Outdoor Classrooms: Nature-Based Teaching and Learning for Educators and Parents

The Messy Middle of Your Outdoor Classroom: Permission to Start Small
What if your outdoor classroom doesn’t need to be finished—or even close to perfect—to be meaningful?
In this episode, we’re talking about two permissions every outdoor educator needs: permission to start small and permission to embrace the messy middle.

It’s easy to look at a beautiful, established outdoor classroom and think you need the budget, materials, master plan, and perfect space before you can begin. But meaningful outdoor classrooms rarely happen all at once. They grow one idea, one experiment, and one small step at a time.
And once you start? Things get messy.

Children use materials in ways you never expected. Plants die. Plans change. Carefully designed spaces get rearranged. Something you thought children would love gets ignored—while the simplest addition captures their attention for weeks.
That messy middle isn’t a sign that you’re doing it wrong. It’s where the learning happens.

In this episode, we explore:
Why starting small is not the same as thinking small
How to begin with what you already have
Why your outdoor classroom doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s
What children’s unexpected use of a space can teach us
How to view the “mess” as information instead of failure
Why outdoor classrooms should evolve alongside the children who use them
How to recognize progress that has nothing to do with how beautiful your space looks
When to keep going, change direction, or let an idea go

Whether you’re dreaming about your first outdoor classroom, taking your first few steps, or standing right in the middle wondering if any of it is working, this conversation is for you.

You don’t need the whole plan to begin.
Start small. Stay curious. Let it be messy.
Then take the next small step.

Outdoor Classroom Resources & Links:
🌿 Our Children's Library: 4 Types of Teaching Gardens Booklist (PDF) (halfway down the page)
🎓 Outdoor Classrooms Teacher Certification Program
🌸 CIRCLE Membership Community

Connect with Victoria:
Website: www.outdoor-classrooms.com
Email: Victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com
Instagram
Facebook

Sponsorship Opportunities:
If you believe in the power of outdoor learning and nature-based education, we'd love to partner with you. Sponsoring the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast helps support educators while connecting your organization with a passionate community of teachers, school leaders, and families.
Contact Victoria at victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com to learn more.

Subscribe to the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and share this conversation with a fellow educator or parent. Your support helps more people discover the transformative power of nature-based education.

Please take a moment to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and rate or comment on Spotify. Your support makes a big difference in helping the show reach more educators!

Taking the Leap: What a Hut-to-Hut Trek in Sweden Taught Me About Outdoor Classrooms & Community

What happens when you say yes before you feel completely ready?
In this episode, I’m taking you along on my hut-to-hut trek through Sweden—and sharing the unexpected lessons I brought home about courage, Outdoor Classrooms, and community.
Along the trail, I was reminded that we don't need to see the entire path before taking the first step. Whether you're trekking through Sweden or growing an Outdoor Classroom, sometimes you simply need to focus on the next hut.

In this episode, we explore:
Saying yes before you feel completely ready
Taking your Outdoor Classroom one step at a time
Learning to embrace uncertainty and discomfort
Why who you walk with matters
How the CIRCLE can be the community that walks alongside you

So, what's your next hut?
You don't need to have the whole trail mapped out—and you don't have to walk it alone.

Outdoor Classroom Resources & Links:
🌿 Our Children's Library: 4 Types of Teaching Gardens Booklist (PDF) (halfway down the page)
🎓 Outdoor Classrooms Teacher Certification Program
🌸 CIRCLE Membership Community

Connect with Victoria:
Website: www.outdoor-classrooms.com
Email: Victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com
Instagram
Facebook

Sponsorship Opportunities:
If you believe in the power of outdoor learning and nature-based education, we'd love to partner with you. Sponsoring the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast helps support educators while connecting your organization with a passionate community of teachers, school leaders, and families.
Contact Victoria at victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com to learn more.

Subscribe to the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and share this conversation with a fellow educator or parent. Your support helps more people discover the transformative power of nature-based education.

Please take a moment to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and rate or comment on Spotify. Your support makes a big difference in helping the show reach more educators!

Clara’s Curiosity: Foxy Friends, Nature & Wonder with Karen Belanger-Richmond

What happens when a child’s curiosity leads her outside—and she discovers a family of foxes?
In this episode of the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast, I’m joined by children’s author Karen Belanger-Richmond, author of Clara’s Curiosity & Her Foxy Friends.
Karen shares the inspiration behind Clara’s story and how a real-life experience grew into a children’s book celebrating curiosity, observation, wildlife, and the simple magic of spending time outdoors.
Together, we explore what can happen when children are given the time and space to slow down, notice what’s around them, ask questions, and follow their curiosity.

In this episode, we talk about:
The story behind Clara’s Curiosity & Her Foxy Friends
How Karen’s family and experiences in Maine inspired her writing
Why curiosity is such a powerful starting point for outdoor learning
Helping children observe and appreciate wildlife safely and respectfully
Nature journaling, noticing, and asking, “What do you see?”
Simple ways teachers and families can encourage children to become outdoor investigators
What’s next for Clara and her adventures

Whether you’re an early childhood educator, teacher, parent, grandparent, or simply someone who believes children need more opportunities to wonder outdoors, this conversation is an invitation to look a little closer at the nature right outside your door.

A Special Thank You
A special thank-you to Karen Belanger-Richmond and Clara’s Curiosity & Her Foxy Friends for sponsoring the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast during August, September, and October. We are grateful for Karen’s support of the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast and our mission to inspire more outdoor learning, curiosity, and connection with the natural world.

