Kindergarten Outdoor Environment and Its Use in Developing Knowledge of Nature

The kindergarten environment should be interesting, full of surprises, secrets, and new discoveries for a child. It is difficult to cognise the environment, so as a geographical space it is divided and studied in parts. In that case, space becomes a place. This means that a child absorbs and cognise...

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Main Authors: Nadia Venskuvienė, Rita Makarskaitė-petkevičienė
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sakarya University 2021-06-01
Series:Sakarya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1761878
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author Nadia Venskuvienė
Rita Makarskaitė-petkevičienė
author_facet Nadia Venskuvienė
Rita Makarskaitė-petkevičienė
author_sort Nadia Venskuvienė
collection DOAJ
description The kindergarten environment should be interesting, full of surprises, secrets, and new discoveries for a child. It is difficult to cognise the environment, so as a geographical space it is divided and studied in parts. In that case, space becomes a place. This means that a child absorbs and cognises it with the help of the teacher. A place for a child is associated with freedom, security, and activity. The child notices the dynamics of the environment. Nature is an important part of the environment. The research design was free and unstructured. The data were collected by visiting kindergarten outdoor educational spaces and during the interviews with educators. Authentic information, individual cases and experiences were analysed. Each outdoor space was used in several ways: 1) as a nature class where the children were introduced to natural objects, 2) as a home which is calm, good to communicate and comfortable to play with others, and 3) as a world full of mysteries and riddles. Depending on the age, children cognise the space differently. The younger ones (0-2 years of age) know the world through movements and five senses. The 2-5-year-olds are predominantly characterised by “magical” thinking and the development of motor skills. The knowledge of the environment and the sense of place occur by getting acquainted with natural objects and exploring them. Logic, empathy, planning skills and attention are developed in children aged 5. The experiences and insights of different educators in different outdoor spaces provide an idea of how educators help a child establish a dialogue with nature.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2717-6401
language English
publishDate 2021-06-01
publisher Sakarya University
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series Sakarya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi
spelling doaj-art-0e527f63b72446f89f77f4a69ef5b6e62024-12-23T07:38:53ZengSakarya UniversitySakarya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi2717-64012021-06-01211728328Kindergarten Outdoor Environment and Its Use in Developing Knowledge of NatureNadia Venskuvienė0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1870-3698Rita Makarskaitė-petkevičienė1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1653-8094Vilnius UniversityVilnius UniversityThe kindergarten environment should be interesting, full of surprises, secrets, and new discoveries for a child. It is difficult to cognise the environment, so as a geographical space it is divided and studied in parts. In that case, space becomes a place. This means that a child absorbs and cognises it with the help of the teacher. A place for a child is associated with freedom, security, and activity. The child notices the dynamics of the environment. Nature is an important part of the environment. The research design was free and unstructured. The data were collected by visiting kindergarten outdoor educational spaces and during the interviews with educators. Authentic information, individual cases and experiences were analysed. Each outdoor space was used in several ways: 1) as a nature class where the children were introduced to natural objects, 2) as a home which is calm, good to communicate and comfortable to play with others, and 3) as a world full of mysteries and riddles. Depending on the age, children cognise the space differently. The younger ones (0-2 years of age) know the world through movements and five senses. The 2-5-year-olds are predominantly characterised by “magical” thinking and the development of motor skills. The knowledge of the environment and the sense of place occur by getting acquainted with natural objects and exploring them. Logic, empathy, planning skills and attention are developed in children aged 5. The experiences and insights of different educators in different outdoor spaces provide an idea of how educators help a child establish a dialogue with nature.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1761878anaokulu dış ortamıeğitim alanlarıdoğa bilgisierken çocukluk eğitimikindergarten outdoor environmenteducational spacesknowledge of natureearly childhood education.
spellingShingle Nadia Venskuvienė
Rita Makarskaitė-petkevičienė
Kindergarten Outdoor Environment and Its Use in Developing Knowledge of Nature
Sakarya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi
anaokulu dış ortamı
eğitim alanları
doğa bilgisi
erken çocukluk eğitimi
kindergarten outdoor environment
educational spaces
knowledge of nature
early childhood education.
title Kindergarten Outdoor Environment and Its Use in Developing Knowledge of Nature
title_full Kindergarten Outdoor Environment and Its Use in Developing Knowledge of Nature
title_fullStr Kindergarten Outdoor Environment and Its Use in Developing Knowledge of Nature
title_full_unstemmed Kindergarten Outdoor Environment and Its Use in Developing Knowledge of Nature
title_short Kindergarten Outdoor Environment and Its Use in Developing Knowledge of Nature
title_sort kindergarten outdoor environment and its use in developing knowledge of nature
topic anaokulu dış ortamı
eğitim alanları
doğa bilgisi
erken çocukluk eğitimi
kindergarten outdoor environment
educational spaces
knowledge of nature
early childhood education.
url https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1761878
work_keys_str_mv AT nadiavenskuviene kindergartenoutdoorenvironmentanditsuseindevelopingknowledgeofnature
AT ritamakarskaitepetkeviciene kindergartenoutdoorenvironmentanditsuseindevelopingknowledgeofnature