Mindstretchers opened the first outdoor Nature Kindergarten in Scotland in 2006. Whistlebrae Nature Kindergarten is a small cosy nursery in the countryside near Braco in Perthshire and in 2008 a second Nature Kindergarten called Auchlone was opened near Crieff in Perthshire. These Kindergartens are run under the direction and management of Claire Warden and Niki Buchan who have a huge amount of experience as teachers, consultants and nursery managers and a great love of nature and the outdoors.
The Nature Kindergartens offers the best of all worlds, a secure natural space inside, a gently challenging outdoor investigative zone which supports young children to develop emotional confidence and skills, and then the wild wood where they can feel the freedom of a fully natural environment.
Children from the age of 2 years spend the majority of the day outdoors in all weathers, either in the very naturalistic garden or in the woodlands where they build dens and bird hides using tools such as saws and loppers, make fires to cook their own snacks, climb trees and generally explore the wonders that the woodlands have to offer. Finding a treasure trove of fungi led to an in depth investigating into the different varieties and their characteristics. Children explored slope and gradient by designed their own slide on a slope using a variety of materials including mud and water!
Our winter weather allowed the children to discover the magic of soft white snow, the icy crystals of morning frost and the amazing ice sculptures nature left for them overnight. It is an exciting season for all and the children are very happy to be outside dressed in appropriate outdoor clothing supplied by the nursery. As part of an investigation about keeping warm the children made their own felt and this evolved into the creation of their own red felt hats to use outside.
Nature provides a range of purposeful contexts that the children can really become involved in. The planting and harvesting of vegetables, the creation of habitat piles to increase biodiversity in the area and the use of natural streams to explore the properties of water all give children tangible ways of working with and in nature to increase their connection to it. Children are able to explore nature in depth in nature time so some investigations might take a year or more.
The curriculum at the centres are based around nature. All of the opportunities are developed through natural materials found in the local environment or supplied through eco friendly and ethical trade routes. Mathematics is covered using a host of interesting and sensorial materials such as seed pods, lengths of twig, and number stones gathered on sessions in the woodland. Claire is the European leader for the World Nature Collaborative and firmly believes that the environment is the third teacher, supporting children to learn about all aspects of the curriculum through connecting to and finding out about nature.
After school clubs are offered at the Kindergartens to allow older children the freedom to explore the woodland after a day at school. Forest school sessions are also available at the Forest school site where groups of children visit the site weekly over a period of time. Holiday camps for children aged from 3 to 12 years are offered at both Kindergartens during the Perth and Kinross Spring and Summer school holidays. During the 2008 Summer camp children built dens, made their own bows and arrows which could actually fly and created fairy gardens. After doing their own risk assessment the children used saws, loppers and mallets to create a safe climbing frame out of a fallen Cedar tree. They also made fires to cook potatoes, stickbread and the usual favourite... marshmallows! These camps are open to all children but numbers are limited.
World Forum Foundation study visit to the Nature Kindergartens. Belfast 2009 Conference attendees may book an additional tour to Scotland to take part in a conference and study visit.
