A Forest Preschool for the Bay Area: A Pilot Study for a New Nature-Based Curriculum

Autor/in	Peterson, Abigail
Titel	A Forest Preschool for the Bay Area: A Pilot Study for a New Nature-Based Curriculum
Quelle	(2013), (71 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Best Practices; Guidelines; Preschool Education; Outdoor Education; Class Activities; Learning Activities; Child Development; Certification; Preschool Curriculum; Interviews; Developmentally Appropriate Practices; Educational History; Observation; Video Technology; Creativity; International Education; Teaching Methods; California; Germany; Norway; United Kingdom; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Richtlinien; Pre-school education; Vorschulerziehung; Freiluftunterricht; Lernaktivität; Kindesentwicklung; Abschlusszeugnis; Zertifizierung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Entwicklungsbezogene Bildung; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; Beobachtung; Kreativität; Internationale Erziehung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Kalifornien; Deutschland; Norwegen; Großbritannien; USA
Abstract	Forest kindergartens are a new idea in the United States but have been around in Germany, Norway, and other European countries for decades. Forest "kindergartens" are preschools for children ages 3-6 and focus on being outdoors and learning through interacting with nature. Instead of building with blocks or doing puzzles at a table indoors, children are outdoors for the majority of the day in all kinds of weather, working cooperatively to build a dam across a stream, for example, or making forts with sticks and leaves, or looking at bugs. The normal activities that make up a school day at a traditional preschool--circle time, song time, snack and lunch--are still a part of the forest kindergarten, but those things are accomplished outdoors. Because full-time forest kindergartens are a new concept in this country, there is little formal research available into their effects on childhood development. In addition, though there are a few curriculum guidelines available from programs in Great Britain and Germany, there is no set curriculum or structure. The purpose of this paper is to develop a set of best practices for a new California-based forest kindergarten program with the goal of opening one of these types of schools in the Bay Area in five years. Three appendices present: (1) Licensing; (2) Memorable quotes about children in nature; and (3) Partial list of US-based nature preschools. (As Provided).
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10