Objective: “Students will assess safety outcomes for children in culturally diverse early childhood programs with differing safety expectations.”
Watch these videos, and then answer the questions below. Post your response by attaching a Microsoft Word document.
Nature Kindergarten Pilot Program (based on Forest Preschool in Germany)
Arctic Outdoor Preschool in Norway
The Playgarden Forest Kindergarten
Describe the similarities and differences in the outdoor experiences you see in the three videos.
Do there appear to be different regulations and expectations for safety? What are your concerns in each setting?
Do there appear to be different outcomes for children in terms of actual injuries, self-confidence, and skill acquisition?
What do you see as the benefits for children in each of these settings?
How do you think families you know or families you work with would respond to having their children playing on playgrounds such as these, or participating in these types of educational settings?
Imagine that you have decided to allow children to explore nature on your playground. How would you help families to understand the benefits as you made these changes?
Your response to each question should be at least 5 sentences.