Outdoor Classroom Resources & Links:
🌿 Our Children's Library: 4 Types of Teaching Gardens Booklist (PDF) (halfway down the page)
🎓 Outdoor Classrooms Teacher Certification Program
🌸 CIRCLE Membership Community

Connect with Victoria:
Website: www.outdoor-classrooms.com
Email: Victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com
Instagram
Facebook

Sponsorship Opportunities:
If you believe in the power of outdoor learning and nature-based education, we'd love to partner with you. Sponsoring the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast helps support educators while connecting your organization with a passionate community of teachers, school leaders, and families.
Contact Victoria at victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com to learn more.

Subscribe to the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and share this conversation with a fellow educator or parent. Your support helps more people discover the transformative power of nature-based education.

Please take a moment to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and rate or comment on Spotify. Your support makes a big difference in helping the show reach more educators!

Episode 210: Inside Nature Forward Nature Preschool:
Carlos Duque on Curiosity, Confidence & Belonging

What happens when we give children the time, space, and freedom to follow their curiosity?
In this episode of the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast, Victoria Hackett sits down with Carlos Duque, Preschool Director at Nature Forward, to explore how nature-based education helps children develop confidence, empathy, resilience, and a deep sense of belonging.
Drawing on his experience as a teacher, librarian, camp counselor, and school leader, Carlos shares how child-led learning comes to life in a nature preschool. Together, they discuss balancing freedom with safety, building strong relationships with families, mentoring educators, and creating learning environments where children can truly thrive.
Whether you're an educator, parent, or school leader, this conversation offers practical insights and a hopeful vision for what early childhood education can become when nature is at its heart.

In This Episode:
Why nature-based education matters now more than ever
The power of curiosity and child-led learning
Supporting healthy risk-taking and resilience
Building confidence and belonging outdoors
Partnering with families in nature-based education
Leading a thriving nature preschool
What the future of outdoor learning could look like

Key Takeaway
When children are trusted to explore, wonder, and learn in nature, they develop far more than academic skills—they grow into confident, compassionate, and resilient human beings who feel deeply connected to the world around them.

Connect with Nature Forward:
https://natureforward.org

Outdoor Classroom Resources & Links:
🌿 Our Children's Library: 4 Types of Teaching Gardens Booklist (PDF) (halfway down the page)
🎓 Outdoor Classrooms Teacher Certification Program
🌸 CIRCLE Membership Community

Connect with Victoria:
Website: www.outdoor-classrooms.com
Email: Victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com
Instagram
Facebook

Sponsorship Opportunities:
If you believe in the power of outdoor learning and nature-based education, we'd love to partner with you. Sponsoring the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast helps support educators while connecting your organization with a passionate community of teachers, school leaders, and families.
Contact Victoria at victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com to learn more.

Subscribe to the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and share this conversation with a fellow educator or parent. Your support helps more people discover the transformative power of nature-based education.
Please take a moment to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and rate or comment on Spotify. Your support makes a big difference in helping the show reach more educators!

Raising Wild Little Wonderers: How Nature Shapes Curious, Confident Children with Sophie O'Borne

What if the greatest gift we can give children isn't another activity—but the freedom to wonder?

In this episode of the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast, Victoria Hackett welcomes Sophie O'Borne, founder of Wild Little Wonderers, for a heartfelt conversation about raising children who are deeply connected to the natural world.
Sophie shares the story behind Wild Little Wonderers and the experiences that inspired her work. Together, Victoria and Sophie explore how unhurried time outdoors nurtures curiosity, resilience, creativity, and a lifelong love of learning. They discuss the importance of stepping back as adults, trusting children to explore, and creating environments where wonder can flourish.
Whether you're an educator, parent, caregiver, or simply someone who believes childhood should include muddy boots, open skies, and endless questions, this conversation offers both inspiration and practical ideas for bringing more nature into children's everyday lives.

In This Episode:
Sophie's journey to founding Wild Little Wonderers
Why wonder is essential to healthy childhood development
The power of unstructured outdoor play
Helping children develop confidence through nature
Supporting curiosity without controlling the experience
Practical ways families and educators can reconnect children with the natural world
Why slowing down creates deeper learning
Building lifelong relationships with nature

Key Takeaway:
Children don't need perfect outdoor classrooms or elaborate activities to thrive. They need time, trust, and opportunities to experience the natural world for themselves. When we create space for wonder, children become more curious, capable, and deeply connected—to nature, to others, and to themselves.

A Quote from This Episode:
"Wonder isn't something we teach children. It's something we protect."

Connect with Sophie O'Borne:
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wild_little_wonderers/

Connect with Outdoor Classrooms:
🌿 Our Children's Library: 4 Types of Teaching Gardens Booklist (PDF) (halfway down the page)
🎓 Outdoor Classrooms Teacher Certification Program
🌸 CIRCLE Membership Community

Connect with Victoria:
Website: www.outdoor-classrooms.com
Email: Victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com
Instagram
Facebook

Sponsorship Opportunities:
If you believe in the power of outdoor learning and nature-based education, we'd love to partner with you. Sponsoring the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast helps support educators while connecting your organization with a passionate community of teachers, school leaders, and families.
Contact Victoria at victoria@outdoor-classrooms.com to learn more.

If you enjoyed this episode...
Please follow the Outdoor Classrooms Podcast, leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, and share this episode with an educator, parent, or friend who believes childhood is best experienced outdoors. Every review helps us reach more people who are passionate about reconnecting children with nature. Please take a moment to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and rate or comment on Spotify. Your support makes a big difference in helping the show reach more educators!

"When children are given the freedom to wonder, they discover far more than the world around them—they begin to discover who they are." 🌿