Joyful education: a Penryn kindergarten teacher takes learning outdoors

"I wanted the kids to remember the joy of kindergarten, not the scary part with masks," kindergarten teacher Joyce Mucher tells me as we walk down the hill from Penryn Elementary School to a nature preserve by a creek. As we walk away from the school, several small stumps appear, arranged in a semicircle around a roll-away whiteboard and a stage, nestled in the oak trees. We are standing in the middle of Penryn's new "Forest School", a place for students to engage in active imaginary play, team-building activities, reading, science exploration, collaborative play and physical education. Mucher has been teaching at Penryn for 32 years and states COVID-19 finally gave her permission to realize a dream she had been envisioning for so long: justification for outdoor learning. In fall 2020, the outdoor classroom was built by parents and the local community when distance learning transitioned into the hybrid model of part time in-person instruction. The plastic dividers came up around the desks, further separating (and also protecting) the students from one another and students could no longer share toys or art supplies, an important developmental social skill. Frustrated, Mucher began thinking about the geographic underutilization of school land just below their Frisbee Golf course. She then asked the parents for materials, supplies and help with labor; the next weekend, Penryn families showed up and built the outdoor classroom and stage in one weekend. Principal Cara Alfonso was completely supportive of Mucher's vision, supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation that children should learn and be outside when possible. "I have no behavior issues out here," Mucher said. She adds that the kids love being outdoors. Teaching outside allows for all children to learn and explore at their own pace, and more importantly, for them to engage with the world without a screen or plastic separating them. Nature serves as the setting for kids to be problem-solvers, communicators and serves for emotional health. "We have a lot of broken children right now, and being in nature compensates for that," Mucher said. "At times, the classroom can be overstimulating and outside, kids can run, be by themselves or share in the outdoor play with other children." Some of the outdoor activities include creek-obstacle courses and science exploration (Mucher provided each child with a magnifying glass, bug catchers, tools and notebooks). One of the students' favorite activities is bringing scarves out on the stage and playing imagination under the canopy of trees. Here, kids can transform in a way they can't in the modern pandemic classroom: they can get up, move, become anything they want. Other classes besides kindergarten also enjoy the outdoor classroom. Overall, Mucher is optimistic about the future of education. "I always try to do what is right, and what is best for the kids in front of her. If you wait long enough, every bad situation has something good come out of it." Mucher stresses again that this could not have been made possible without Penryn parents, local community and the support of administration. "The way our community works is that you just have to ask and people show up," Mucher said. Angela Ripley Joyner is a parent, teacher and columnist from Newcastle. Contact her at ajoyner@p2techno.com.