Saint Peter Public Schools

South Elementary recently purchased 25 camping chairs, thanks to the generous support of Scheels in Mankato and funds raised by South’s Star Pride Team through the annual Read-A-Thon.  This new resource has created meaningful opportunities for students to engage with their learning in a fresh, outdoor environment.

“One of the Star Pride Team’s goals this school year was to provide students with new and enriching experiences,” Laura Zender, South Elementary school counselor, said. “Supporting this goal was introducing an outdoor classroom option, giving teachers the flexibility to take learning beyond the traditional classroom setting.”

The new chairs have already been put to good use, including during STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) classes.

“I recently used the chairs with our first graders. They absolutely loved them, and even asked if I was going to take them camping,” Rachael Schweigert, South STEAM teacher, said. “The chairs were very helpful in the lesson I completed with them. The students learned about what a field scientist is, and practiced being a field scientist. They all got field journals and we spent two STEAM classes working on our journals. Day 1 students walked the school green spaces and observed living things and connected them with our spring season. 

“We documented the weather, wind speed, and time of day and discussed how this might impact what we observed- such as buds on trees versus brown leaves or full green leaves. Then, students drew pictures of their observations in their journals. They used the chairs to sit on while they completed their journals. Day 2 students collected specimens (dandelions, grass, leaves) and taped them in their journals. Again, they used the chairs while they completed their journals.”

Above and below are some photos from the South students putting the camping chairs into good use during some recent outdoor classroom activities!