Over the Easter break myself (Kierna Corr the nursery teacher) & Jill Somerville the nursery teacher in Howard Primary went to Eikefjord in Norway to work in our Erasmus partner kindergarten. Two of our Croatian partners joined us too. We spent 5 & a half days shadowing their teachers to see how they work with their 3-4 year olds & 5-6 year olds. During the time we also had the chance to see how the 2-3 year olds used the space. In the 3-4 & 5-6 classes there are around 15 children & 3 staff members; 2 teachers & 1 assistant & this really makes such a difference in all they can offer to the children.
In 2008 I also went to work for a week with the outdoor group in this kindergarten and that had a huge influence on the outdoor play approach in the nursery.
We got to go to the forest on two different days & to separate wooded areas around the kindergarten. The children are all very adept at walking up steep banks & climbing trees & staff trust them a lot & don’t interfere as much as we probably do when someone gets stuck or children squabble.
On one morning we went out on the fjord in the kindergarten boat with 4 children to do some fishing!
The children spent most of the day outdoors only going inside to rest & sometimes to eat if they were having a hot meal.
The kindergarten has a huge outdoor space & lots of different areas for the children to play in. Staff emphasised that it was all about developing good physical & social skills for their children. It was lovely to see no pressure on 4-6 year olds to sit at desks & read & write.
We had such a wonderful time & the staff & children were so friendly & helpful.
Over the Easter weekend we had 5 days to explore & visited some beautiful places.
Watch this space to see what ideas I will try in nursery!
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