Originally appears in the Spring 2014 issue
THE TIME IS RIGHT to start to talk about naturalised outdoor learning but with that increased interest comes the wide variance in terminology and approach. As a nature kindergarten founder, a Forest School leader, a consultant and as a parent, I am hugely committed to taking children to nature outside – in whatever guise that may be, but also bringing nature to them, both in school grounds and inside their space. Children have always been connected to nature. It is so often the adults around them who have lost the link.
There are existing educational models that have common threads running through them, some examples would be Ich ur o skur from Sweden translated to rain-or-shine nurseries; Skogsmulle are run in Scandinavia, similar to our Forest School but can also be delivered by scout groups. Mestämörri are Finland’s own version of Skogsmulle, and Udeskile are Denmark’s version of forest schools for 7-16 years olds. Each variation has differences in terms of time spent outside, the structure afforded to the session and the age focus. All these models have to be set within the cultural framework from which it has formed. The Scandinavian approach to the outdoors, referred to as friluftsliv, encompasses a cultural way of life and would warrant further reading to fully understand it. It is certainly seen as deep rooted and connected to a cultural norm.
Our decision was linked to the vision of a natural children’s garden with all the aspects that it encompasses; from the landscape, to the food, the materials and resources used and the sense of community within it, but also the natural desire to have ones voice heard and valued from a very early stage.
So why nature? Well, the research is wide ranging and from all parts of the globe, to support its use on multiple levels. Here is a summary of some of the research and their
findings that have affirmed our values.
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- Children who play regularly in natural environments show more advanced motor fitness, including coordination, balance and agility, and they are sick less often (Grahbn, et al. 1997; Fjortoft & Sageie 2001).
- When children play in natural environments, their play is more diverse with imaginative and creative play that fosters language and collaborative skills (Moore & Wong 1997, Taylor et al. 1998; Fojortoft 2000).
- Exposure to natural environments improves children’s cognitive development by improving their awareness, reasoning and observational skills (Pyle 2002).
- Spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress and benefit treatment of numerous health conditions (Kahn 1999).
- Nature buffers the impact of life’s stresses on children and helps them deal with adversity. The greater the amount of nature exposure, the greater the benefits (Wells & Evans 2003).
- Children with Attention Deficit Disorder are positively affected by the calmness of natural playscapes (Taylor et al 2001).
- An affinity to and love of nature, along with a positive environmental ethic, grow out of regular contact with and play in the natural world during early childhood. (Chawla 1998; Sobel 1996, 2002, 2004; Wilson 1997; Moore and Cosco 2000; Kals et al 1999, 2003).
- Early experiences with the natural world have been positively linked with the development of imagination and the sense of wonder (Cobb 1977, Louv 1991).
- Wonder is an important motivator for lifelong learning (Wilson 1997).
- Children who play in nature have more positive feelings about each other (Moore 1986).
- Natural environments stimulate social interaction between children (Moore 1986, Bixler et al. 2002).
It is very apparent from all the research that young children have a natural connection to nature and will seek and find nature in even the most unlikely places. A little girl of two was playing in a parking area and her attention was held by something along the wall. The adult approached and she turned round and silently pointed at something in the hole she had been eyeing amongst the bricks and rubble – a woodlouse.
With two fingers she gently lifted it out and placed it on the driveway where she prodded it and silently watched it walk away. During this encounter she was fully engaged in the activity and the movements from the bit of nature she found in a concrete gap.
So, given that we know through research that children need nature, do they need it all the time, for an hour or two, or for fifteen minutes, and in what guise should nature be offered? The minimum should be daily and then for a long block, so that they relax and settle into the space. The rise of Forest School has been exciting. My first contact with Gordon Woodall from Bridgewater College and Sally York from the Forestry Commission in Scotland, was over ten years ago to discuss the possibilities of the use of local woodlands through Forest Schools. At that point the journey had hardly begun, although rangers have been working in woodland with children, it did not have the widespread, integrated approach currently being attempted.
The balance of knowledge in nature-based programs interest me. The position of that knowledge defines how the programs work. If the ranger holds it, it seems to affect the way the educator interacts with the children on the site. If the educator is skilled and knowledgeable about the natural space and how to be in it, then their interaction and transfer of experience to the centre is far more embedded in what they do. In the UK, teachers and practitioners have found ring-fenced time for a half-day session, once a week, for a number of weeks for children to travel to a woodland site to attend Forest School. Although not required, many Forest School leaders have taken additional qualifications to develop outdoor skills, and rangers are raising difference between this methodology and nature kindergartens, as we define them, since the daily connection to a wild space ensures a real sharing of knowledge between the adult and child without the third relationship of the other adult.
In some cases, unfortunately, the agenda for Forest School-type sessions are often set by the adults so that a program is drawn up to develop skills, or knowledge that can be applied to a project such as a shelter, fire and so forth. There can be flexibility between weeks, although most schools adhere to a program once it is set.
It is at this point that I seen the early years as having a different model. It is here that we have defined our style of nature kindergarten to meet the needs of the children, families and overarching education system in the UK. The younger the child, the more responsive and fluid I think we need to be, so that they can develop skills within a purposeful context over several consecutive days. For a two-year-old, the space of a week is actually a long time to carry forward shared thinking. The nature kindergartens spend from 70 to 100 per cent of their time outside, flowing from day to day exploring subtle changes in nature as a small family group.
Early years centres in Scotland will no longer be commissioned if they do not have access to an outside space, which is wonderful news. However, the variety of styles and designs of outdoor access in terms of quality is huge. All have the potential for a naturalised space even if very small. The landscape is only half of the story, it is our methodology of creating a nature kindergarten that must have a higher level of child consultation, shared thinking and integration and access to wild, natural spaces inside and out, for all children. The integration of all the elements brings a synergy to the style of care that would be lost if only small aspects were taken on board.
Trees do give a real sense of place. Being surrounded by objects that are older than you, that will be here long after you have gone actually provides an amazing grounding for all human beings. Given that many parts of Scotland do not have a woodland space, but do have stunning shores and mountains, it seemed too exclusive to use the term “Forest Kindergartens.” I am delighted to see the rise in any approach to taking children outside. However, unless they support a change of methodology they may also simply become a forest school, but with younger children who have a weekly activity session in the forest, this is not the same as a nature kindergarten.
The methodology of our nature kindergartens is that nature creates the context and the curriculum comes from it in a more natural way than over planned, activity-driven days. It can be achieved in any space; a meadow, seashore, stream, hill desert, frozen waste. It does not need to be a forest. Although trees are wonderful for shelter, there are other ways. What lies at our root are the core values I have worked hard to integrate into the Forest School approach. They come together to create a naturalistic space with a way of working with children that is consultative, where risk taking is encouraged and there is a consistency of access that creates a real link for children. Many children are not allowed the freedom to explore, test themselves in play and to feel in control of being out of control. When play behaviours are restricted the drive from the human is to find another way to achieve play goals. In the nature kindergartens, we have slopes, some of them steep. It is important that children feel the sensation of being in control of letting go as they run down them. To put too many restrictions on this actually takes away the learning moment for the emotional intelligence of the child.
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Claire Warden is one of the world’s leading consultants and writers on the use of consultative methods in education. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at Ballarat University in Australia and is currently engaged in her PhD exploring ‘Ways of Knowing.’
This text has been adapted from the second chapter of her book Nature Kindergartens and Forest Schools which is currently in its second edition and available from Mind-stretchers Publishing. For more information, visit mindstetchers.co.uk or claire-warden.com