more from the Rain and Shine preschools... (I Ur och Skur)

As promised a few of those photos from my last post about rain and shine preschools (I Ur of Skur) but with with some descriptions.

The outdoor space had a lots of home-made equipment in a natural setting. The ground was flat, grassy, but also in places sloped (gently and steeply in different places) and with rocks too... so not only was there different equipment to play on there was also different surfaces to explore and challenge the body.
The equipment might have been mostly home-made, but it was well cared for and maintained... this means it allows for risky play, but does not present a danger to the children.

The space was also huge... and with many hidden areas. For a small school this meant that at times there were areas that were "shut" to ensure safety. This did not restrict the children, as most spaces were wide and offered many options... what it did was ensure the children were within sight - even if they could go into creep-ins to hide, the teacher knew where they were.

 There were several wind-shelters allowing for a year round outdoor meetings - play is much easier to keep warm during the cold months - as when you are moving and active you are keeping warm. Sitting to eat or meet and talk is a time when the body can start cooling down... so being in shelters that protect from the cold wind (wind chill is not a favourite of mine... or most that I know) and there were also shelters with an even more wrap around shelter with fire pits, to help with warming up on the really cold days.

again, as I mentioned last time... these preschools priority was to get the children to enjoy being outside, to be fascinated with nature and to encourage a life-long joy for outdoor activities... children that get too cold will not be enjoying themselves and are likely to develop a negative response to the outside... So being outside is great when there are spaces to warm up too... and to be outside for the right length of time to maximise on the fun and not turn it into torture.
If the children are uncomfortable they will not be able to learn either.

Getting the parents involved... this is a dry river bed during the cold months of the year... but during the warmer ones they switch on the circulating water system to create a great space for water play. The parents built this with the staff.
it is dry during the winter so that the minus degrees do not burst the pipes as the water expands...
all playgrounds in Sweden switch off water play areas to prevent damage during the many winter months.

another of the indoor spaces was a small workshop shed, where there was plenty of materials for teachers and parents, but also for the children to get creative. The workbenches etc was just behind me in this photo, as well as shelves with the children's work sitting proud on them

 Despite having all this space... probably four times the size of the largest preschool garden I have worked at in the centre of Stockholm, the children are often taking trips out into the forest and to the lake which is close by.

Next week I will share some of the images from their indoor facilities.

Outdoor Inspiration from I Ur och Skur preschools

In October I visited two I Ur och Skur preschools on Lidingö, just outside Stockholm City.
I Ur och Skur means directly in hour and shower (UR is an old word for clock, or a word outside, or original as urskog means virgin forest (original untouched forest) - it can also be translated as the saying Rain or Shine - as in come rain or shine = no matter what.

The preschools we visited were Stubben and Mulleborg... Mulleborg being the first ever I Ur och Skur preschool.

What I really liked about visiting, aside from the fantastic grounds, the usage of the local nature and the enthusiastic and respectful staff was the fact there was a healthy relationship with the outdoors and indoors. These were not places that MADE the children be outside everyday all day, these were places that made the outdoors an attractive place to be so the children wanted to be there...
there is a huge difference.
The indoor area was used just about every day, and in a way that supported the children's enthusiasm for being outside.
The outside, the connection with nature was the focus but not to an extent that the children had to be outside.
Of course the preschools were successful, the children loved being outside.
The preschools chose to not have large numbers of children... so both preschools had a huge space (especially their outdoor spaces) in relation to the number of children. They also had enough staff to be able to give the attention to detail that nature requires. This allowed them to go in different size groups into the forest to explore without compromising safety. This means it gives children the space and time to engage in risky play without it being dangerous.

This is NOT forest school... this is not about schoolifying nature... this is about supporting the children to have positive relationships with nature, to play and learn naturally there, as they would anywhere else (of course in nature there is more freedom... and it can be forest, a meadow or a lake... not confined to school in a forest..)

Don't get me wrong it is GREAT that schools are getting out into nature and discovering children can learn there... discovering there is more than one way to learn.
But in a way this is something children already know... maybe forest school is more about educating adults into understanding transdisciplinary learning, new perspectives on learning, and the 100 language of learning... not JUST in a classroom with workbooks and "set activities" - a kind of controlled play.
Forest Schools are important in many places because they are that first step for the school system to learn that traditional school is not the ONLY answer.

But what I saw in these preschools was play, learning happening and being supported through play, freedom, social interactions being supported allowing for socially competent children (they have the space to develop at their own space, and not being forced into social situations before they master the skills/confidence due to small indoor spaces).

I also saw staff that believed in what they are doing, and also had a great joy for the outdoors... which sadly is not always the case, even in most Swedish preschools where I have encountered at least one (often more) pedagogues at every preschool I have spent real time at, that have not liked going outside. And this infects the children.
Creating a joyful and good relationship with the outdoors and with nature is essential. On that learning can be built.
If the children are negative or do not feel safe or inspired, then the learning and the play is never going to be as deep or as profound. Or of the kind desired by the Swedish School Authority - "Life Long Learning"

So here are some photos of the outdoor spaces to get you thinking
I fully realise not all of you will be able to create the same thing... lack of space, or policies that restrict. BUT the images can still inspire you to think what you can do in your own context.

