Who wants to move to Seattle? Well, I kind of do, after reading this article on the Good News Network.
I recently posted about the Cedarsong Nature School on Vashon Island, WA, which educates children entirely in the forest. No classrooms!
In collaboration with Tiny Trees Preschool, Seattle has now announced plans to open nine preschools in its city parks. The school’s founder believes that all the necessary activities can occur in the park, just as well as in the classroom. I agree!
The kids will nap on mats in the park shelters, use the park bathrooms, and do lessons in the pavilions when it rains–which is a lot, so all the kids will be issued superior rainsuits to use for the whole year.
This is nothing new in Europe, where outdoor schools have been in operation since the 1950s. Germany currently has at least 1,000. The instruction will be similar to the Montessori method, where kids self-direct their learning by choosing among several pre-planned activities to work on. The preschool is expected to cost about $5,000 less per year than regular preschool because there is no building overhead to pay.
the happy environmentalist 