The Importance of Our Grades Outdoor Days
In a school like City of Fountains, nestled in an urban environment, Outdoor Days are a fundamental part of our teaching philosophy—an opportunity to lean into the immersive nature experiences that so deeply nourish a developing child.
Coming to understand our "interbeing" with all that surrounds us requires an open and intimate interaction with the natural world. At City of Fountains School, this reverential relationship is a core pillar of an education inspired by Waldorf philosophy—one that reaches beyond the four walls of the classroom and into our local community and environment.
While our lead teachers regularly draw students into nature through gardening, outdoor lessons, and seasonal field trips, there is a special rhythm reserved for our Outdoor Days.
Seven times each year, our students in grades 1-8 are given a full school day to simply be in nature. Held at various local nature reserves and city parks, these days intentionally set aside the formal curriculum. On an Outdoor Day, there is no specific agenda or lesson plan to follow. Instead, the focus is placed entirely on exploration.
In our modern, often fast-paced urban lives, providing a "full school day" of free play is a radical and necessary act. When children are given the space to interact with their peers in a natural setting, they are invited to follow their own sense of wonder. Whether they are navigating a muddy path, observing the flow of a creek, or noticing the way light hits the trees, they are building a primary relationship with the earth.
By removing the pressure of a traditional academic schedule, we allow the child’s natural curiosity and interest to lead the way. This unstructured time is where deep learning happens—not through a textbook, but through the senses. Through these intimate experiences, students begin to feel themselves as part of the natural world, rather than separate from it.
Outdoor Days ensure that even within an urban setting, our students grow up with a profound sense of place, a heart full of wonder, and a deep, lifelong connection to the environment that sustains us all.
