
Outdoor education for preschool teachers
Overview
Outdoor activities are fundamental for the physical and psychological development of a child.
They not only help them be more in tune with their surroundings and gain an appreciation and respect for the natural world, but also play an important part in bringing what they learn inside the classroom into real life through application and observation, highly contributing to their personal and social development.
Outside the classroom there is much more than just nature to explore, and many activities and games can be implemented together with the little ones, in a non-formal way.
Target Audience
This course is addressed to teachers, directors, managers, educators and other staff of preschool and childhood institutions with pupils aged 0 – 6 years old.
If you work in primary or secondary schools or in adult education centres, please consider enrolling in the course “Outdoor education: a new way of teaching and learning”.
Languages
The course is held in English.
For groups with at least 8 participants, we can organize an ad-hoc session in a different language. Please write an email to
info@erasmuslearningacademy.eu
to get more information about it.
| Location | Starting Date | Ending Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bologna | 22/11/2026 | 28/11/2026 | Open for Enrollment |
| Tenerife | 22/11/2026 | 28/11/2026 | Open for Enrollment |
| Bologna | 29/11/2026 | 05/12/2026 | Open for Enrollment |
| Bologna | 14/02/2027 | 20/02/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
| Tenerife | 07/03/2027 | 13/03/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
| Bologna | 18/04/2027 | 24/04/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
| Tenerife | 10/10/2027 | 16/10/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
| Bologna | 07/11/2027 | 13/11/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
| Palermo | 07/11/2027 | 13/11/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
Skills
What will you learn?
Participating in this training course, preschool teachers will be provided with the basic skills and tools to lead a range of group games, challenges and experiential activities outside the classroom.
Learning Outcomes
This course aims to provide participants with tools, ideas and best practices on how to design, plan and deliver experiential learning activities in outdoor settings while promoting children’ personal, social and relational development and environmental awareness.
The general aim of this course is to foster excellence and innovation in education by equipping preschool teachers and education staff with the basic knowledge and skills to plan and integrate outdoor and environmental education activities in their education programs.

Principles and Values of Outdoor Education
Explore the key concepts of outdoor education, including its values, emerging trends, and its impact on personal, social, and environmental development.
Designing and Implementing Outdoor Activities for Preschoolers
Learn how to design, plan, and deliver outdoor educational activities and group games for preschoolers, fostering sustainable attitudes and environmental awareness.
Sharing Best Practices and Experiences Across Europe
Exchange ideas, experiences, and best practices with preschool teachers and educators from across Europe to enhance the application of outdoor education.
Daily Program
Please find below the standard indicative daily programme that may be personalized based on groups’ needs and professional profiles. Our standard program comprises 7 days of course: Sunday morning activities will start at around 10:00 and will conclude by 11:00 the next Saturday.
Please note that we always do our best to accommodate the specific needs of our participants in a flexible way, including but not limited to budget restrictions and travel arrangement. Participants generally choose to arrive 1 day before the start of the course and/or leave one day after the end of it as it generally makes their travel arrangements smoother and more convenient. Upon specific request we may organize longer or shorter versions of this course.
| Sunday | – Participants arrival – Course introduction – Schools/institutions’ presentation & best practices sharing – Walking tour in the venue’s city | ||
| Monday | – Teambuilding activities – Needs and expectations evaluation – Brainstorming and definition of outdoor education – Key principles and benefits about outdoor education and outdoor learning – Sharing experiences, teaching practices and reflection on preschool education in different countries | ||
| Tuesday | – Out in the nature: experience at a local park – Experimenting journey wilderness-based experiences, team building activities and orienteering exercises in the nature – The value of outdoor education for personal, social and relational development – Cultural activities in the venue’s city | ||
| Wednesday | – How to design, plan and deliver outdoor education activities for children – Site & risk assessment and health & safety issues of taking children into nature – Practical work: outdoor space planning – Optional cultural visit outside the venue’s city (Florence, Cefalù, El Teide…) | ||
| Thursday | – Talking about sustainability and climate change with children – Promoting self-awareness and responsiveness towards the environment to the little ones – Practical activities, simulations and games to promote a green mindset from a young age | ||
| Friday | – Basic concepts and principles about non-formal education – Practicing, designing and delivering non-formal activities and tools – How to foster children’ motivation and creativity through non-formal, informal and experiential learning activities – Debriefing, feedback and best practice sharing about environmental education – Farewell dinner | ||
| Saturday | – Space for discussion of future cooperation and planning follow up activities – Course roundup and final evaluation – Validation of learning outcomes and certification ceremony – Additional training session tailored to specific needs – Optional cultural activities in another major city (not included) – Participants departure |
Other relevant facts
Methodology
All our courses have a standard duration of 7 days, totaling 35 hours of training. This includes both formal teaching sessions and practical activities, as well as moments for discussion, cultural experiences, and networking, ensuring a comprehensive learning experience in line with Erasmus+ quality standards.
