On the fifth anniversary of the founding of the American Forest Kindergarten Association, in a time when we are all wondering if and how our children will ever safely see the inside of a classroom, now is a perfect time to remember all of the benefits of learning through play and nature pedagogy. "Children more than ever need opportunities to be in their bodies in the world – jumping rope, bicycling, stream hopping, and fort building. It’s this engagement between limbs of the body and bones of the earth where true balance and centeredness emerge. — David Sobel"
“When children play in natural spaces, they’re far more likely to invent their own games than in more structured settings – a key factor in becoming self-directed and inventive adults later in life” ~Richard Louv
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"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood." Mr Rogers
Study after study has shown how important play and communion with the outdoors is to childhood development. Young children need to run and play on uneven ground, which helps them develop their balance, core strength and fine motor skills. They need to learn through the simple act of playing with one another, which encourages creativity and imagination, and fosters interpersonal skills and social and emotional development. Inventing games with only the ingredients around them — a stick, a creek, a tree to climb, a mud puddle -leads to critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as an introduction to cooperation and teamwork with their peers.
“Playing in natural spaces supports a child’s sense of self, allowing children to recognise their independence alongside an interdependence and connectedness with their ecological worlds.”
Stuart Lester and Martin Maudsley, Play, naturally: A review of children’s natural play
Many schools in Europe have long believed strongly in this philosophy (Waldkindergarten) for decades, and now the practice is being phased into schools in the United States.
It's called "Forest Kindergarten."
It's an educational practice that's driven by nearly 100 percent nature immersion. The children spend the first hour of each day in a traditional school setting, where they learn to sound out words and write. Once that hour is done, the class moves outside and into the woods where, for the remainder of the day, they are learning meaningful life skills while at play.
The initiative was first introduced in the United States in 2006 by Erin K. Kenny, an internationally recognized expert for work in Forest Kindergarten pedagogy. With her seminal book The Cedarsong Way, which strove to establish standards and best practices for forest schools, she inspired a new generation of educators, parents, and policy-makers. While we are still waiting for the re-introduction and passage of the No Child Left Inside Act (as it is going to take legislation for this not to become an exclusive luxury of the comfortable suburbs — but to mandate some version of it for urban school populations), companies such as REI and Bogs have demonstrated a firm commitment to supporting the cause of connecting our children to the earth through play and thus engendering a future generation of stewards of our planet.
Enough of the fact-based writing now, though. Put down your screen right now or as soon as you can, and go outside with your child — follow their lead and see what you can discover through their eyes while giving them a chance to teach mom and dad a thing or two. Happy Forest Kindergarten Day and remember, in the immortal words of Erin Kenny, “there is no such thing as bad weather; there are only inappropriate clothing choices.”
“For two years my little girl went to kindergarten in the forest. Not a school in the forest, just the forest. No walls, no roof, no heating, only the forest, a few tools, and incredibly dedicated teachers.
One day she came home from a day of particularly vicious downpours, her feet inevitably soaked, her eyelashes caked in mud, her cheeks ruddy with the cold and her eyes sparkling with fire, and I said to her it must have been tough being outside all morning in such weather. She looked at me in genuine incomprehension, looked out the window: ‘What weather?’ she asked.” from Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens By David Sobel
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