In Prague, a nursery school without walls
| Prague, Czech Republic
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
It鈥檚 a bright and blustery day as the students attending Sem铆nko nursery school in Prague, Czech Republic, arrive. But no one is going inside, and there鈥檚 no field trip planned. Here, nature is the classroom.
鈥淲hen children are in an outdoor preschool, they are healthy, independent, more creative, [and] have improved motor skills and better concentration,鈥� says Magdalena Kapuci谩nov谩, the school鈥檚 director. 鈥淪o far, we have had a high demand from parents; lots of them want their children to attend.鈥�
Sem铆nko opened this September as the first 鈥渇orest nursery school鈥� to be approved by the Ministry of Education. It鈥檚 located on the grounds of Toulcuv Dvur, an environmental education center in the suburbs of Prague. The kids have instant contained access to rolling fields, trees, and a range of animals.
In the summer they work in a garden and learn to recognize trees and leaves. As autumn turns to winter, new learning opportunities appear, such as the sets of tracks made by birds revealed by the wet ground. As the morning walk through the woods begins, the geese get a wave, and everyone stops to say good morning to the pigs. Leaves are picked up and examined and the children are fully engaged with their surroundings. Ms. Kapuci谩nov谩 adds that they haven鈥檛 had a child yet start to cry when Mom or Dad left.
鈥淭hey have a lot of things to do and they look forward to the day,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e teach them to love nature, keep active, and be independent.鈥�
