Life lessons without electricity and running water: children in Litoměřice enjoying new ‘forest kindergarten’
‘Forest kindergartens’ are a growing phenomenon in Czechia, offering children aged 3-6 educational and fun activities, and plenty of fresh air. One such kindergarten has recently opened close to the town of Litoměřice.
While the first such school was established in Denmark in the 1950s, they are a much more recent innovation in Czechia, with the first “forest kindergarten” only set up in 2010 in the Prague district of Hostivař. Their goal is to keep children outside in the woods, fields and meadows all day, except at lunchtime and in cases of very bad weather.
In a forest close to Litoměřice, a town 55 km north of Prague, a new forest kindergarten has recently been set up in the village of Hlinná. Sixteen children took part in the kindergarten’s inaugural summer season. The children got to spend all their time outside and sometimes sleep outside under the stars, although the kindergarten can also handle bad weather. In case of summer storms, children there can eat, play and sleep in the kindergarten’s yurt – a large, tent-like structure, with plenty of place for the kindergarten’s young attendees. While made primarily from wood and fabric, the yurt also comes with glass windows to let in the light. It is prepared for the winter months too, with insulation and small stoves for heating.
The forest kindergarten is currently without running water or electricity, but there are plans to change that. The outdoor school has been such a success that the town council of Litoměřice aims to provide it with eco-friendly solar panels and also to extend its opening times for future classes. The curriculum includes lessons about plants and animals, as well as plenty of time for games. Rather than being cooped up in a classroom, forest kindergartens offer children the environment to let their imaginations run wild, and to run wild themselves.
Over 200 kindergartens currently operate in the country, but the initiative was only given full legislative support in 2016. This followed a report by the Ministry of Education in 2013, which stated that forest kindergartens can provide for young children as well as regular kindergartens can. With state and public support, we can expect even more young Czechs to be putting down roots in the forests of Czechia.