The images are in no specific order... and in this post there will be no comments.
Tomorrow I will share some of these photos again, with comments and reflections.

Learning Mosaics

(på svenska efter bilden)

Late yesterday I returned from my adventures in Palestine and Israel...
I have met many people, seen many things, experienced them with all my senses and have been making connections...

Connections between what I have seen and experienced to how I am as an educator and how I strive to be as an educator...

I have seen more ancient mosaics in the last few days than I have in the rest of my entire life... and it has left an impression...

Nona asked me if I was to bring one thing that represented me right now what would it be... after an initial panic and feeling of anxiety... what on earth could represent me right now... I realised that single piece of mosaic would be it... I have a clear image of the cube, mostly clay with a painted surface square.. a tiny part of a whole.
And that is how I feel... I feel like a tiny part of a whole... not in an insignificant way, but as an essential part of a learning mosaic. Like all educators are, and all learners.

I am collecting my pieces... from educators around the world, from books and articles, from research, from art therapists (like the amazing Nona - check out her blog - The Good Enough Studio), from nature, from experiences etc etc... and I am connecting them together to create a bigger picture...

On my instagram account I have been sharing images of the mosaics - and if you take the time to check them out you will see that the pieces can be put together in so many different ways to tell different stories, evoke different feelings and to aesthetically please a diverse audience...
and this is what i like... that in education we need to piece together our learning to create a pedagogy that works for us in our our own context... not copy-paste images, but to take the time to place the pieces to create a whole.

My mosaic will stand the test of time... that is my hope... just like the Roman mosaics I saw... and even got to stand upon (that blew my mind... to walk on such complex beauty, that feet centuries ago have walked upon), but at the same time I want my mosaic to be flexible... I have learned, as an educator, that what works in one place, or with one group of children, will not necessarily work in or with another... I need to be able to re-design my mosaic... to put aside the pieces that are no longer needed and add the ones that are... To document my original design, and why I designed it that way, and to save it just in case it will work another day... I do not have to re-invent every time.

So in the coming weeks the metaphor of the mosaic will be surfacing in my posts as I try to unpack it, and make sense of it, and learn.
The other word that is requiring me to take time to explore is "connections".

Sent igår återvände jag från mina äventyr i Palestina och Israel ...
Jag har träffat många människor, sett många saker, upplevt dem med alla mina sinnen och har sett samband

Samband mellan vad jag har sett och upplevt med hur jag är som pedagog och hur jag strävar efter att vara som pedagog ...

Jag har sett mer gamla mosaik under de senaste dagarna än jag under resten av hela mitt liv ... och det har lämnat ett intryck ...

Nona frågade mig, om jag skulle ta med en sak som representerade mig just nu vad skulle det vara ... efter en första panik och känsla av ångest ... vad i hela friden kunde representera mig just nu...? jag insåg att en enda mosaikdel skulle vara det ... Jag har en tydlig bild av kuben, mestadels lera med en målad yta. En liten del av en helhet.
Och det är så jag känner ... Jag känner mig som en liten del av en helhet ... inte på ett obetydligt sätt, men som en väsentlig del av en lärande mosaik. Som alla pedagoger och alla studenter.

Jag samlar in mina bitar ... från utbildare runt om i världen, från böcker och artiklar, från forskning, från konstterapeuter (som den fantastiska Nona - kolla in hennes blogg - The Good Enough Srudio), från naturen, från erfarenheter/upplevelser etc etc. .. och jag förbinder dem tillsammans för att skapa en större bild ...

På mitt Instagramkonto har jag delat bilder av mosaiken - och om du tar dig tid att kolla ut dem ser du att bitarna kan sättas samman på så många olika sätt att berätta olika historier, framkalla olika känslor och estetiskt tillfredställa en mångsidig publik ...
och det här är precis vad jag tycker om ... att vi i förskolan/skolan måste sammanfoga vår lärande för att skapa en pedagogik som fungerar för oss i vårt eget sammanhang ... inte kopiera-klistra in bilder, men att ta tid att placera bitarna för att skapa en helhet

Min mosaik kommer att stå tidstestet ... det är mitt hopp ... precis som de romerska mosaikerna som jag såg... och till och med fick stå på (det var helt otrolig att jag fick gå på en så komplex skönhet som fötter för århundraden sedan har gått på), men samtidigt vill jag att min mosaik ska vara flexibel ... Jag har, som lärare, lärt mig att det som fungerar på ett ställe eller med en grupp barn, inte nödvändigtvis kommer att fungera i eller med en annan... Jag måste kunna omskapa min mosaik ... för att lägga undan bitarna som inte längre behövs och lägga till de som nu behövs... Att dokumentera min ursprungliga design och varför jag designade den på det sättet,  för att spara det ifall det kommer att fungera igen en dag ... Jag behöver inte uppfinna varje gång.

Så under de närmaste veckorna kommer mosaikens metafor att dyka upp i mina inlägg, eftersom jag försöker packa upp det och förstå det och lära mig.
Det andra ordet som kräver att jag tar tid att utforska är "samband/anslutningar".