{"id":77736,"date":"2019-09-12T23:59:32","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T06:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=77736"},"modified":"2024-09-21T13:42:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T20:42:18","slug":"outdoor-preschool-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/outdoor-preschool-trends","title":{"rendered":"School’s Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

A version of this story appeared in the fall 2019 issue of\u00a0Uncommon Path<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On a rainy January day in Seattle, you\u2019ll find most preschoolers tucked away in a heated classroom, dabbing at finger paints or molding clay. Not Rose, a 4-year-old who attends Fiddleheads Forest School. There, with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, Rose and her 13 classmates are huddled together under a tarp hung among trees, learning to make cedar tea.<\/p>\n

On nicer days, Rose, whose name has been changed for privacy, typically spends sunshine-splashed hours wielding a magnifying glass in search of pleasingly grotesque species of insects, from which her teacher pivots into lessons about habitats and life cycles. She uses binoculars to spot nesting ospreys or plays pretend in a mud kitchen, then eats her lunch picnic-style in a meadow.<\/p>\n

At this school\u2014as with a growing number of similar programs nationwide\u2014the outdoors isn\u2019t just for recess anymore. In fact, the outdoors is her school. The idea is simple: Use the woods as a backdrop for a solid, hands-on education and a sorely needed way to help a new generation connect with the real world.<\/p>\n

\"Children

For the students at Fiddleheads, green grass isn\u2019t reserved for recess.<\/p><\/div>\n

A growing number of preschool programs offer this experience across the United States: In 2017, there were more than 250 nature-based preschools and forest kindergartens in 43 states, according to Emilian Geczi, former director of the Natural Start Alliance<\/a>, a nonprofit focused on connecting young children to the environment. Two years later, the number of schools has reached 400. While outdoor preschools are on the rise, there\u2019s still work to be done to determine if these programs represent a notable shift in American early-childhood education. Among the key challenges: improving access and affordability and advancing research to understand the benefits the schools provide.<\/p>\n

Outdoor preschools have roots that reach back to 1950s Scandinavia, but the movement has gained momentum and urgency in the past decade as the digital world has mushroomed. It\u2019s an antidote to what author Richard Louv famously labeled \u201cnature-deficit disorder\u201d in his 2005 best-seller Last Child in the Woods<\/a>.<\/em> In 2006, Louv cofounded the Children & Nature Network<\/a>, which aims to make nature part of every child\u2019s daily existence on an international scale.<\/p>\n

Now, that momentum is being borne out in the research. Studies show that when students engage with the ever-changing natural world in their learning environment, they demonstrate better concentration, less stress, higher rates of physical activity, increased engagement and improved self-discipline. In February 2019, the journal Frontiers in Psychology<\/a> reviewed 95 studies that examined how exposure to nature affects learning. The conclusion? Natural settings facilitate a calm, cooperative social landscape where students engaged with the nature around them.<\/p>\n

\"Children

Fresh air substitutes for a whiteboard at Fiddleheads.<\/p><\/div>\n

In Europe, where the idea has deep roots, students at Danish day-care centers average two hours outdoors each day in all seasons, and 75% join in on at least one weekly outing to a forest, beach or marsh. Swedish kids<\/a> frolic outside even in the dead of winter and take a daily nap outside as weather allows. And Germany boasts more than 1,500 forest kindergartens.<\/p>\n

Back in Seattle, an environmental educator named Sarah Heller was working at the Washington Park Arboretum in 2010 when she teamed up with former Montessori teacher Kit Harrington to start Fiddleheads. \u201cWe had schools come on field trips, and we offered summer programs,\u201d Heller says. \u201cBut I wanted to find ways to connect kids and families with this beautiful treasure in Seattle that not many people know about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started out with blocks, puzzles and other materials,\u201d says Harrington. \u201cBut we realized over time that the classroom itself was the ultimate material.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The 230-acre arboretum, associated with the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, on the shores of Lake Washington, was an ideal location. Heller and Harrington began with one outdoor space in the gardens for a classroom that would welcome 12 kids ranging in age from 3 to 5. \u201cWe started out with blocks, puzzles and other materials,\u201d says Harrington, \u201cbut we realized over time that the classroom itself was the ultimate material.\u201d The first spring, a barred owl nested in a classroom. Students learned to mimic the calls of the four owlets before they fledged.<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s ethos immediately resonated with Seattle families, who recalled backpacking trips, fort building and languid summer days spent splashing in outdoor pools from their own childhoods. Nine years later, the school has two bustling\u00a0classrooms, where 14 students and two teachers immerse themselves in the rhythms of the natural world on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

