Outdoor Learning KS1: The Complete Guide for Primary Schools
Outdoor learning KS1 is one of the simplest ways to make the primary curriculum more active, practical and meaningful without creating more work for teachers.
It does not mean moving every lesson outside.
It does not mean becoming a Forest School.
And it certainly does not mean planning a completely separate outdoor curriculum.
At The Muddy Puddle Teacher®, we believe the best outdoor learning activities KS1 teachers use are the ones that fit naturally into what children are already learning.
A Year 1 maths lesson can involve measuring real objects outdoors.
A Year 2 English lesson can begin with collecting vocabulary in the school grounds.
Science can involve observing actual plants, habitats, materials and seasonal changes.
Phonics can include movement, sound hunts and large-scale word building.
Geography can start with the school grounds and local area.
The curriculum stays the same.
The way children experience it changes.
This complete guide to KS1 outdoor learning will help Year 1 and Year 2 teachers understand how to use outdoor spaces confidently across the primary curriculum, from KS1 outdoor maths, KS1 outdoor English, KS1 outdoor science and KS1 outdoor phonics to geography, history, art, design technology and more.
If you are completely new to taking learning outside, start with our Beginner’s Guide to Outdoor Learning and then return here for everything you need to develop outdoor learning across Key Stage 1.
What Is Outdoor Learning in KS1?
Outdoor learning in KS1 means using the outdoor environment purposefully to support children’s learning.
Sometimes children are learning about the outdoors. They may be investigating plants, observing seasonal changes, studying habitats or exploring their local environment. At other times, the outdoors is simply the place where the learning happens.
Children might practise number bonds on the playground, create a giant story map, investigate capacity with water, follow positional instructions or build words using natural objects. That distinction is important. Outdoor learning is not a subject. It is a way of teaching. A teacher still begins with the curriculum objective and asks:
What is it I want the children to learn?
Then: Would experiencing this physically, practically or outdoors help them understand it better? If the answer is yes, taking the lesson outside may be worthwhile. That is the foundation of effective KS1 National Curriculum outdoor learning.
Why Is Outdoor Learning Important in KS1?
Year 1 and Year 2 children are still very young learners.
They benefit from movement, conversation, exploration, repetition and real experiences.
Yet moving from Reception into Key Stage 1 can sometimes bring a sudden change. There may be more sitting. More written recording. More worksheets. More adult-directed teaching. Those things all have their place, but they do not need to become the only way children learn.
Outdoor learning gives Key Stage 1 children opportunities to experience concepts physically before they are expected to represent them abstractly.
A child can understand length by comparing objects. A child can understand direction by physically moving forwards, backwards, left and right. A child can understand habitat by investigating where creatures actually live. A child can develop richer vocabulary by experiencing wind, frost, mud, rain, flowers or autumn leaves rather than only looking at photographs of them.
This is where strong KS1 outdoor learning ideas begin. We are not taking children outside merely because it is enjoyable. We are using the environment because it can strengthen understanding.
Outdoor Learning KS1 and the National Curriculum
One of the biggest misconceptions about outdoor learning is that teachers somehow have to choose between following the curriculum and spending time outside.
They do not.
The curriculum tells teachers what children need to learn.
It does not require every learning experience to happen at a desk.
KS1 National Curriculum outdoor learning is simply about finding appropriate opportunities to teach, practise or apply curriculum content outside.
Maths can be practical. English can begin with real experiences. Science naturally lends itself to outdoor investigation. Geography can involve real fieldwork. Art can begin with observation. Design and technology can involve construction and testing. Computing concepts such as algorithms and sequencing can be explored physically. History can connect with buildings and places in the local environment.
The aim is not to force every curriculum objective outdoors. It is to recognise the objectives that can become stronger when children can move, touch, investigate, create or experience something for themselves.
Sign Up For Your FREE KS1 Outdoor Learning Magazine
Our free weekly Muddy Puddle Teacher Magazine is a brilliant starting point if you want regular outdoor learning ideas without feeling overwhelmed.
Each week, the magazine shares topical and seasonal inspiration for Early Years, KS1, KS2, SEND, Forest School and home settings. It is designed to give you simple ideas you can use in the week ahead, linked to what is happening in the season, the weather, special days, nature, school life and children’s interests.
The magazine is perfect for teachers who want quick outdoor learning ideas, childminders looking for fresh inspiration, parents wanting weekend and holiday activities, home educators planning nature-based learning and Forest School leaders wanting seasonal prompts.
Sign up for the free magazine and start building outdoor learning into your week.
Outdoor Learning Activities KS1 Teachers Can Use Every Week
The strongest outdoor learning activities KS1 teachers use are often surprisingly simple.
