Fresh air and exercise books at Crann
September 3, 2013
Meath pre-schoolers started their education ‘al fresco’ yesterday in three of only four outdoor schools in the country.
Nearly 60 children will learn how to count with stones and create with muck and water at the open-air facilities in Navan, Trim, and Ballivor. The only other such school in the country is in Co Donegal.
In Meath, the initiative was started nearly three years ago in Navan by the Crann Support Group and further branches were opened in Trim and Ballivor last year. All schooling is done through Irish.
According to CEO Marie Daly: “In Denmark, the bus arrives for the children at 8am and takes them up the mountains to the woods for their pre-school day. It’s been long acknowledged in Scandinavian countries that the outdoors is far better for building up immune systems. The children love it — it’s the mindset of parents that we have to change.
“After all, there’s no such thing as bad weather — just inappropriate clothing! However, in cases of high winds or bad frost, the school management do take precautions and delay bringing the children out to the garden until the weather improves.
“The children wear special thermal and waterproof gear and stay in the garden for most of the day. We have no plastic in the outdoor school, just things like an old Aga cooker and pots and pans, where they can cook with muck and water.
“The young students sit on logs and learn how to count with stones. There is an old Traveller wagon for story-time as well. It’s the exact same programme as pre-schoolers learn indoors — only we do it inside-out.”
Ms Daly said many parents have seen the benefits of outdoor education in their children’s health — especially those with respiratory ailments. “One parent told me that their child was hospitalised four times with asthma last year but since they started here, they only had one minor attack,” she said.
All schools are approved by the Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme for free places. The Crann Support Group provides sustainable and affordable community childcare in Co Meath. More on the pre-schools and the group’s childcare services can be found at www.crannsupportgroup.ie
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