Outside all day, at least once a week

Antioch University New England and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation hired PEER to do case studies of three public schools that have adopted a “Forest Day” program. At Hartland Elementary, VT, Ludlow Elementary, VT, and Mount Lebanon Elementary, NH, kindergartener teachers use the outdoors as their only classroom all day, once a week, year round.

While the stories and quotes from the individual forest kindergartens are as varied as the kids themselves, it is the cross-cutting themes that may be more likely to help other educators make the case for exploring similar approaches in their own schools. Across the sites, students were more engaged (cognitively, emotionally, socially, and physically). Enthusiasm tended to spread between teachers as they modeled curiosity, flexibility, and inclusion. Key logistics like good clothing and site maintenance helped overcome initial skepticism.

The report concludes:

“The spread of Forest Days programming is a regional and national phenomenon. Like any educational innovation, scale up will be supported by documentation of implementation, challenges, effective practices, and outcomes. This set of case studies provides insights into the processes being implemented and outcomes emerging at three New England sites. The evidence from these profiles suggests that Forest Days are a promising intervention that not only supports academic learning but offers numerous social, emotional, physical, and community-level benefits to diverse participants. The benefits seem to far outweigh any challenges brought forth, indicating that this pedagogical approach is worthy of consideration by a broader audience.“

An excellent 16-minute video called “Best Day Ever” features these three schools as well.