They do not require expensive equipment.
They do not need hours of preparation.
And they do not need to look spectacular on social media.
Start with what you were going to teach anyway.
If the lesson is about comparing length, take the comparison outside.
If the lesson is about adjectives, collect real vocabulary before writing.
If the lesson is about seasonal change, revisit the same tree throughout the year.
If the lesson is about position and direction, let children physically follow instructions.
Outdoor learning becomes sustainable when it replaces or improves part of an existing lesson rather than becoming another item on the teacher’s workload.
At The Muddy Puddle Teacher®, this is central to our approach.
Do not plan an outdoor lesson and then try to squeeze the curriculum into it.
Start with the curriculum. Try exploring some of our KS1 Podcasts on Outdoor Learning – discover Caryl Hart and Weather in KS1.
Then decide whether the outdoors provides a better way to experience it.
- How will children explain and record their thinking?
- How will I identify misconceptions?
- How will the learning connect back to symbols, calculations or written representations?
Outdoor Learning Year 1
Outdoor learning Year 1 can be particularly powerful because children have only recently left the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Children do not stop benefiting from practical, playful and active learning simply because they enter Key Stage 1.
A thoughtful Year 1 environment can maintain some of those familiar ways of learning while gradually increasing independence and curriculum challenge.
Outdoor Year 1 learning might involve practising phonics through movement, representing number using physical objects, creating stories through role play, exploring seasonal change, investigating plants, following routes, collecting vocabulary or using large-scale construction.
The learning should still have purpose. But purpose does not always require children to sit down. One of the best questions a Year 1 teacher can ask is: Could the children experience this first and record it afterwards? That small shift can make a significant difference. Make a start : Year 1 Outdoor Schemes of Work for Science.
Make a Start Today, SENDCO- Created Interventions & Programmes
Outdoor Observation Form – Capture the Outdoor Moment
Notice more. Record less. Capture what really matters outdoors. Some of the most powerful learning moments happen when children move, explore, experiment, communicate, and solve problems outdoors. They can also be incredibly easy to miss. The Outdoor Observation Form...
Outdoor Transition Activity for SEND- Outdoor Me Passport
Help children communicate what they need to feel safe, confident and successful outdoors The Outdoor Me Passport is a practical transition activity designed to help schools understand how individual SEND learners experience outdoor spaces, outdoor learning and play....
30 Outdoor Regulation Activities for SEND
Regulation is not about making children sit still. New to this area of teaching. Start with the Beginner's Guide to Learning Outdoors with SEND For many SEND learners, regulation may involve: moving pushing pulling jumping carrying swinging squeezing having space...
Make a Start Today: Outdoor Learning KS1 Lesson Ideas Ready to Download
How to Connect Children With Nature: Books, Outdoor Play and Olivia Hope’s Be Wild, Little One
How do we encourage children to notice nature, explore their surroundings and develop a genuine connection with the natural world? For many teachers and parents, the answer can feel more complicated than simply saying, “Go outside.” Children need opportunities to...
Alliteration Outdoor Activities and Lesson Video
Looking for a simple way to teach alliteration that children will actually remember? This Alliteration Outdoor Activities and Lesson Video helps children understand alliteration by watching, listening, saying, moving and then taking their learning outside....
One More One Less – Outdoor Maths
Take maths learning beyond the classroom with our One More, One Less Outdoor Worksheet, designed to help children explore early number concepts through hands-on, nature-based experiences. This engaging resource encourages children to use natural materials such as...
Outdoor Learning Year 2
Outdoor learning Year 2 can build on those practical foundations while giving children greater responsibility and independence.
Year 2 pupils can increasingly make decisions about how they investigate a problem.
They can collect and organise information.
Measure more accurately.
Develop maps.
Plan investigations.
Record observations.
Use richer vocabulary.
Explain their mathematical thinking.
Work collaboratively.
Instead of always being told precisely how to complete a task, outdoor learning can allow Year 2 children to apply knowledge in more open-ended situations.
For example, rather than simply answering measurement questions, children could decide how best to measure parts of their school grounds.
Rather than completing a worksheet about habitats, they can investigate where living things are actually found.
Rather than writing a setting description from a photograph, they can stand in a real place, listen, look, feel and collect language.
The outdoors becomes somewhere children apply their learning. Make a start : Year 2 Plants Scheme of Work.
KS1 Outdoor Maths
KS1 outdoor maths is one of the easiest places for primary teachers to begin with outdoor learning.
Mathematics is everywhere outdoors.
Children can count, compare, sort, weigh, estimate, calculate, recognise shape, explore position and investigate pattern using the space and resources already around them.