We tailor the working methods based upon participants’ needs, attitudes and professional profiles in order to ensure high productivity, effectiveness and transferability into practice.
The standard methodology is highly practical and participative with hands-on approach that comprises real-job examples, case studies examination and simulations. We embrace collaboratively working methods that foster mutual learning and cooperation among participants. Our focus is on learning in an interactive and international environment knowledge applicable to the real contexts and/or in the classroom. The pedagogical methods that we use are based upon experiential training, group and peer activities, learning-by-doing and best practices’ exchange. They include visits with local schools and institutions allowing the participants to better understand the local education system as well as exchange ideas and contacts.
Morning Wrap-up and brief daily evaluations are foreseen to ensure quality of education and to adapt the learning programme to participants’ needs better tailoring the education.
We organize optional social, networking and cultural activities in order to give participants the opportunity to know Italy as well as to exchange best-practice and establish professional cooperation and links.
The training and staff team is multinational thus giving a full European dimension to the course.
Costs and Erasmus+ Funding
Teachers, trainers, headmasters and any other staff of education organizations are eligible to receive an Erasmus+ grant covering all the costs to attend our training courses including travel, board and lodging, cultural activities and all fees. Our training courses are tailored to be fully funded by Erasmus+ and we offer different options to ensure the best comfort and quality at a price that is within the Erasmus+ grant.
We offer our courses in an all-inclusive format: training and accommodation in the same venue, networking meals during the courses as well as cultural visits are provided by us and are fully covered by the Erasmus+ funding. In this way participants just need to organise their international flights and can rely on us for all the other practical arrangements.
If you prefer you can take care of some of the practical arrangements (e.g. meals, accommodation…) by yourself but we strongly recommend entrusting us with the accommodation booking in order to ensure optimal logistic organization, networking with fellow
participants, safety and time-efficiency.
Read more about how we take care of your subsistence and practical arrangements.
The most common option that we offer to schools and organizations costs EUR 1,415 in Bologna, EUR 1,235 in Palermo and Zagreb, EUR 1,265 in Tenerife, 1215 EUR in Athens and EUR 1,335 in Porto. This price includes the course fee, certification and support fee, accommodation in single room, breakfast, 2 coffee breaks per day, 3 networking meals (shared lunch/dinner opportunities with other participants), a walking tour in the venue’s city and a sum-up dissemination video.
Please note: in Bologna the price includes full board (all meals), whereas in the other locations only the 3 networking meals are included alongside breakfast.
Prices shown may vary for specific courses that include extra services or visits to schools and associations. More detailed pricing information for each course is available upon request or at the time of enrolment.
For schools sending 2 or more participants we can offer accommodation in double rooms and we can provide as well accommodation for people or relatives accompanying the participants.
When attending our courses, we recommend you to request 9 days of individual support for your subsistence costs, 7 days for the course plus 2 additional days for the travel. In this way you can have more flexibility in planning your stay and you can enjoy all the cultural activities planned from the first to the last day of course. You can read here more about the Erasmus+ funding. Shall you have need any help with filling the budget during the application stage or have any problem with your grant please let us know and we will see how to support you.
Certification and Validation of learning outcomes
At the end of the course, each participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance, together – if requested – with the Europass Mobility Certificate.
The certificate are in line with the Erasmus Quality Standards and include a short description of the course and its learning outcomes, dates, venues, the name of the course provider and the course instructor(s).
We support the participants in every step of certification and validation of learning outcomes with specific focus on European instruments and Erasmus plus requirements such as staff mobility/learning agreement, quality commitment and Europass mobility certificate.
We experienced that schools and education organizations may require additional documents to certify the competences learned or the presence in the training course. Upon request we can provide additional certification and reporting documents as well as we provide photos of the training course and a sum-up video that can be used for visibility and dissemination purposes.
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