FOREST KINDERGARTEN…………WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I saw a Nightline story the other evening that captured my attention. The setting was a forest preserve somewhere in the State of Washington and the topic was all of the young children who attend this “outdoor kindergarten.” The youngsters, ages 3 to 5 were happily running around, playing, chomping on leaves and berries that they called ‘forest candy,’ pretending to be different animals, stomping in the mud and all in all, having a great time!
This particular “outdoor kindergarten” was founded by Erin Kenny, a former attorney, who helped establish the Cedarsong Nature Kindergarten back in 2007. The children in attendance are outdoors for the entire length of the class, no matter the weather. Kenny believes that children learn best through personal experience and that kids would not typically ‘bounce off walls,’ if there were no walls from which to bounce.
Kenny adds that the lacking connection between children and nature is what helped inspire her to start this unorthodox type of pre-school. She firmly believes that child obesity, attention deficit disorders and depression are the result of America’s focus on learning numbers and letters in pre-school, when so many other countries focus on outdoor play, exploration and channeling of energy. Books, toys and lesson plans are not part of Kenny’s classroom. Her school’s philosophy is “interest-led.” “If children are allowed to sort of move at their own pace and they are the ones that are spotting things that peak their curiosity and allowed to explore them in a hands-on way, they can become very focused,” she said. Remember, in Kenny’s school, the children do not go inside for anything – they eat lunch outdoors and even go to the bathroom amidst nature, although she has a composting toilet to use for those children that choose to do so.
Forest kindergartens are sometimes referred to as a school without ceilings or walls, and despite their unusual structure, they are designed to fulfill the same basic purpose as traditional pre-schools; to educate, stimulate, and care for young children.
In general, forest kindergartens operate mainly in woodland areas such as Kenny’s in rainy Washington State, although some other sites can be equally inspiring, for example beaches and meadows. There should be a building where children can shelter from extreme weather. They may also spend a small part of each day indoors, although that is more likely to be for a way in which to provide a known location where parents can deliver and collect their children.
To those critics who may think this all sounds a little too alternative, Kenny responds by simply saying it’s just a very “indoor culture here in America.” If the kids are dry and warm, they will stay immersed in nature for many, many hours,” she said. Every student enrolled in the school gets free outdoor gear. A footwear company provides their boots, and a sportswear distributor everything else, such as hats and coats.
At Kenny’s school, even the parents get into the great outdoors excitement, as one mother made a loud “ka kaw ka kaw” from the forest edge when she came to pick up her child. “If there’s a giant mud puddle, she’s covered in mud,” said Alison Kennedy Taylor, the mother of one of the students, Beulah Ellison-Taylor, 3. “Yesterday, she got a mud shampoo from another kid…with her permission.” Taylor said she expects her daughter to come home filthy from being outdoors. “Beulah’s gone to other preschools where she’s come back with paint halfway up her arm or chalk all over her shoes,” she said. “It’s really no different than going to any other preschool. Kids are going to get dirty no matter what.” And what does all this dirty playing, berry snacking, insect recognizing and bird calling cost? In Kenny’s case, tuition is $120 a month for one class a week; $240 a month for two classes a week; $360 a month for three classes a week; and $480 a month for four classes a week.
