Developing Clothing Guidelines for Outdoor Play at Your Montessori School

Whether your Montessori school’s geographic location has both extreme winters and summers or your climate is more moderate, by offering written clothing guidelines for outdoor play Montessori schools can help parents prepare for, and students enjoy their outdoor experience at school. Following are a few ideas to help you create a guideline that can be referenced by parents. Outdoor play is an important part of Montessori education, and it's important to make sure that every child is properly clothed to be safe, healthy, and have fun in any weather.

When developing the outdoor clothing guidelines for your Montessori school, it can be helpful to differentiate between the various age levels of your Montessori students. Distributing this information communicates your care and concern that children come prepared for outdoor activity and inclement weather.

Developing Clothing Guidelines for Outdoor Play at Your Montessori School

For the winter months, your Montessori early childhood students should come to school every day with a warm coat, snow pants (if appropriate for your area), hat, gloves or mittens, scarf and snow boots (if appropriate for your area). For warmer weather, Montessori preschoolers should have jackets, rain gear and appropriate boots for wet weather. I have worked in Montessori schools where rain coats and rain boots were kept at school, since rain can be especially unpredictable.
 
The guidelines for your older Montessori students can be more tailored for specific conditions. For example, lower elementary Montessori students can wear a jacket and hat on warm days (below 50 degrees F) and boots, snow pants, hat, coat, and gloves or mittens on snowy or cold days (below 32 degrees F). If it is raining or below -10 degrees F(including wind chill), students stay inside. Soggy, wet or mucky conditions require boots, coat and a hat.

Clothing guidelines for upper elementary students in the Montessori school may be similar to the lower elementary guidelines, with some minor adjustments. For example, if it is below -15 degrees, you may choose to keep upper elementary students inside.

Remember to check your state’s temperature requirements for children’s outdoor play as you prepare your guidelines, and suggest that parents label their children’s outdoor clothing.

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Monday, April 26, 2010.