Columbia Elementary School creating outdoor classroom to help with social distancing

Columbia Elementary School students won’t have any difficulties social distancing this school year thanks to a new outdoor classroom that will be built on the playground with donations from local businesses.

“We’re going to build some wooden benches to create an outdoor classroom so the kids can have a place to sit while trying to receive as much learning as possible because of COVID,” Principal Shally Lundien said. “It will be an opportunity to learn outside in nature and get out of the classroom for a little while. Especially with the times right now, they’re not going to have as many opportunities (for) free roaming in the building. This gives them another learning space.”

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, school officials across the country have been asking how to properly social distance their pupils while offering in-person instruction. Some advocates believe the answer could be outdoor classrooms, which give students a natural space to learn rather than being confined to four walls and a textbook.

Nature-based outdoor education promotes “positive learning and developmental outcomes including enhanced imaginative play, increased physical and mental well-being and environmental stewardship,” according to a 2019 national survey of 274 sites with certified outdoor classrooms. Key findings showed positive outcomes for students, including increased effectiveness in their work, more engagement among children with special needs and restorative aspects to their behavior when returning indoors.

The idea of the project for Columbia came from literacy teacher Libbie Burd, who shared a story about outdoor classrooms on social media and asked administrators if it was doable. Lundien said she could lend her skills to construct the wooden benches for the new space and designed the specs.

“A couple years back, I designed some buddy benches for the kids,” she said. “The new benches will be movable. That way, if we want to move to different areas of our playground, we’ll be able to.”

Nicole Hart, a third-grade teacher at Columbia, helped gain support from local businesses to contribute to the effort. Her husband, Jon Hart with The Deck Company of Joplin, and Jason Elkins, manager of Meek’s on Range Line Road, donated $300 worth of lumber and materials to build 12 benches that can hold two students sitting 6 feet apart.

“I’ve been a customer here for a while because we work together quite a bit, and I came to Jason, who was really receptive, and we wanted to do something nice for our community,” Jon Hart said. “I think he and I are both driven to community support.”

Lundien said she appreciates the community’s support because she normally has to use her own money to supply things for the school.

She said she designed the prototype for the benches within a few hours. The benches will be 6 feet long and 54 inches tall with the back included. She guaranteed the benches will be completed by the first day of school on Aug. 24.

She also has experience with another outdoor classroom — one at Carl Junction High School, built while she was a student there.

“I loved it,” Lundien said. “Back years ago, there was an original outdoor classroom out by the little pond behind the new high school. We used it for science lessons. We did tree and animal identification. And then I taught science for 10 years, so I always took kids to an outdoor area to learn and just experience that because some of them don’t get the opportunity.”

Each class at Columbia will be able to use the outdoor classroom, with teachers signing up their classes for designated times. Nicole Hart said it will also benefit teachers and give them a form of stress relief during the pandemic.

“This year is going to be a big change for everybody, so scheduling a time to go outside and enjoy the weather and learn at the same time, it will be an adjustment, but it will be different for them,” she said. “I’m sure the kids are going to love it. I always like to take my kids outside for writing time because I don’t need any math manipulatives or anything. We could just take our clipboard and free write. We can write about our senses and what they’re feeling. There are just so many different options. It’s limitless what we can do.”