The Outdoor Classroom

Embracing Nature in Education

Montessori education shines brightest through its dedication to hands-on experiences in the outdoor classroom. As a pioneering physician, Maria Montessori early in her career witnessed how nature profoundly calms, soothes, and organizes children’s minds. She noted that immersing kids in the natural world fosters deep peace and serenity. For Montessori, the structured elegance of nature awakens the innate order and curiosity within every child, offering a restorative touch: “It is also necessary for his psychical life to place the soul of the child in contact with creation, in order that he may lay up for himself treasure from the directly educating forces of living nature.”

We’ve all seen it—the pure joy and liberation children unleash outdoors. They bolt toward the playground with glee, proclaim recess as the highlight of their day, and beg for trips to the park. These moments underscore nature’s vital role in a child’s life.

Back when our family lived in Duluth, Minnesota, where sub-zero temperatures dominated the calendar, I learned about the region’s top-rated “Blue Ribbon” elementary school. We enrolled our kids there, and one standout feature was their generous allocation of outdoor recess time. To ensure teachers could truly recharge during lunch, the school hired dedicated playground supervisors. In winter, they’d flood the play areas to create ice rinks, then deploy a Zamboni for a flawless surface. Community parents pitched in during breaks, helping little ones lace up skates and steady their first glides. Kids mastered bundling into boots and snow pants, then dashed out to play or skate. In this community, outdoor time was sacred, and the school embodied that ethos. Nothing can replace the raw magic of the natural environment.

This priority on outdoor engagement in every Montessori setting I’ve encountered has reshaped my perspective on fresh air and reinforced my passion for maximizing children’s time outside.

Here at Little Lea, beyond simple play and physical movement, we dive deeper: digging in the soil, sowing seeds, tending to plants with watering and weeding, strolling mindfully, pondering discoveries, chatting in quiet spots, and uncovering treasures in our yard and garden. The possibilities for exploration and delight are endless! We inhabit a breathtaking planet worth treasuring, savoring, and elevating in our daily rhythms. Our youngest learners thrive on both purposeful work and joyful play in the open air.

“Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and, when the grass of the meadows is damp with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath it’s shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning as it wakes every living creature that divides its day between waking and sleeping. When children come into contact with nature, they reveal their strength.” – Maria Montessori.