From a parent of a middle-schooler:
I had wanted to send you a message of gratitude for getting the kids out into winter. I think it’s the #1 thing we can do for them–for their mental health, for their bodies, for understanding the world. It’s hard to make it happen with grumpy teens!
New Year’s Day, we went sledding as a family, which Liam and his little sister and brother loved, of course. But the sweetest and best part of the day was his urgency to take us to the Duck Pond afterward. It was gorgeous. We walked to the pond, through the beautiful snow, over to the bridge/viaduct, where we stood in silence and watched 3 deer run through the woods. Liam was leading the way, telling us about his many trips there and where to go and how much he “actually likes school nature walks.” We don’t get a lot of enthusiasm from him these days of this kind, so I am deeply appreciative to you for helping to instill his love for that place and for being outside. I grew up going to that duck pond, so it’s very special for me that he has his own connection and memories to it.
Thank you!
Ceri — mom of Liam
From a parent:
“I asked Pippa how she felt about her experience outdoors in Health and Wellness and she said she experiences all of her senses when she is outdoors and is reenergized and pumped.”
-Jinger Schroeder, mom of Pippa, Wingra student
From a teacher:
“I have no doubt that to cultivate stewards for the earth and its inhabitants, we must learn outside. We have worked to get our 11-14 year old students out in the natural world as much as we can. In the past, this entailed an intro period during which we established norms and expectations for the outdoors. Occasionally, children who were unfamiliar with learning outdoors thought that any outdoor time at school meant recess. The adjustment period, or the time it took to figure out how to engage in the serious work of paying attention to the earth while we are out, took a bit longer for those folks.
Several years after the younger classrooms in our school dedicated more time to learning/being outdoors, we got to experience the cumulative result. I noticed that the young, new students in our level already knew how to notice, navigate, or enjoy what the outdoors offered. They had already developed a relationship with the outdoors. With that in place, we got to get right to work growing that relationship, deepening a love that will continue for life. At least that’s the dream.”
-Kathy Oker, Teacher ages 11-14, Wingra School
Outdoor Learning with Weslie 