Nature is the greatest teacher in nursery schools of Scandinavia.1
All across Scandinavia small children are running wild! From Lapland to Jutland, you will see flocks of youngsters chasing through meadows and woodland, with mud-spattered faces and small rucksacks on their backs.2 You will find them splashing in streams, crawling through the undergrowth, clambering up trees or sitting quietly on a log eating a sandwich.3 These are children from one of the many "naturbornehaver" (nature kindergartens) that are currently mushrooming4 up all over Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Yes, this is the pedagogical hit of our time5—the startlingly simple concept of taking children out in nature as often as possible, for as long as possible, in all weathers and in all seasons. And research shows that these "nature" children gain far more than rosy cheeks and bright eyes; for it is now evident that nature nursery school children are socially, physically and intellectually at an advantage over their contemporaries in conventional nursery schools. No wonder then, that the rate of growth in this area of childcare is phenomenal6. In Denmark, nearly all county councils now have one or two such schools.
Although there are many variations on the theme, nature nursery schools are most often based in a forest. A forest gives the perfect frame for a child’s natural physical development. When a child experiences the freedom and stimulation offered by the forest, the result is a more balanced and peaceful child who is able to deal with social and intellectual challenges far more effectively.
The forest offers a multitude of learning opportunities. Children can run around as much as they want; noise is absorbed by the immensity7 of the sky. Children can use their bodies to the full; climbing, swinging, crawling, carrying, leaping. What’s more, the forest is filled with an abundance of playthings: a stick transforms into a horse or into a baton to conduct a brass band.8 Imagination can literally run wild through the trees.
For these children, the world is teeming with life: slugs and beetles, wild raspberries and hazelnuts, woodpeckers and jays.9 What better way could there be to learn about animals, plants and the changing of the seasons? What more effective way to teach children about basic ecological concerns, when they arise so spontaneously and in such a genuine context?10
Most often, such nursery schools are "green". They buy organic and environmentally-friendly products, and work with the concept of environmental sustainability, e.g. composting11 and energy-saving. In giving children a chance to establish a meaningful, intimate and responsible relationship with the natural world, it must be a regular daily practice for them to touch the earth, to hear birdsong, to collect berries and mushrooms and get to know animals and plants. In wind, rain, snow and shine, let the children run wild!
1. nursery school: (一般接纳5岁以下幼儿的)幼儿园;Scandinavia: 斯堪的纳维亚,北欧一地区,包括挪威、瑞典和丹麦,有时还包括冰岛、法罗群岛和芬兰。
2. 从拉普兰到日德兰半岛,你会看到成群的孩子们在草地与森林之间追逐嬉闹,他们的脸上溅满泥点儿,背着双肩小背包。Lapland: 拉普兰,北欧一地区,包括挪威、瑞典、芬兰等国的北部和俄罗斯的科拉半岛;Jutland: 日德兰半岛,在北海和波罗的海之间,北部属丹麦,南部属德国; rucksack: (登山或旅行用的)帆布背包。
3. 他们在小溪中戏水,在灌木丛中爬行,攀爬树木或者安静地坐在一根木头上吃三明治。
4. mushroom: 如雨后春笋般涌现。
5. 这是风靡我们这个时代的教学方法。pedagogical: 教育学的,教学法的。
6. phenomenal: 不寻常的, 惊人的。
7. immensity: 广大,浩瀚。
&nbs |