Outdoor Preschools • Hacker News Board

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#51

Post by vailripper » Thu, Sep 26, 2019, 11:06 PM UTC

blang wrote: post #20

hpratt4 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you happen to know what the licensing problems are? My family is in exactly the same boat; I'd love to be able to complain constructively to DYCF about which of their rules is responsible for preventing us from using a program like Fiddleheads.

I think it's this: https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300&full=tr... >(6) Licensed outdoor play areas must be enclosed with a fence or barrier that is intended to prevent children from exiting and discourages climbing. If the outdoor play area is enclosed by a barrier that is not a fence, the barrier may be a wall constructed with brick, stone, or a similar material. For some background a co-worker's wi…

There is actually a pilot program to allow full day preschools in WA. Our son goes to one of them, their class travels to parks outside of the school. More info here: https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/about/government-community/advisory/...

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#52

Post by JJMcJ » Thu, Sep 26, 2019, 11:16 PM UTC

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.

Surprised by all the downvotes, please read

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_cancer_in_Australia

for example.

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#53

Post by madhadron » Fri, Sep 27, 2019, 12:02 AM UTC

war1025 wrote: post #33

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.

I think "forest school" is kind of a mistranslation of the German "Waldkindergarten." "Wald" is strictly "forest" but idiomatically means the great outdoors, the wilds. Kind of a similar confounding as the word for woman and wife being the same.

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#54

Post by madhadron » Fri, Sep 27, 2019, 12:05 AM UTC

If you're interested, it's also worth looking at Erin Kenny's book "Forest Kindergardens: The Cedarsong Way." She founded the first one in the Seattle area out on Vashon Island and has been the model for the others that have sprung up since then.

My wife couldn't find one on Bainbridge Island where we until recently lived, so she just started an all weather outdoor group herself. People showed up in the summer and fall. In the middle of winter it was often just her and our two kids in full rain gear splashing around the beaches.

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#55

Post by fyfy18 » Fri, Sep 27, 2019, 5:06 AM UTC

ryanmarsh wrote: post #34

I thought, this would be hell for most of the year where I live (because of the weather). So I looked at the locations, California and the NE. Yep.

It's pretty common in Northern European countries too - even in winter. On a sunny winters day when it's -20C it's perfectly comfortable with the right clothing and footwear (which isn't expensive).

Re: Outdoor Preschools

#56

Post by tenzo77 » Fri, Sep 27, 2019, 2:01 PM UTC

Interesting that the article treats this as a ‘trend’—but doesn’t mention Waldorf schools, which have done this around the world for 100 years. When my daughter attended Waldorf preschool, she spent the majority of her day outdoors. All year round.