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Training & Resources

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muddy puddle teacher logo

The Muddy Puddle Teacher

Outdoor Learning Training where do I go?

Outdoor Learning Training where do I go? 

So what is Outdoor Learning? 

Outdoor learning is when an educator takes parts of their curriculum outside.  This can be in there yard or outdoor area. 

What other approaches are there that teach outside and I can be trained on? 

What does the Muddy Puddle Teacher Approach provide? 

  • Suits a school, nursery home educated based environment
  • Links to the curriculum 
  • Can do on concrete as well as natural resources
  • Do in own grounds
  • Use only natural materials so cheap to set up and maintain 
  • Provide resources alongside the training
  • Babies – KS2
  • Affordable to train all staff on – take whole school approach 

To train as a Muddy Puddle Teacher there are four stages to complete:

Stage One – Setting the approach up

Stage Two – Linking the curriculum

Stage Three – Wellbeing

Stage Four – Managing the approach

All four stages gives the teacher everything they need to be confident at taking their learning out all weathers and whats more the Muddy Puddle Teacher give you all of the resources to do that. 

So how can the approach benefit your children? 

  1. Improve behaviour
  2. Increase physical ability
  3. Improve fine and gross motor skills
  4. Increase literal and lateral thinking
  5. Connect children with nature
  6. Embed many areas of early Science
  7. Bond a class

How can the approach help you? 

  1. Connect you better with your class
  2. Bond better with the children
  3. Physical wellbeing benefits
  4. Mental health wellbeing benefits 

Where can you train?

There is only one provider The Muddy Puddle Teacher and they provide resources, schemes of work alongside your training.  It’s all online with coursework to complete. Enrol here. 

What does Forest School provide? 

Forest School is about doing all the outdoor things we would all love to do all of the time.  Toasting marshmallows, building craft from wood, spending long periods outside, rope, outdoor cooking, no structure and child-led. 

Where can you train? 

There are lots of providers such as: 

Benenfits of Forest School

  • Risk taking
  • Take children out of their comfortzone
  • Introduces new learning and experiences
  • Makes memories
  • Very enjoyable

So which one is for me? 

I would say both.  You are here because you want to get outdoors more and both provide an approach realistic to an educator in a school or nursery setting. 

Schools

  • Many schools train maybe one or two teachers/TA’s as Forest School to provide whole school termly lessons, once a week. With the rest of the staff Muddy Puddle Teacher trained. 
  • Some schools do not have the resources for Forest School and start with Muddy Puddle Teacher training. 
  • Some schools may just want to get out there and start experimenting.

Either which way if training helps you and prepares you for the outdoors, even 10 minutes extra outdoors each day is going to massively benefit you and the children.