Children at the Julianaschool on the Bussumse Kwartellaan can regularly be found in the open air, also during class. The school has recently opened a real outdoor classroom in the schoolyard. “You hear all kinds of birds flying around above you, that calms you down a bit”, enjoys eighth-grouper Jelmer.
Teaching outside in Bussum – NH Nieuws
“It’s just like being off school. It’s a kind of playground where you all play together”, Jelmer continues cheerfully. Today he rehearses with his group in the outdoor room for the final musical. “You have more space here and you can sit comfortably with everyone next to each other. That way we get a bit of the right feeling.”
“In this way, the children are stimulated in a different way,” explains Miss Daisy van Breukelen. “That way you also keep the attention and the student is involved in the lessons as well as outside.”
“Authentication seems irritating to me outside, because then the teacher cannot help on the board”
The outdoor classroom is part of the whole new schoolyard for the primary school. With a food forest and all kinds of green elements, the children play in a completely different place than before. “It doesn’t really feel like ‘school school'”, says 11-year-old Sanne, who clearly has in mind which lessons she wants outside and which she doesn’t. “Maths seem irritating to me outside, because then the teacher can’t help on the board. Spelling and language could be possible.”
High school
The students of group 8 will only enjoy it for a short period of time, as they will go to secondary school after the summer. “Soon you will only be indoors at higher school, so I think it is a shame that this is only here now,” says Jelmer. “But I like it for the next people who come to school here,” 11-year-old Jasmijn adds.
During the winter it could just be that the students are taught outside. “Perhaps you can do that with a thick coat on”, Miss Daisy looks ahead. “Then we’ll make the lessons a little shorter”, she concludes with a laugh.