Children swap classrooms for beach lessons in Spain

BREEZING THROUGH THEIR LESSONS A teacher presides over a class of the Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente school as part of a project known as “Aire Limpio” (fresh air) at Playa de los Nietos (Grandchildren’s Beach), which aims to use better air quality for children during the coronavirus pandemic, near Cartagena, southern Spain, on April 8. —REUTERS

LOS NIETOS, Spain — Does having school at the beach sound like a dream?

After a year of remote learning and socially distanced classrooms, one school in the Spanish region of Murcia is doing just that, trying to combine clear air and a new way of teaching.

Outside the Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente school, mask-wearing children sit before a portable blackboard at rows of green desks neatly spaced out on the sandy shores of Playa de los Nietos (Grandchildren’s Beach).

“It’s safe, the children are having great fun,” said English teacher Juan Francisco Martinez. “What they learn here they don’t forget.”

Some barefoot pupils wiggled their toes in the sand as they played xylophones, while others crouched over their workbooks to prevent the breeze from blowing their papers out to sea.

The lessons are part of a broader project known as Fresh Air which aims to create better air quality for children during the COVID-19 pandemic, including through open-air learning.

‘More relaxed and comfortable’Teachers begin preparing the beach at 8 a.m. Eight classes take part in the 20-minute lessons and groups rotate through the different areas.

Children at the school are between ages 3 and 12 and remain in their class bubbles. There have been no reported coronavirus cases so far.

“I love going to the beach!” said 9-year-old Antonio Fernandez. “I prefer to be at the beach because I feel more relaxed and comfortable.”

Luz, 10, said: “[This is] very good because I’m with my friends, I’m at the beach.”

“I love the beach. In summer I always come here to swim every day and I love the sand,” she said.

And it’s not just the beach setting. Members of a nearby residents association have brought the Roman era to life by dressing up as soldiers and local fishermen have shown children their nets and explained where they get their dinner.

“Fishermen taught the students how to fish—how they themselves have been able to feed us in times of pandemic,” said headteacher Alfonso Vera.