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Chickering Elementary School Outdoor Classroom
Where Children and Nature Grow together
- History
The Dover PTO, Parents and school Administration have worked together over the past few years to create a beautiful landscape at Chickering where the children of the Dover Community can enjoy playing and learning every day. PTO, Chicatabot Garden Club, The Dover Tree Committee and the Dover Parks and Recreation department have planted several trees, shrubs, plants and bulbs at the entrance of the building which make the school a wonderful place to visit.
There are many more interesting projects that are anticipated to begin this year which include the installation of a comprehensive outdoor space or "Outdoor Classroom,” that provides an actual outdoor destination for learning, teaching and exploring with nature.
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society has provided Chickering with their expertise and knowledge in the development of outdoor learning spaces and this has resulted in a plan for an "Outdoor Classroom" which is located near the Kindergarten wing.
There are seating areas, a potting shed, raised bed gardens, a rain garden, a sundial, anemometers (wind instruments) and many more interesting elements. You may have seen two trees installed this spring in this space – one a teacher retirement recognition and the other is the Fifth Grade Class Gift. These were our first additions to what is the Chickering Outdoor Classroom.
- Mission and Goals
- Mission:
The Mission of the Chickering Outdoor Classroom is to provide a useful, beautiful space for the children, teachers, parents and volunteers of the Dover Community to experience nature as a primary tool for learning.
- Goals:
- Foster and develop student, teacher and community appreciation of our natural environment through curriculum based outdoor lesson plans
- Provide a different framework for students to learn
- Enhances and reinforce the curriculum components related to math, science, language arts, nutrition, social studies, art and music.
- Improve standardized test scores
- Make the school grounds an exciting and beautiful space for learning and playing
- Create an opportunity for community outreach (senior citizens, food pantries, girl scouts, cub scouts, DEDA, community education programs) ]
- Current Projects:
The Outdoor Classroom is installed!! A Big Thank you to Arbor Alliance -- Joe Biagioni and Jen -- who have done an amazing job bringing to life the detailed vision of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s drawings as well as all of the tireless input from:
Deb Reinneman –Chickering Curriculum Coordinator
Dawn Fattore- PTO Liaison for the Outdoor Classroom
Meg Field and Elizabeth Freeman- dedicated parents
Peter Heinrich- Massachusetts Horticultural Society Gardens Curator
Chickering anticipates a very busy spring, as there are so many exciting projects planned for the children. Some of these include:
- Three Raised Bed Gardens:
Their Themes may include:
- A Sunflower Garden
- A Peter Rabbit Garden
- A Scarecrow Garden
- An Alphabet Garden
- An Herb Garden
- A Colonial Garden
- A Butterfly Garden
- A Fairy Garden
- A Pizza Garden
- A Zoo Garden
These gardens and their plants provide wonderful opportunities for the children to study the plant life cycle, learn about nutrition and food origins, learn their letters, use math to plan spacing and chart plant growth, understand literature, poetry and art inspired by nature, journal, touch, grow and get closer to the environment.
- Study of Animal Life
- Bird watching
- Small creature habitats
- Vermiculture (Worms!)
- Insects and Butterflies
- Nutrition:
The outdoor Classroom will provide a space for the children to grow edible plants and vegetables. Data suggests that as children spend more time in a garden growing food to eat, they are more likely to eat it! This translates to better nutritional choices and steps towards healthier living.
- Stewardship:
Students are able to develop a love of nature, a love of the outdoor classroom and this will translate to a deeper respect and appreciation of our natural environment. Friendships: Gardens provide children with opportunities for collaborative work, therefore allowing deeper understanding of one another and a greater respect for each others strengths.
- Friendships will bloom over shared interest in the outdoor classroom and the wonderful lessons about our natural world it is sure to provide.
- Current Environmental Projects:
In October 2007, the second grade at Chickering Elementary completed a wonderful Fall Bulb Planting project: The students added over 500 bulbs to the front of the cafeteria. The Bulbs were donated by Natureworks Landscaping of Walpole Mass. We look forward to seeing the fruits of their labor in the spring! Look back for updated photos of Mrs Young’s second grade classmates!
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