The outdoor classroom movement in southern Vermont 
has been on the rise for many years. COVID-19 has intensified the importance of outdoor learning spaces and the need for teacher support. A Forest Classroom, like a forest, is both dynamic and emergent. It is not a boxed set of experiences and protocols to be delivered. Instead it is something to experience in real time, as teachers stay responsive to childrens’ interests and tuned into the natural happenings in their own microenvironments. BEEC has helped to establish Forest Classrooms at Guilford Central School, Putney Central School and Dummerston School.
Forest Classroom Learning Standards: Pre-K – Forest classroom learning and teaching activities aligned with Vermont Early Learning Standards, a resource developed by BEEC in collaboration with WSESD Pre-K teachers.