ABSTRACT
The outdoor environment can look very sparse in the month of December; the autumn leaves have begun to decompose, and the trees are completely bare. If the teacher is a regular fire lighter, then she can consider where she can dry and store some logs and kindling before it gets beyond use. The children enjoy bundling kindling and stacking small logs, so the teacher can incorporate this into the regular activities on offer. In many UK settings, children will be celebrating Christmas. One could create a seasonal or Christmas trail for the children to follow. If the setting has many visitors to the outdoor classroom, they will all enjoy making use of it afterwards, so leaving it in place for a few days will be helpful. Beginning by identifying symbols and objects that define Christmas – for example, stars, Christmas trees, robins, snowflakes is enlightening. One could print and laminate these pictures to hang in trees around the outdoor classroom.