The important thing is to keep the maths at the centre.
Collecting sticks is not automatically a maths lesson.
But comparing their lengths, ordering them, counting them, grouping them or using them to represent number can be.
Outdoor Number in KS1
Number can become much more concrete when children can physically manipulate objects.
Children might represent quantities using stones, sticks, chalk marks or cones.
They can create number sentences on a larger scale.
They can physically build groups.
They can explore odd and even numbers.
They can compare amounts.
They can create human number lines.
The outdoor environment gives children room to make mathematical thinking visible. Make a start now: Fraction KS1 Outdoor Learning Pack of Ideas
Outdoor Measurement in KS1
Outdoor Measurement in KS1
Measurement is particularly effective outdoors.
Children have access to objects and distances that simply do not exist inside the classroom.
They can compare the length of playground markings.
Estimate how far one tree is from another.
Measure natural objects.
Investigate capacity using water.
Time physical activities.
Compare heights.
The mathematics suddenly has a purpose.
KS1 Outdoor English
KS1 outdoor English does not mean taking books and exercise books outside and completing exactly the same lesson.
The biggest opportunity is often what happens before children write.
Young children need experiences to talk and write about.
The outdoors can provide those experiences. Take children outside before asking them to describe weather. Allow them to hear it. Feel it. Notice it. Talk about it. Collect vocabulary. Then write. Before storytelling, allow children to build the setting. Act out the characters. Walk through the sequence. Tell the story orally. Then record it.
This can be particularly helpful for children who have brilliant ideas but find it difficult to generate them while staring at a blank page.
Outdoor learning gives them something real to say. Ready to make a start? Try Year One Big Write Outdoor Ideas.
Outdoor Storytelling KS1
A stick might become a character.
A tree might become a castle.
A small space behind a hedge might become a hidden world.
Children can physically move through a story and negotiate what happens next.
That talk is valuable literacy. Listen in to a podcast we had with expert Storyteller Liv on Outdoor Storytelling. Listen in here.
Vocabulary, sequencing, character development and oral storytelling can all happen before anybody picks up a pencil.
KS1 Outdoor Phonics
KS1 outdoor phonics should support good phonics teaching, not replace it.
Children still need systematic, structured phonics instruction.
The outdoors can then provide opportunities to practise and apply what has already been taught. Children can search for a focus grapheme. Move between phonemes. Create words on the playground. Build words from loose parts. Match sounds. Use chalk to write on a larger scale. The benefit comes from movement and repetition.
For some children, physically moving between sounds or building a word can make phonics feel more accessible than repeatedly completing paper-based tasks. The key is keeping the phonics objective clear. Outdoor learning should strengthen the teaching rather than distracting from it.
KS1 Outdoor Science
KS1 outdoor science is another natural starting point because so much of the primary science curriculum connects directly with the real world.
Plants grow outside. Habitats exist outside. Weather happens outside. Materials surround us. Seasonal change takes place outside the classroom window. Whenever possible, let children investigate the real thing.
Plants
Children can observe plants in the school grounds rather than relying only on diagrams. They can compare. Notice. Question. Return. Observe change over time. The repeated experience is especially important. A photograph gives children one moment. Returning to a plant throughout the year gives them a process.
Seasonal Change
Choose one tree, planter, hedge or section of your grounds. Visit it regularly. What has changed? What can children see? What has disappeared? What has grown? What does the air feel like? What is happening to daylight? Seasonal change becomes something children recognise because they have lived through it.
KS1 Outdoor Geography
Geography is about understanding places.
One of the richest resources available to primary children is the place immediately around them.
The school grounds and local area can become children’s first fieldwork site.
Children can follow routes, notice landmarks, identify human and physical features, explore directional language and begin creating simple maps.
When children draw a map after walking through the space themselves, the symbols and representation have genuine meaning.
They understand what the map represents because they have experienced the place. Find more support for KS1 behaviour.
KS1 Outdoor History
History can also move beyond the classroom. Using outdoor spaces for role play and bamboo sticks for timelines. The space you have outdoors, helps, massively.
The local area contains evidence of the past.
Buildings may have changed purpose.
Street names tell stories.
Memorials connect with events.
Old photographs can be compared with the landscape children see today.
Children begin to realise that history did not only happen somewhere else.
It happened where they live. Make a start now: Victorians Outdoor Learning Ideas.
That connection can make historical enquiry far more meaningful.
KS1 Outdoor Art
Outdoor art should be about much more than sticking leaves onto paper.
The natural environment provides opportunities to investigate line, shape, texture, colour, form, pattern and scale. Raedy to make a start? Try Outdoor Art for KS1.
