schools
stjoseph
stjoseph
1868B649-835C-4836-967F-F3FBEF3676B6
5658
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Toronto Catholic District School Board
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Kindergarten at St. Joseph’s and the Outdoor Classroom
At St. Joseph kindergarten the playground is the
classroom! We strive to spend 50% of our Kindergarten day in our outdoor
classroom. This encourages and sparks the natural curiosity of our students,
promotes exercise, and provides opportunities to learn in an authentic,
child-directed, center and inquiry-based setting. We, the teachers, are there to
extend children’s thinking and support their learning as they discover the
natural world around them, pose questions, make theories and test predictions. A
writing center and an arts studio, Lego and play-dough as well as a welcoming
snack table are some of the centers you will find in our indoor and outdoor
classrooms. Additionally, observing ladybugs, collecting worms for our
terrariums, looking at the texture of different stones and rocks, asking why the
leaves are falling from the trees, collecting sticks and comparing them based on
thickness and length, and wondering about why ice is forming in that corner of
the playground are what you may see going on at any given day at our school.
Being a city school, “Nature Deficit
Disorder “affects many of our students—this growing disconnect
with the outdoors is cause for concern. Many of our students are spending less
time outside being active and more time inside and sedentary. We believe that it
is important to bring children back into the outdoors and foster a learning
environment in nature. Learning outdoors helps develop and improve critical
thinking and problem solving skills; it brings out the creativity in our
students and teaches them stewardship: to respect and care for the environment,
for God's creation.