFTH GRADERS study the watershed that runs through our campus and beyond to study erosion, build homes for the creatures that live there, while learning how to respect and care for natural resources.
Willow Students
WILLOW STUDENTS collaborate on the Maple Syruping Project. Different grades work together to tap maple trees, collect the sap, and boil it into syrup. The project integrates science, math, social studies, and more while emphasizing joy and community-building.
More to Explore on Outdoor Learning
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Director of Enrollment Management Lisa VanderVeen is here to help! Contact her at (908) 470-9500, ext. 1100 or via email