Just Add Paint...Creating a New Outdoor Learning Space at the SWE Campus by: Sonia Sheehan
Looking for new ways to address teaching and learning that comply with the 2020 Alberta School Re-Entry Plan of maintaining 2m physical distance between students, led to the development of a new outdoor learning space at the FFCA SWE Campus. Knowing that outdoor teaching spaces provide the largest and safest places for student learning, a redevelopment of the SWE tarmac was initiated. Acknowledging that recess would be happening all day to accommodate multiple student cohorts, the question was asked, “How can physical education teachers instruct outside successfully and productively, while 80 to 100 students are running around playing at recess?” The solution…Just Add Paint! The tarmac space at the FFCA SWE Campus became a blank canvas that could be transformed into a new learning space. Key elements that needed to be considered in the design were: 2m distance between movement stations for students, elementary age student appropriate design, colour coordinated features, a variety of movement opportunities and home base circles to allow students to have a safe location to begin and end each class.
After researching tarmac painting and stencil options, measuring available dimensions of the tarmac and planning a template for the SWE tarmac design…. the paint, stencils and equipment were purchased. In August 2020, the tarmac painting began with the finished tarmac ready for use with students by the first day of school. The planning, tarmac preparation, painting and final completion took approximately 40 hours of volunteer time to make the tarmac project come to life.
The SWE Tarmac Painting Features include:
- 48 numbered and colour coordinated (red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange) home base circles 2m apart
- 250m footprint loop around the perimeter of the activity space, every 6 footprints = 2m+ distance
- 6 colour coordinated 4 squares, 2m apart
- 8 station fitness circuit with 2m distance between each station
- 8 different movement words spaced 2m apart
- 54 colour coordinated solid shapes (circles, squares, stars, diamonds, pentagons, hearts) spaced 2m apart
- 2 lane 30m track with a start end, finish end and an agility ladder in the middle of the track – 2m distance between the middle of each track lane
- 26 letters of the alphabet 2m apart to serve as a physically distanced line up location
The SWE tarmac design has been a successful project and has enhanced the delivery of quality outdoor physical education classes. The newly painted tarmac is an asset when teaching during the current pandemic, but the value of the paint will be seen in years to come. Take a tour of the SWE tarmac by watching the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAGnKcS25kc