Campfire Saturday

It’s Campfire Saturday!

Come and join us at the Campfire Blog.

Forest Kindergarten

Have you heard about “Forest Kindergarten”? What on earth is it and what does it have to do with camp? Well, Forest Kindergarten is based on the German “waldkindergarten” model. Strangely, as our ability to study the human brain increases, our value of the simple times of unstructured play during childhood increases as well. Current studies indicate that the intensity and super-scheduled nature of the classroom can be a deterrent to later learning. The solution, get outside and just play! Which is exactly what occurs at Forest Kindergarten. The human brain is busy and at work when children are allowed to simply interact with the outdoor world. You thought that building forts for hours at a time and poking mud puddles with sticks was a waste of time? Not so. Children have a greater capacity to absorb information when they are submerged in nature and a great love of learning can be developed from such an environment. READ MORE…