For me, this holiday club shows the potential of free play and how it can contribute to children's well-being and understanding - Lawson's knowledge of nature was excellent and it was clear he had learned so much through years of going to this club.
Also, I think it raises questions for the outdoor education sector in term of the value of structured adventure activities - how much could be achieved through free play instead ... hmm. I'm still wrestling with this.
It also fascinates me, in that this sort of innovation, once again, it's the play sector which seems to be leading the way...
wow, fantastic. Made we want play there too. There is research showing that vestibular movement (bouncing, balancing etc) is really important for emotional development as well as physical and cognitive devt.
Cathy Bache's Secret Garden Outdoor Nursery in Fife Scotland is also a wonderful place of discovery for children. I truly enjoyed my day with Cathy and the children last fall and this in part, along with Claire Warden's Auchlone Nature Kindergarten has inspired me to open my own nature preschool here in the SF Bay Area. We'll be using the site of the preschool during our upcoming international conference: Children Learning with Nature which Claire Warden aand I are hosting in Berkeley / Vallejo, California, USA, May 29- June 1st. www.childlearnnature.com
6 comments:
What a fantastic experience for all ocncerned. Very impressed by the tea of salmon & trout! Thanks again for sharing this with us all.
For me, this holiday club shows the potential of free play and how it can contribute to children's well-being and understanding - Lawson's knowledge of nature was excellent and it was clear he had learned so much through years of going to this club.
Also, I think it raises questions for the outdoor education sector in term of the value of structured adventure activities - how much could be achieved through free play instead ... hmm. I'm still wrestling with this.
It also fascinates me, in that this sort of innovation, once again, it's the play sector which seems to be leading the way...
wow, fantastic. Made we want play there too. There is research showing that vestibular movement (bouncing, balancing etc) is really important for emotional development as well as physical and cognitive devt.
Cathy Bache's Secret Garden Outdoor Nursery in Fife Scotland is also a wonderful place of discovery for children. I truly enjoyed my day with Cathy and the children last fall and this in part, along with Claire Warden's Auchlone Nature Kindergarten has inspired me to open my own nature preschool here in the SF Bay Area.
We'll be using the site of the preschool during our upcoming international conference: Children Learning with Nature which Claire Warden aand I are hosting in Berkeley / Vallejo, California, USA, May 29- June 1st.
www.childlearnnature.com
Truly amazing. The kind of project everyone should know about - which is why I'm about to share this post on my facebook page.
Thanks for your comments Tim & Paul.
I agree the Secret Garden Outdoor Nursery in Fife is great and run very much along free play principles which is unusual in the education sector.
Also, I hope others do spread the word about this post and this super example of quality free play.
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