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Outdoor Preschools

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Re: Outdoor Preschools

#31

Post by seltzered_ »

Another article I recently read was on North Country School in upstate NY: https://evolution-institute.org/a-school-camp-and-retreat-ce...

This said, I wish there was more exploration beyond Northern Europe and North America. Speaking just from anecdotes, in areas of the global south (India), there's seemingly a huge drive for families (and thus school) be more oriented around their kids developing skills for marketability. Not trying to assert there's anything wrong with that given wealth inequality, though in thinking of examples of the counter Manish Jain comes to mind: https://schoolingtheworld.org/

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#33

Post by war1025 »

zwieback wrote: post #28

Sounds super appealing but also a little "things white people like". What to do in inner cities or Kansas?

Kansas has outdoors. Might not have forests, but there is still benefit from being outside. I think they are called Forest Schools because they started in Europe / Scandinavia, which are forested places. Doesn't seem like there is any reason the concept couldn't be adapted to other climates.

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#35

Post by war1025 »

linuxftw wrote: post #24

I'm old enough to remember a time when both parents didn't work full time and the other parents in the neighborhood helped watch each others children from time to time. It didn't cost much money, and the part time wages were plenty to cover a lot of expenses. Unfortunately, the value of our money was destroyed by politicians, and wages have been depressed for several decades due to economic policies in place.

I hear this sentiment a lot, but as someone living the "one breadwinner, wife and three kids" life, it seems completely doable on tech job wages.

You just have to adjust your lifestyle somewhat. People talk about how you used to be able to live on much less money, but they forget all the added conveniences people have.

For example, my Grandma stayed home with my Dad and his seven siblings. But they also had an outhouse until he was in junior high. They also had a garden and lots of DIY improvisation knowledge.

The way I like to think of my current family situation is that instead of calling my wife a "homemaker" or something traditional like that, I say she's "financially independent". We have enough money that she doesn't have to work. So she doesn't. So what if I have to work. We're halfway to freedom.

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#36

Post by Reedx »

JJMcJ wrote: post #16
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #15

This is such a completely fantastic idea. It would expose kids to exercise, sunlight, allergens, and germs. All things scientific theories like the hygiene hypothesis and vitamin d as a marker of outside exposure are telling us are vital to making a healthy child.

> sunlight Skin cancer, much? Maybe in Norway this makes sense. For fair skinned people in lower latitudes, maybe not.

Lack of sun and outdoors is a bigger problem.

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#37

Post by smcg »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #17
JJMcJ wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sunlight Skin cancer, much? Maybe in Norway this makes sense. For fair skinned people in lower latitudes, maybe not.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2380751/sunscreen-sun-exposure... I try to share this article as much as I can. It’s likely much of what we think we know about sun exposure is very wrong.

Looks like bad advice for someone with fair skin and family cancer history (me).

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#38

Post by HarryHirsch »

_coveredInBees wrote: post #21
JJMcJ wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sunlight Skin cancer, much? Maybe in Norway this makes sense. For fair skinned people in lower latitudes, maybe not.

You are aware that you can easily access shade in the great outdoors? Literally, the pictures in the linked article show adults and kids seated in the shade in a wooded area.

And in the summer you can wear loose clothing that covers the body instead of t-shirts and shorts. A tunic not only protects against sunburn, it is also more comfortable in the sun.

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#39

Post by linuxftw »

war1025 wrote: post #35
linuxftw wrote: post #24

I'm old enough to remember a time when both parents didn't work full time and the other parents in the neighborhood helped watch each others children from time to time. It didn't cost much money, and the part time wages were plenty to cover a lot of expenses. Unfortunately, the value of our money was destroyed by politicians, and wages have been depressed for several decades due to economic policies in place.

I hear this sentiment a lot, but as someone living the "one breadwinner, wife and three kids" life, it seems completely doable on tech job wages. You just have to adjust your lifestyle somewhat. People talk about how you used to be able to live on much less money, but they forget all the added conveniences people have. For example, my Grandma stayed home with my Dad and his seven siblings. But they also had an outhou…

The average tech wage today is comparable to everyone's average household income in 1980, relative to median home price in the US. Compare the S&P 500 relative to median income and we're even worse off.

On one hand, working in the tech sector is not a bad place to be. On the other hand, we're no better off than the average person in 1980, relative to their peers. Minimum wage was $3.10 in 1980, it's just $7.25 today (federal). Seems we've done everything we can to destroy domestic labor over the last 40 years.

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#40

Post by ghaff »

JJMcJ wrote: post #18
JJMcJ wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sunlight Skin cancer, much? Maybe in Norway this makes sense. For fair skinned people in lower latitudes, maybe not.

Let's not forget cataracts, which are much more common in equatorial regions, even among people whose skin pigment helps protect them from skin cancers.

Let’s just not go outside. The horror. The horror.
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