When I was still attending BYU Idaho and earning my degree in Professional Preschool Education, I had to take a seminar class for every semester of my student teaching. In this class, we learned about important topics that can make a huge difference in the field of both child development and early childhood education each semester. Although this class was only once a week, the things I learned were profound to say the least. In the second semester, we learned about why it's important for young children to be out in the natural world. There were instances where my professor told us how Denmark is well known for enforcing just that. So, with that being said, here are some facts about what preschool and day care is like in a country that I am grateful to have be part of my cultural makeup.
1. The word "børnehus" is Danish for children house. It is known to be kind of combined with daycare and preschool.
2. Most children in Denmark attend preschool full time and the cost is actually subsidized at exactly 75% by the Danish government. Children who attend preschool are to be three to six years old, infants and toddlers attend a separate type of daycare called "daypleje" or "vuggestue."
3. The reason why infants and toddlers attend a different type of daycare is because according to belief, children are not developmentally ready for structured academic learning.
4. Denmark's philosophy in teaching young children is "the time is better spent developing creativity, imagination, motor skills, social skills, and an interest in learning."
5. Lots of learning does happen in preschools in Denmark but they believe that most learning is through play. This is something I absolutely agree with and get to experience in the preschool I am currently working at.
Those are some of the basics, now here is the fun part, HOW and WHY Denmark maintains the belief that young children should be learning outdoors.
1. For starters, citizens of Denmark believe that children benefit so much from being outdoors and spending time out in nature.
2. Children spend most of their outdoor play time by participating in completely unstructured play. The playgrounds are filled with fun, enriching and interesting materials to facilitate play. Slides, seesaws, swings, play houses, are just to name a few. But one of the most popular materials is an actual item you can always find in a nature setting... trees!
3. But besides play, children are also given the chance to participate in regular activities and field trips including going for walks, visiting a nearby fijord (the inlet of the sea) or lakes, and my personal favorite: helping make apple juice!
4. Children who attend preschool in Denmark get to go outside EVERY DAY, rain or shine. The only time they don't is if the weather is inclement.
5. On cold fall and winter days, children are not only able to eat lunch outside, they are also able to help make a soup lunch. Cooking with young children is one of my personal favorite ways to teach them and the fact that Denmark does this, almost makes me want to immigrate there haha.
As you can see, when it comes to the development and education of young children, Denmark not only implements it, they are determined to help children grow in happy and healthy environments. The country allows them to be children which is how it should be in every part of the world. I loved researching this and revisiting a few of the things I learned in my seminar class. To end, here is my favorite quote about teaching young children: "Every child has a different learning style and pace. Each child is not only capable of learning but also capable of succeeding."
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