From the Teaching and Learning Deputy

Connecting with Nature

One of the elements of the Reggio Emilia approach that we hold dear at St Paul is the importance of the learning environment as the third teacher. Within our learning environments at St Paul, we particularly look to embed connections with nature in our learning environments. As you move around our classrooms and the whole school, you'll see an emphasis on natural materials through our furniture and the materials children use when exploring subjects like Mathematics. You will also often see plants and warm, natural lighting to help create a more natural environment for our children to learn in. We know from research that these environments foster a greater sense of calm and wellbeing and a greater ability to engage in learning. 

We also embed nature through our play environments, such as the nature play area outside our Year 1 classrooms, the Big Park and the features of our Junior Primary play area. The learning that happens when children are following ants on the hill in the Big Park; digging water paths in the Junior Primary sandpit; or constructing forts out of tree branches in our Nature Play area are all great collaboration and exploration experiences and help our children connect more with nature every week. For our Year 3-6 children, this is also supplemented by their camp experiences which often engage with the natural world in different ways. All of these experiences provide great connections for our children and teachers to then explore in their Australian Curriculum learning, particularly in the areas of Science, Geography and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.  

School holidays can also be a great chance for children to engage with nature in different ways or in different ecosystems. If you would like some inspiration in this area for this holidays, I encourage you to visit the SA Nature Festival website: www.naturefestival.org.au/  The festival runs throughout the Term 3 holidays (from September 28 to October 13) and is in its fifth year of operation. They have over 400 nature-inspired events happening all across South Australia. Some are for adults and many are for children, including opportunities to explore art, music, food, wellbeing and Aboriginal culture. If you do end up joining in any of the activities, we would love to hear about it and see some photos of our children out in nature beyond our school.