Children can look carefully.
Sketch.
Create temporary artwork.
Work on a larger scale.
Observe the same object in different seasons.
Experiment with natural forms.
The outdoors becomes inspiration.
Children begin learning to notice.
And noticing is an important artistic skill.
KS1 Design and Technology Outdoors
The outdoor environment provides real problems that encourage children to design and test solutions.
How can we make this structure stand?
How could we make it stronger?
What could join these materials?
How might we create shelter?
How could water travel from one place to another?
Children can design, build, test, evaluate and adapt.
The finished product does not need to be perfect.
The valuable learning is often found in the moment something does not work and children have to decide what to change.
KS1 Computing Outdoors
Computing does not always require a screen.
Some concepts become easier for young children to understand when they experience them physically.
Algorithms are a good example.
One child can become the programmer.
Another becomes the robot.
Move forwards.
Turn right.
Stop.
What happens if the instructions are unclear?
What happens if one instruction is missing?
Children experience sequencing and precision through movement before transferring the concept to a digital context.
Outdoor Lessons KS1 Without Extra Work
One of the biggest barriers to outdoor lessons KS1 is teacher workload.
Outdoor learning should not create two curriculums.
If teachers plan everything indoors and then feel they need to invent a completely separate set of outdoor experiences, it will quickly become unsustainable.
Instead, start with the lesson already planned. Ask whether one part could happen outside. For example, if the objective is to compare lengths, children can compare real objects. If the objective is descriptive vocabulary, they can collect language outdoors. If the objective is position and direction, children can physically move.If the objective is habitats, children can investigate their environment.
Same objective.
Different experience.
This is what makes outdoor learning manageable.
KS1 Outdoor Activities and Active Learning
Not every outdoor lesson needs to involve nature.
Sometimes the greatest benefit of taking children outside is simply having more space.
Children can move through a giant number line.
Physically sequence events.
Stand in groups to represent data.
Follow instructions.
Act out vocabulary.
Walk through a story.
Build on a large scale.
These KS1 outdoor activities are examples of active learning.
The movement should have a purpose.
Children are not simply running around because the lesson is outside.
Their bodies are helping them understand the concept.
Outdoor Learning Activities for Primary School
Time can be connected to practical activities without turning the lesson into a race.
Although this page focuses on Key Stage 1, the principles behind outdoor learning activities for primary school remain consistent as children get older. Explore more information on lesson planning at the Outdoor Lesson Plan Hub.
Outdoor learning should connect with curriculum objectives.
It should use the opportunities offered by the environment.
It should make learning more meaningful, not simply more entertaining.
And it should be realistic for teachers.
As children move through primary school, outdoor learning can become increasingly sophisticated.
Early Years children may explore through play and sensory experience.
KS1 pupils begin applying curriculum concepts practically.
KS2 children can undertake deeper investigations, fieldwork and problem-solving. Outdoor learning grows with the child.
.
Outdoor Learning and SEND in KS1
Outdoor learning can offer valuable alternative ways for children with SEND to access learning.
Some children benefit from movement.
Some need to physically manipulate objects.
Some find large-scale activities easier.
Some communicate more confidently when they are engaged in a practical task rather than being directly questioned at a table.
Outdoor learning can provide additional routes into the curriculum.
But outdoor learning is not automatically inclusive.
Some children may find transition, weather, noise, unpredictable spaces or sensory experiences difficult.
A good outdoor learning approach responds to the child.
Visual routines may help.
A predictable outdoor space may help.
Shorter sessions may help.
Clear boundaries may help.
Quieter areas may help.
The aim should always be to increase access.
Outdoor Learning and Behaviour in KS1
Teachers sometimes worry that taking children outside will lead to poorer behaviour.
The opposite can happen when outdoor learning is introduced with clear routines.
Children need to know where they can go.
How they move.
How they respond when the teacher needs their attention.
How resources are used.
What happens at the end.
Outdoor expectations need teaching in exactly the same way as classroom expectations.
Do not expect children to automatically know how to learn outside.
Practise it.
Start with short sessions.
Keep boundaries clear.
Build independence gradually.
Once those routines are established, outdoor lessons can become another normal part of the school day. Explore the Outdoor Behaviour Guide for more tips.
Do You Need a Forest for Outdoor Learning KS1?
No.
A playground is enough.
A school field is enough.
A courtyard is enough.
A strip of grass is enough.
Even a wall, paved area or covered section can become an outdoor learning environment.
This is one of the important differences between general outdoor learning and Forest School.
Forest School is a particular approach with its own principles.
