At this preschool in Germany, early education is about much more than simple vocabulary and arithmetic, and Mother Nature makes the greatest teacher. A Waldkindergarten (aka Forest Kindergarten) holds each day’s classes in the middle of—you guessed it—a forest, where kids are encouraged to explore and experiment with tools like knives and fire.
Parents drop the children off in the morning, and then they walk a mile or so into the trees with their teachers, where they learn about their personal strengths and abilities while picking berries, building huts, hiking, and more. No matter the weather, the kids stay outside. Even naptime is held in the fresh air under a cozy shaded tent.
One of the teachers explains, “Their entire senses are stimulated and developed. They can work with great concentration, because here they discover many things and then they stick with it because it comes from them.” The teaching method seems to be working and perhaps spreading in popularity, too—there are more than 1,000 of these forest kindergartens throughout Germany and Switzerland.
Above photo via AJ+
Photo via waldkindergarten-waldwichtel.de
Photo via waldkindergarten-waldwichtel.de
Photo via wakiga.de
Photo via wakiga.de
Photo via biosphaerenreservat-rhoen.de
via [AJ+]