Caitlyn Gibson (’12) has spent many years at Calgary Academy as both a student and a teacher. If you journey down to her classroom, you’ll find a safe, inviting space that reflects her love for the outdoors.

On Ms. Gibson’s classroom wall is a phenological calendar (also called a nature calendar), a long brown sheet of kraft paper covered with leaves, sticks, bark, and photos of other nature findings.

Her students identify physical changes to the land throughout the seasons and animal and plant evidence (flowers, fungi, etc.) to add throughout the school year. It’s a portfolio of the class’s learning as they explore the world around them.

As an Early Years teacher, Ms. Gibson uses the school’s surrounding nature and forest to teach her students engaging lessons while connecting with the natural world.

Learning at CA

Ms. Gibson attended Calgary Academy from Grades 2–12, graduating in 2012. While she is a teacher now, Ms. Gibson originally wanted to be a nurse. However, after some time in university, she realized that nursing wasn’t her ideal career, so she switched to education.

Ms. Gibson remembers reflecting on her time as a student throughout her education degree, where she was reminded about how special CA was to her as a student.

“My education degree was when I reflected on all the things I learned, and then I saw that CA is where I want to be. I never would have thought, you know, at 18 years old, that I wanted to come back.” – Ms. Gibson

She developed a passion for providing students with the support they need throughout her degree. This value was one instilled during her Calgary Academy days.

Ms. Gibson recalls how lucky she felt each year to have dedicated teachers at Calgary Academy. When she graduated from university, she wanted to be just as impactful for her students.

“I had this passion for inclusive learning spaces and honouring that everybody is different and needs different things… I thought about how I felt in such a community-centred space and wanted to be that teacher for the students that entered my doors.”

Teaching at CA

Ms. Gibson teaches in the Early Years program, which is for Kindergarten to Grade 2 students.

Play-based learning is a major focus for Early Years program teachers like Ms. Gibson, who finds it one of the best ways to engage her students. It allows children to learn through play, connecting their actions to the world around them. It encourages curiosity while building important skills like problem-solving and teamwork.

“Any time education can be hands-on, play-based outside, it’s authentic, engaging, learning that I find works well.”

Ms. Gibson currently teaches Grade 1, where she finds as many opportunities as possible to teach her students outside. The forest complements the Grade 1 curriculum, especially science and social studies, where students can learn about the natural communities and the relationships between plants and animals.

Whenever the class heads outside, it has a goal. Some days, Ms. Gibson will give her students a challenge related to their daily lessons, while other days, the students may lead the exploration of the forest to make their own connections.

“You have more structured lessons and student-directed classes, like asking what signs of animals you can find. So, there’s student-guided exploration and then more teacher-guided. There might be a read-aloud and then a task to do. My favourite thing is when the students lead. They have a question, they have a task, but they are the ones that create the wonder and curiosity while naturally exploring.”

Halfway through the school year, Ms. Gibson looks forward to more days in nature with her students and finding interesting ways to make her lessons as hands-on as possible.

Come June, her class’s nature wall will be complete—an artifact of another year of curiosity, learning, and connection with the natural world.