\"Two

Getting close to nature is an everyday thing for these preschoolers.<\/p><\/div>\n

These opportunities come with a price. Tuition for the four-hour, five-day option over 10 months is $8,300, averaging about $200 a week for the half-day program. Financial aid is offered, but for some families attending a half-day program such as Fiddleheads creates insurmountable obstacles, like finding transportation during work hours and affording supplementary childcare.<\/p>\n

One problem is that current childcare-center licensing standards are primarily designed for indoor settings. Without a license, outdoor preschools cannot offer full-day options or tap into state subsidies that assist low-income families with childcare costs. States are only now starting to address the issue. In 2017, Washington State launched a four-year pilot project<\/a> to study a dozen of the state\u2019s 40-plus outdoor preschool programs and consider licensing standards. For nature-based programs to reach their full potential, they\u2019ll also need plenty of instructors who know how to teach in an outdoor environment. Teacher-training courses are starting to fill these gaps. In July, the Natural Start Alliance issued guidelines for training, helping connect teachers to environmental-education certificate programs popping up across the country.<\/p>\n

As these changes take place and outdoor preschools become more mainstream, the hope is that a broader population will be served. However, there are still questions of scale, access and student diversity. The tally of 400 outdoor preschools looks impressive until you consider that there are 120,000 childcare centers across the country, according to Child Care Aware<\/a>, a nonprofit that connects parents with providers. In addition, Natural Start Alliance\u2019s 2017 national survey<\/a> reveals a student body that is not representative of the U.S. population: 83% of the students in these nature-based settings are white; just 3% are Black, 7% Hispanic. Students with special needs and dual-language learners are also significantly underrepresented.<\/p>\n

\"Children

The Fiddleheads classroom: An improvised curtain works for musical and theatrical performances and playing; the logs are used for story time.<\/p><\/div>\n

Educators are trying to change that. One example is the University of Minnesota\u2019s Shirley G. Moore Lab School, where students typically spend a third of their time outside (and the eight-week summer program operates fully outdoors). Of the 102 students at the licensed facility, 13% have special needs and 28% are children of color. While financial assistance helps families with the $6,130 full tuition, the program\u2019s secret for building diversity goes beyond just dollars. \u201cAccessibility is very important, and so is having staff [composed of ] people of color,\u201d says director Sheila Williams Ridge. \u201cPeople see their families and their values reflected in the space.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for the families whose kids participate in outdoor education, their school is more than just part of a burgeoning international trend. It\u2019s simpler than that. It\u2019s a peaceful place for kids to develop curiosity and admiration for the natural world at a young age, with the hope that they\u2019ll carry on that appreciation to future generations.<\/p>\n

As Louv notes: \u201cEarly exposure builds a stronger bond to nature and makes a lasting imprint\u2014those of us who had that connection as kids have a responsibility to pass it along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honor Roll
\n<\/strong>A collection of outdoor-oriented schools for students of all ages.<\/em><\/h3>\n

Preschool (Ages 3 to 6)<\/h4>\n

South Mountain Nature School (SMNS), Maplewood, New Jersey<\/strong>
\nFull-body rainsuits are included in the tuition of SMNS\u2014which has a complete commitment to an all-outdoor, all-the-time immersion in nature and meets five mornings a week in the 2,100-acre Olmsted Brothers\u2013designed South Mountain Reservation. southmountainnatureschool.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

Chicago Botanic Garden Nature Preschool, Chicago, Illinois<\/strong>
\nAt the state-of-the-art Regenstein Learning Campus, kids ages 3 to 5 spend their time learning from resident horticulturists, going on hikes around the impeccable grounds and even keeping a journal by drawing or dictating to an adult. chicagobotanic.org<\/a><\/em>
\n
\n<\/em>Mountaintop Waldorf School,\u00a0Saugerties, New York<\/strong>
\nInstead of stressing academics, Moun-taintop emphasizes the rhythm of\u00a0the seasons: a paper-lantern festival as winter approaches and a regatta\u2014featuring little handmade boats\u2014come summer. Plus, kids are out in the elements every day, sleet or shine. mountaintopschool.com <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Elementary\/Middle School<\/h4>\n

