Sometimes a day in the classroom at Alaka‘i O Kaua‘i Charter School isn’t really in the classroom at all, as was the case during a recent morning for the keiki in the kindergarten and first-grade classes.
Instead of learning arithmetic and logical-thinking skills sitting at desks, they got into a muddy situation — literally.
It was the launch of the “mud kitchen” at the school, during which students got to make mock food items like mud pies in an outdoor learning environment.
“It’s playing with a purpose. Intended for use during class time so kids can come out here,” said Nicole Huguenin, a certified playmaker with the educational play-based institute iLEAD. “During recess it is closed.”
The mud kitchen is supported by the concept of play-based-learning, which teaches children independent thinking, motor skills and problem-solving skills through play and activities.
“They are learning social skills, fine-motor skills, imagination, negotiation, communication, and social/emotional intelligence,” Huguenin said.
“The outdoor mud classroom was intended for the kids to figure things out on their own. It’s our job as facilitators to get out of their way. They know what to do. Stand back and let them solve it.”
On the debut morning of “mud kitchen,” students were hard at work making mud soup, mud coffee, mud pizza and mud cookies.
“It’s very fun. I have a lot of fun. Some of the kids used it all. I just want this stuff to be fixed,” student Lawson Raines said.
“I like it very much and I just want the bottles to be filled up,” student Addison Eaton said.
Some scientific research shows outside play provides benefits not only to brain development, but to a child’s immune system as well.
Watching the kids dig their hands in the dirt and find multiple ways to make a mud pie, Alaka‘i School Director Fred Birkett was proud.
“This is what PBL is all about at Alaka‘i O Kaua‘i Charter School,” Birkett said.
After the main play at “mud kitchen,” students had time to reflect, do math calculations and answer math questions like: “How many scoops of water did it take to make your mud coffee?”
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Stephanie Shinno, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.
