Ko te Ngahere - Our Forest Programme

That moment of Wonder is the source of all spiritual growth 

 - Richard Louv

Forest Kindergartens are preschools in the outdoors, usually in a forest, but there are preschools with programmes at the beach. Children attending a forest kindergarten spend most, if not all, of their time in the outdoors. There are several types of forest kindergartens, some have their base away from the forest, some have their base inside the forest, whilst some forest kindergartens do not have a base at all and are totally immersed in the natural environment. The kindergarten may have a shelter in the forest for assemblies like snack time, lunch time and/or nap time, or for shelter from severe weather. In general the children play and learn outside regardless the weather, wearing clothes suitable for the prevailing weather. The shelter can be a building, a hut, a yurt, a caravan, or even a teepee. Forest kindergartens have been a part of the Scandinavian preschool education for over 30 years. They are also common in Germany and Denmark and are spreading through the rest of Europe and Northern America. Children attending forest kindergartens play, and explore in the outdoors, with natural objects in their environment used as tools for their learning. Singing, dancing, stories, and other activities all take place in the he outdoor setting.

At Little Earth we are committed to giving children real lief and authentic experiences. Our beautiful outdoor environment, the ever changing theatre of nature, is the ideal environment where children can be active and concrete learners. It is constantly changing, highly attractive and full of beauty. Since the opening of Little Earth in 2009 we have been taking our children on Forest Walks. We have a beautiful native forest reserve near our preschool. Nikau Reserve is a lush nikau palm forest, frequently visited by kereru and tui and other native birds.

The Forest Walks at Little Earth are very popular with our children and parents, who join us on our forest walks. The children play and explore the forest and are introduced to the beautiful treasures of Tane, the guardian of the forest, according to Maori legend. The forest environment provides many challenges and interesting features for the children to play and explore. They are happy climbing over logs, lifting up branches and exploring the stream, using sticks for “fishing”, jumping over the stream or just walking through it. The many palm leaves on the forest floor also provide plenty of challenges.  There are plenty of fungus and insects on the fallen logs alongside the path, and the children enjoy observing them. We do not bring toys, instead we bring  magnifiers, field guides, and binoculars for the children to use. At the end of the track, just outside the forest, is a picnic table where we sit down for a moment, talk about our experiences, make sure everybody is accounted for and start our walk back to Little Earth.

Exploring and immersing into the natural environment is a beautiful way of introducing the children to the Earth, with the aim to develop their understanding of care and respect. We do not take any treasures out of the forest, what is in the forest, stays in the forest. Each creature deserves our care and respect. We do not have a shelter of any sorts in Nikau Reserve, but we do visit the forest two or three times per week for a whole morning session.  We have our own Forest Song, composed and written by one of our teachers. We sing our Ko the Ngahere song when we enter and exit the forest, which is always a special experience.

On several occasions over the last few weeks a kereru, or native woodpigeon, has come down to sit on a branch, watching the children when they are singing and entering the forest. A magical moment for all of us. In the words of Richard Louv: "That moment of Wonder is the source of all spiritual growth".

- Anja