The Garden School, Marietta, Georgia<\/strong>
\nChildren learn woodworking, gardening, foraging, citizen science, ecology and knitting. There\u2019s also a learning farm that contains goats, donkeys and chickens\u2014and the curriculum places\u00a0a huge emphasis on limiting kids\u2019 media exposure.\u00a0thegardenmarietta.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Teton Science Schools, Jackson, Wyoming, and Victor, Idaho<\/strong>
\nTSS runs a full-time prekindergarten-through-12th-grade school that emphasizes the importance of place. (Lucky for them, that means field experiences in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.) tetonscience.org <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Juniper Hill School, Alna, Maine<\/strong>
\nThe founder of this little gem in mid-coast Maine has taken some 42 acres of woods, fields and marshes\u2014plus a 1762 farm-house owned by her parents\u2014and turned it into a forest school. These days, Nature (ages 3 to 4), Seeds (3 to 5), Roots (5 to 6), Sprouts\/Branches (6 to 8) and Branches\/Leaves (8 to 10) use the main house, three yurts and more as classrooms while learning respect for and knowledge of indigenous skills. juniperhillschool.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Sierra Expeditionary Learning School, Truckee, California<\/strong>
\nEvery October, the entire student\u00a0body and staff of SELS climb a nearby peak. And at the end of the year, each eighth-grader ceremonially presents a kindergartner with a rock from a local stream, passing on an intention for\u00a0that child\u2019s school career. The rock stays with the child\u2014as does the school\u2019s emphasis on community, collaboration and public speaking. truckeecharterschool.org<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

High School<\/h4>\n

Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Carbondale, Colorado<\/strong>
\nA mix of boarding and day students spend time in a traditional classroom\u00a0(Advanced Placement courses, Socratic seminars and the like), but extracurricular\u00a0classes include climbing, cycling, horsemanship and backcountry skiing in the mountains near Aspen. The Crystal River Kayak Races\u2014the oldest high school kayaking competition in the country\u2014runs right by campus. crms.org<\/a>
\n<\/em>
\nThe Outdoor Academy, Pisgah Forest, North Carolina<\/strong>
\nSophomores spend about a quarter of their semester on wilderness trips in the southern Appalachians and weekends learning adventure skills to pull it off. The rest of the time? They might use solar ovens to learn about parabolic curves, try paddling maneuvers to figure out what vector angles are and debate global food economics. enf.org\/outdoor-academy<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

Midland School, Los Olivos, California<\/strong>
\nAt this small boarding prep school on the border of Los Padres National Forest,\u00a0students are cooks, carpenters, librarians and custodians. More than half the food served there (including grass-fed beef) is raised on their ranch or grown in a\u00a010-acre organic garden, and orienteering, nature writing and field science are included. midland-school.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Sun Valley Community School (SVCS), \u00a0Sun Valley, Idaho<\/strong>
\nEven kindergartners at SVCS take outdoor trips, but it\u2019s the older kids that really get to explore: Freshmen take a weeklong whitewater trip on the Main Salmon River, and juniors bring Edward Abbey and Thoreau with them on\u00a048-hour solos in southern Utah. Bonus: The school\u2019s Outdoor Leadership Academy preps students to lead trips professionally. communityschool.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Photography by Grant Hindsley<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A version of this story appeared in the fall 2019 issue of\u00a0Uncommon Path.\u00a0 On a rainy January day in Seattle, you\u2019ll find most preschoolers tucked away in a heated classroom, dabbing at finger paints or molding clay. Not Rose, a 4-year-old who attends Fiddleheads Forest School. There, with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, Rose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":80828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685],"tags":[156,1935,692,1938,2217,1934,2024,143,1549],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-77736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-family","tag-issue-1","tag-news","tag-public-health","tag-rei-cooperative-action-fund","tag-uncommon-path","tag-uncommon-path-issues","tag-washington","tag-west"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/outdoor-preschool-trends","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"School’s Out","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/outdoor-preschool-trends","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/outdoor-preschool-trends"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/Hero_Schools-Out_GSH5462.gif?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/Hero_Schools-Out_GSH5462.gif?fit=2000%2C1429"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["family","issue 1","news","public health","rei cooperative action fund","uncommon path","uncommon path issues","washington","west"],"dateCreated":"2019-09-13T06:59:32Z","datePublished":"2019-09-13T06:59:32Z","dateModified":"2024-09-21T20:42:18Z"},"rendered":"