Welcome to the first winter session of
Willow Creek Outdoor School!
This program is more of an unofficial pilot program to what may be to come. It will consist of 5 sessions, where we spend 2 hours outdoors each Wednesday morning! The program is geared towards homeschool families and stay at home moms, all ages are welcome.
Wednesday Mornings from 10AM-12PM
First day March 5 - Last day April 2
4404 3 street w, claresholm
cost: $10/ family due on or before March 5
Please do not leave your child with us, this is not a drop off program but a gathering of each of the families to enjoy and experience the outdoors together. You will be expected to supervise your own children.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up
Important Details
Parking is located at the north end of the building at the back entrance of Faith Community Baptist Church.
Access to the church building is available for bathroom usage and warming up if needed.
Kicking Horse coffee will be brewed hot and ready, Mamas please bring yourself a travel cup.
Be sure to come prepared and dressed for the weather, the goal is to spend the whole two hours of our time outdoors.
Packing blankets and camp chairs is optional but suggested as we will spend some time around the campfire.
Feel free to pack your own snacks for your children for during or after the program.
For payment please bring cash on the first day or e-transfer to steph.heather@icloud.com - This cost will all be donated to the FCBC for usage of their facility. The cost is per whole household, regardless of the number of children attending and is a one time cost.
what and why outdoor school?
If you are picturing desks lined up in a row on a patch of grass, you will be disappointed!
Outdoor school is an opportunity for children to freely play and learn outdoors. Playing is learning in so many ways, when we give children the opportunity to be outside in nature without a rigid agenda, it allows them to freely explore. With our guidance they can learn about all the sights, sounds and smells they are experiencing. Allowing children to spend time outdoors brings them into a curiosity of what is around them. They get an opportunity for self awareness, for exercise, sunshine and so much more!
If you do any research at all about how important it is for children to spend time outdoors freely, you will quickly find an overwhelming amount of benefits to their overall well being. You may also see that it is recommended across the board that children should be getting 4-6 hours of outdoor time every day! Less so in winter but none the less that is a lot of time! Researchers say that the average child spends 1200 hours a week of screen time, what a shocking number.
With that in mind we are taking a step in the right direction with getting children together to play and explore together even if it’s just two hours a week, thats two hours more than before!
Some of the benefits of an outdoor school:
Time outside can build pathways inside our brains! Here is an article to learn more https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/fine-motor-skills/crossing-the-bodys-midline/
Outside play increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which is what children need in order to focus. You may find that after a morning outdoors freely playing and running around, your child’s focus indoors on a school lesson is much improved.
The opportunities for children learning outdoors is vast. Everything from science in observing nature, math in counting and calculating rocks or acorns or wildlife population. Geography lessons where we learn our own geography and imagine the places in the world that would differ greatly from what we are experiencing. Social and language skills from learning to co-operate or build teams with other children of varying ages. Observation skills increase from surrounding nature and surrounding children. Good observation is not only a valuable academic trait but those who are observant often become very kind and empathetic people.
Meet brittany, our program leader:
"Hi I'm Brittany! I have a 2 year old son and a daughter on the way, and we love to be outside whenever and however we can. I grew up in the country just outside of Calgary and playing outside nearly everyday had a huge positive impact on my childhood, and adulthood. In university I took an outdoor program and one of my favourite aspects of the program was when we taught kids outdoor skills. Now, having my own child, watching him experience and explore that natural world for the first time brings me so much joy! There are major benefits to our children being in nature such as developing cognitive skills, fine and gross motor skills, and an appreciation for nature. This is something I want to share with other parents and their kids in our community. Which is why I am super excited to help introduce the Willow Creek Outdoor School. Through this program I'm hoping to help get kids outside as much as possible, help create a safe and fun learning and playing environment, and have fun!"
