A while back, forest kindergartens and preschools—like those in Germany and Switzerland—started to make waves in the US and the UK. You can read the links to learn more, but the basic idea is that preschool or kindergarten is held outside. All the time. In all seasons. Kids are outside in nature with no traditional toys, learning about the earth by playing with and in the earth, with adults gently guiding them as need be (or engaging them with a full curriculum).
When we were still living in Sweden, I learned about a new movement based in the United States called Free Forest School, and was intrigued. I immediately searched for a branch in Corvallis, and was disappointed to see that there wasn't one. So after the dust settled from our repatriation, I started a chapter myself.
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Does anyone else ever feel that going to work is like taking a vacation compared to being home with three-foot-tall tyrants all day? That parenting is the most difficult thing you've ever done, far more challenging than any job? Further, that being a parent has forced you to develop skills, strategies, and coping mechanisms you didn't have when you were childless? I have certainly felt all of these things, and a few years ago I thought I should write a "mom resume" to articulate how I'd developed as a person since becoming a mother....
Sorry for the recent silence. (Seems like I've made that apology too much lately.) It was unexpected even to me that I would disappear from this space for over a month, but I've been working on something lately that has taken every moment of my free time.......
I was flipping through a local magazine for moms last week when I came across an interview with the cover mom, a local business owner. One of the questions, thrown unceremoniously into the middle of the interview, was, "Your biggest wish for your kids is..." Can you guess the answer?
Here's a pertinent question for the holiday season: do you prefer to shop at locally-owned stores rather than big box stores or online? If so, are you willing to pay a higher price to do so?
