1. Presentation: Nature September 6-7th - 2018
Is the grass also green at night?

2. Benefits for the children
Improves the ability to…
See new details (ex: insects – their head body and rear end)
Count (ex: number of legs or read the temperature)
Use new words to describe what we see (ex: stripes, warmth or textures)
See contexts or connections in our world (ex: a hot day means less clothes or that water got 3 different states depending on temperature)

3. It’s about the adults

4. How i do it Start within your own comfort zone
Choose something easy accesible
The children and you start together by
Finding and reading books
Watch films and pause when needed
Go get first hand experience
Do tests and trials
Do tests and trials again
Supplement with songs, drawings and so forth

5. The qualitites of the outdoors

6. Several studies find that spending time outdoors in natural environments has beneficial effects on children as well as adults.
Sensory perception
Being outdoors provides substantial and varied sensory input, which is why being outdoors strengthens the child’s basic awareness and offers versatile experiences.
Motor skills
When children move in an uneven and challenging outdoor terrain, their balance, gross motor skills and coordination all improve.

7. What’s this?

9. The qualitites of being outdoors
Physical qualitites
Children have a high activity level and are challenges physcially in nature, therefore strenght and stamina will increase and sick leave will decrease.
Social qualities
Nature offers varied social contanct and there is plenty of room. This means greater tolerance, fewer conflicts and the formation of new play groups.

10. The qualities of being outdoors
Emotional
Nature encourages immersion and has a soothing effect, while also inspiring other activities. Therefore, outdoor life helps decrease child stress levels.
Recognition
Outdoor activities, such as cave building and climbing, demands observations, assessments and decisions. Therefore, the child’s observational and problem solving skills will strengthen along with their concentration.

11. The qualities of being outdoors
The children’s places
The outdoors is not planned in detail and therefore is ideal for children to create and develop their own places.
Imagination and creativity
Nature is multifarious and there is no certain activitites tied to it. Therefore, children create their own games and magic.

13. What is the children’s opinion?
Is the grass also green at night?
”Nature is where you play and experience stuff”
When children report on their relationship with nature, it is the experiences, the challenges and the social interactions in nature that takes centre stage. Children’s relationship with nature is thus closely tied to the qualities found and documented in scientific studies. Apparently, it is not only a professional and grown-up perspective that nature offers challenges for the children, it is likewise a perspective shared by the children.

14. What about the study programme?
Pedagogical learning goals for children age 0-5.
THEME: NATURE, THE OUTDOORS AND SCIENCE
•The learning environment supports that every child receive concrete experiences with nature, which stimulates and develops their curiosity and desire to explore types of nature, natural phenomena and living organisms along with an initial understanding of the relevance of a sustainable development.
The learning environment supports that all children actively observe and explore natural phenomena in their surroundings and thereby gain experiences in recognising and expressing themselves on causes, effects and interrelations, including an initial mathematical awareness.

15. Nature lottery

16. Nature, the outdoors and science
An approach to the outdoors – with focus on being outdoors and giving space for the children to make their own experiences in nature.
An approach to nature – with focus on children’s experiences and initial understanding of nature and natural phenomena backed by the pedagogue.
An approach to science – with focus on children’s experiments and early introduction in scientific work methods together with the pedagogue.

18. A moving house