We’ve all heard of snow days, but snow school? For the children of Leipzig Germany's Wood Kindergarten, everyday is a snow day. The Wood Kindergarten is all outdoors and regardless of the temperature, even if below zero, school carries on.
In a day and age where too many children have to be forced outdoors to play, and the video age has now developed into the educational age, the concept of natural early childhood development is making a comeback. The concept of an outdoor daycare, originally came from Denmark in the early 1950's, and is used across Scandinavia; the concept is now increasing in popularity in Germany as well.
The children carry out all their activities in the open, even in sub-zero temperatures (the school may be moved indoors in extreme weather conditions such as; the temperature falls below -10°C/14°F, there is a thunderstorm, wind storm, extreme snow storm, or hail).
The year round concept of an outdoor school was devised to give children all the basic principles of a regular school, while placing an emphasis on playing naturally crafted toys and object provided by nature, rather than commercial toys, which is also shown to have a greater impact in the development of language skills. Having children play outdoors for long periods has been proven to positively impact children's development with manual dexterity, physical coordination, tactile sensitivity, and depth perception. Children are also more likely to develop better social skills and have more interaction with their peers, in an outdoor setting than when developing the same skills using computerized developmental toys. According studies, children who attend outdoor schools had less accidental injuries, which is seen due to studies showing that playing outdoors strengthens the immune system. Additionally the Wood Kindergartens have lower levels of noise, which helps lower the stress levels of both children and staff.
Will we see the outdoor Kindergartens coming to Northern America and Europe anytime soon? The concept while catching on in Germany, looks to remain isolated for the time being, but it may be fruitful to mention the next time the kids complain about walking to school in the cold.
