Extended outdoor kindergarten environments
In this part of ECTE – DigiTools, you will meet pedagogical coordinator Angelina Pejic Obradovic and academic developer Yvonne Hoff Standal from Sande kindergarten. They reflect on how children can use the areas outside the kindergarten’s own outdoor area – what we have called the extended outdoor kindergarten environment. Every local area is different, and every local area offers some type of opportunities and limitations for children. In the three films, you will hear more about the pedagogical assessments that the employees of Sande kindergarten have made related to children’s exploration of the environments around the kindergarten, and in the academic text 3 ‘Opportunities and limitations of the extended outdoor kindergarten environment’, this is discussed in more detail. In addition, you will have the opportunity to explore and academically reflect on the impressions you get through the 360° simulator. The teaching programme culminates in an assignment with questions where you get the opportunity to develop your own experiences and thoughts.
Video 1: How to use the local environment pedagogically?
Reflection questions:
After watching this film from Sande kindergarten, what questions do you think are important to consider when establishing pedagogical use of the kindergarten’s extended outdoor area?
Name at least two things you noticed when it comes to choosing destinations for walks in the neighbourhood and how they can be utilised pedagogically.
Video 2: Examples of Sande kindergarten’s use of its local area.
Watch the video, read text 3 ‘Opportunities and limitations of the extended outdoor kindergarten environment’ and move on to the associated assignment.
Explore
The 360° simulator gives you the opportunity to explore two selected outdoor environments more closely, and reflect on the opportunities that the local areas around Sande kindergarten can give children of different ages. Use your mouse cursor to move around, and clicking on hotspots will bring up a more detailed image showing what can be found in the area and suggestions for further reflection. By clicking on ‘reflection’ at the top right of the simulator, you will find suggestions for reflection questions that, together with the text ‘Opportunities and limitations of the extended outdoor kindergarten environment’, are intended to help you in your further thought process. Both the work involving hotspots and the more general reflection questions can be carried out in groups, individually or also in a combination of these work methods.
Video 3: The adult role and the kindergarten’s use of the extended outdoor environment
ASSIGNMENT
If possible, the assignment should be carried out in groups.
Study a satellite image of your own kindergarten, a kindergarten you have experienced from supervised professional training or a randomly selected kindergarten. What opportunities and limitations does the local area offer for this kindergarten?
How can good progression be made when selecting different destinations for walks in the neighbourhood?
What experiences do you think the children can gain in the different places, and how can one build on these experiences in the kindergarten’s pedagogical work?
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