Olivier Vermeulen has been the director of OBS Portland for a year. The school is one of four schools belonging to the Stichting Openbaar Primair Onderwijs Albrandswaard. Last October, he saw a video online of a Sensory Path (activity trail) in the US and was immediately sold: “As a school, we used to work with the concept of multiple intelligences. We now offer talent-based education, in which every child has talent and learns in their own way. The activity trail fits in well with that.”
It turned out not to be possible to import an activity trail from the US. Vermeulen therefore brought in a designer—Sander Ladenius—who was asked to use the Sensory Path as a starting point, while also adding a Portland touch. A sticker company from Roosendaal then ensured that it was applied to the floor.
The trail has various purposes, Vermeulen explains: “First of all, it provides an opportunity for physical activity. It is also suitable for giving overstimulated children a chance to reset. They leave the classroom for a moment and spend a minute and a half doing something completely different. Thirdly, it is used for learning through movement. The activity trail incorporates the letters of the alphabet and the numbers 1 through 12. This way, young children automatically learn the numbers and letters. Finally, it is also used for learning to move. Children learn various skills, such as frog jumps, balancing, walking on their toes, hopping and moving across the midline.”
The overarching foundation also wants to equip the other three schools with an activity trail this school year. The cost should not stand in their way. Portland paid €2,000 excluding VAT, roughly half of which was for the design and half for applying the stickers.
Schools interested in an activity trail can contact OBS Portland and ask for Olivier Vermeulen.