Curriculum outdoor learning can happen almost anywhere.
Do not wait until your school has the perfect outdoor space.
Use what you already have. For more Forest School Ideas head to the Forest School Activities Hub.
Outdoor Learning Without Expensive Equipment
Primary schools do not need to buy huge amounts of specialist equipment before beginning outdoor learning.
Use what is already available.
Chalk. Water. Containers. Rope. Cardboard. Sticks. Stones. Leaves.
Reused materials.
Existing playground markings.
Clipboards.
The environment itself.
At The Muddy Puddle Teacher®, sustainability is an important part of our approach. Download the full Outdoor Learning Kit List.
Outdoor learning should not simply become another reason to buy more plastic resources.
Natural, reused and low-cost materials can often provide richer opportunities because children have to decide how they will use them.
How to Start Outdoor Learning in KS1
If you are new to outdoor learning, start with one lesson.
Choose something you already feel confident teaching.
Keep the objective the same.
Change only the way children experience it.
Do not worry about creating a spectacular activity.
Notice what works.
Then try another lesson.
Teacher confidence grows through repetition.
Eventually the question changes from:
“How can I fit outdoor learning into my week?”
to:
“Would this lesson be better inside or outside?”
That is when outdoor learning starts becoming part of everyday practice.
Read the Beginners Guide to Outdoor Learning.
Outdoor Learning KS1 FAQs
What is outdoor learning KS1?
Outdoor learning KS1 means using outdoor spaces and real experiences to support Year 1 and Year 2 curriculum learning. It can include maths, English, phonics, science, geography, art and many other subjects.
What are some good outdoor learning activities KS1 children can do?
Effective outdoor learning activities are linked to a clear learning objective. Children might measure real objects, investigate plants, collect descriptive vocabulary, physically explore number, follow routes, practise phonics through movement or observe seasonal changes.
Can outdoor learning be used in Year 1?
Yes. Outdoor learning Year 1 can help maintain the practical and active approaches familiar from EYFS while gradually introducing greater curriculum challenge and independence.
Can outdoor learning be used in Year 2?
Yes. Outdoor learning Year 2 can involve practical investigations, fieldwork, measurement, storytelling, science observation and problem-solving, with children increasingly making decisions about how they approach tasks.
Can KS1 maths be taught outdoors?
Yes. KS1 outdoor maths can include number, measurement, shape, position, direction, statistics and problem-solving. Outdoor spaces are particularly useful when children benefit from movement or working at a larger scale.
Can KS1 English be taught outdoors?
Yes. KS1 outdoor English can include storytelling, vocabulary development, drama, spoken language, reading activities and gathering experiences before writing.
Can phonics be taught outside?
Outdoor phonics can be used to practise and apply phonics that has already been taught systematically. KS1 outdoor phonics might include grapheme hunts, physical blending activities or building words using large-scale resources.
Is science suitable for outdoor learning?
Yes. KS1 outdoor science is particularly effective for plants, habitats, materials, seasonal change and observation because children can investigate real examples.
Does outdoor learning follow the National Curriculum?
Yes. KS1 National Curriculum outdoor learning uses outdoor spaces as a method for teaching and applying curriculum objectives. Outdoor learning does not replace the curriculum.
Do you need a forest to teach outdoors?
No. Outdoor learning can happen on a playground, field, courtyard, school grounds or local community space. Forest School and curriculum outdoor learning are not the same thing.
Is outdoor learning suitable for SEND pupils?
It can be. Movement, practical experiences and physical resources can provide different routes into learning. Outdoor sessions should still be adapted around the needs of individual children.
Does outdoor learning mean children do less writing?
No. Outdoor experiences can give children richer ideas, vocabulary and understanding before they write. Writing remains important, but it does not need to be the only way children demonstrate learning.
Looking for Outdoor Maths Lesson Ideas? Take a 60-day Trial and Start Downloading
Maths EYFS Outdoors
What Is Maths EYFS Outdoors? Maths EYFS Outdoors is about helping young children develop mathematical understanding through movement, play, exploration and real-life experiences in the outdoor environment. Outdoor maths does not need to mean carrying worksheets...
Why take Maths Outdoors?
Discover why taking maths outdoors improves engagement, understanding and confidence, with practical ideas for EYFS, KS1, KS2 and SEND learners. Why Take Maths Outdoors? Why take maths outdoors when children can learn it in the classroom? Because maths is not only...
2D Shapes and Their Properties
Help children recognise, name and describe 2D shapes and their properties through a clear teaching video followed by a practical outdoor maths activity. This lesson is ideal for teachers, teaching assistants, home educators and parents supporting children in EYFS, KS1...