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Outdoor Learning
on December 2, 2009
New York, the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs' forest kindergarten is reconnecting students with nature, no matter the weather, The New York Times reports.
On a recent and rainy Wednesday morning, the 23 pupils, ages 3½ to 6, bundled up in warm, waterproof gear and headed outside. They planted garlic bulbs, discovered a worm and investigated a crab apple tree ripe for climbing.
In addition to their regular indoor classes, the children’s “classroom” for three hours each day, rain or shine, is the Hemlock Trail, which is 325 acres of state parkland, and a long-empty farmhouse that the state has licensed Waldorf to use for the year.
Schools nationwide have been trying to reconnect children with nature by planting gardens and planning increasingly elaborate field trips, and the forest kindergarten, which opened in September, is one of very few schools in the U.S. upgrading the concept. And this concept is based on Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner's teachings, and emphasizes the arts and the natural world. It also doesn't include a formal academic curriculum until first grade.
“I loved the idea of her being outside every day,” said Kim Lytle, whose 3-year-old is the youngest in the class. “If you have the proper gear, I think it’s a really healthy thing to experience the elements and brave the world — and not just on a sunny day.”
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