Mrs. Bonikowsky’s grade  2 / 3  class at South Nelson has been learning outside once a week for at least two hours since the beginning of the school year. We are thankful to be surrounded by many parks and trails.

Our adventures vary each week and have included trips to the Mountain Station Trails, the Maple Forest, Prince Phillip Park, and Cottonwood Lake. Our time outside always includes a land acknowledgement, a sharing circle, some physical activity and/or games. We have made math patterns with natural objects, measured the mass of natural objects, created scenes for Story Workshop, made a life size map of Canada, learned about different types of trees and animal adaptation and did a Mural Walk downtown. 

Everyone looks forward to spending time outside of the classroom once a week. There is much chatter between kids and adults on our walks (we are fortunate to have our EA join us for these outings) as connections are made and relationships are strengthened.

By spending a significant amount of time outside the classroom we have been able to focus on the Personal and Social Responsibility Core Competency: “I can identify how my actions and the actions of others affect my community and the natural environment and can work to make positive change”.