‘One Nearly Landed On My Finger’: A Forest Kindergarten In Rural New Zealand

Once a week, since March of this year, ten four-year-old children, their teacher and at least two parent helpers depart the kindergarten at 9:00 am and leave for a day in the ‘forest’. After a few minutes walk the group make basecamp at O’Connor’s Bush Reserve, in the small rural Wairarapa town of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dylan Braithwaite
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tuwhera Open Access Publisher 2014-04-01
Series:New Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work
Online Access:https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/teachers-work/article/view/594
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850132484806672384
author Dylan Braithwaite
author_facet Dylan Braithwaite
author_sort Dylan Braithwaite
collection DOAJ
description Once a week, since March of this year, ten four-year-old children, their teacher and at least two parent helpers depart the kindergarten at 9:00 am and leave for a day in the ‘forest’. After a few minutes walk the group make basecamp at O’Connor’s Bush Reserve, in the small rural Wairarapa town of Greytown, and the reserve becomes the context for the kindergarten day. The Forest Kindergarten programme has its antecedents in extensive work undertaken by the teaching team under the general heading of ‘sustainability’. The following is a description of our sustainability story and the development of our Forest Kindergarten programme. I describe what a Forest Kindergarten day looks like, and include some early findings from our first experiences with the children in the bush. The teaching team feel the Forest Kindergarten programme compliments the sustainability focus, helping to re-connect children with nature in a real and practical way.
format Article
id doaj-art-70bf06fd93c045bfa3d05b25cbd2b428
institution OA Journals
issn 1176-6662
language English
publishDate 2014-04-01
publisher Tuwhera Open Access Publisher
record_format Article
series New Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work
spelling doaj-art-70bf06fd93c045bfa3d05b25cbd2b4282025-08-20T02:32:11ZengTuwhera Open Access PublisherNew Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work1176-66622014-04-0111110.24135/teacherswork.v11i1.594‘One Nearly Landed On My Finger’: A Forest Kindergarten In Rural New ZealandDylan Braithwaite0Greytown Kindergarten Once a week, since March of this year, ten four-year-old children, their teacher and at least two parent helpers depart the kindergarten at 9:00 am and leave for a day in the ‘forest’. After a few minutes walk the group make basecamp at O’Connor’s Bush Reserve, in the small rural Wairarapa town of Greytown, and the reserve becomes the context for the kindergarten day. The Forest Kindergarten programme has its antecedents in extensive work undertaken by the teaching team under the general heading of ‘sustainability’. The following is a description of our sustainability story and the development of our Forest Kindergarten programme. I describe what a Forest Kindergarten day looks like, and include some early findings from our first experiences with the children in the bush. The teaching team feel the Forest Kindergarten programme compliments the sustainability focus, helping to re-connect children with nature in a real and practical way. https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/teachers-work/article/view/594
spellingShingle Dylan Braithwaite
‘One Nearly Landed On My Finger’: A Forest Kindergarten In Rural New Zealand
New Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work
title ‘One Nearly Landed On My Finger’: A Forest Kindergarten In Rural New Zealand
title_full ‘One Nearly Landed On My Finger’: A Forest Kindergarten In Rural New Zealand
title_fullStr ‘One Nearly Landed On My Finger’: A Forest Kindergarten In Rural New Zealand
title_full_unstemmed ‘One Nearly Landed On My Finger’: A Forest Kindergarten In Rural New Zealand
title_short ‘One Nearly Landed On My Finger’: A Forest Kindergarten In Rural New Zealand
title_sort one nearly landed on my finger a forest kindergarten in rural new zealand
url https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/teachers-work/article/view/594
work_keys_str_mv AT dylanbraithwaite onenearlylandedonmyfingeraforestkindergarteninruralnewzealand