Outdoor Learning — A Year at Auchlone (DVD and booklet) by Claire Warden

Abstract

Children, Youth and Environments 23(2), 2013 Outdoor Learning – A Year at Auchlone (DVD and booklet) Claire Warden (2013). Perthshire, Scotland: Mindstretchers, Ltd., 19 pages (booklet); 30 minutes (DVD).£60. Available in the United States from www.ChildCareExchange.com. Claire Warden is an educational consultant based in Perthshire, Scotland and CEO of Mindstretchers, Ltd. Claire is an accomplished author of books and materials relating to early years’ methodology. She has developed an approach to experiential learning that is practiced at her two nature kindergartens, Auchlone and Whistlebrae. Claire lectures around the world and is part of the leadership group of consultants that make up the World Nature Collaborative. Warden’s body of work is extraordinary and extensive. As an educational consultant, she has developed a unique approach to early childhood nature education that finds its roots in the forest kindergarten movement in Europe. Her book, Nature Kindergartens and Forest Schools (now is its second edition; see review in this issue of Children, Youth and Environments), outlines her experiential educational methodology developed for young children, using case studies to illustrate the underlying elements inherent in this approach. The values that underpin the methodology are research-based and include such things as mixedage classes, creating a sense of community, respect for children, risk-full learning, and eco-friendly and sustainable living. This review focuses on one particular resource that she has developed; however, several other resources are mentioned, providing a context for its use. Outdoor Learning – A Year at Auchlone is the first of four DVDs that provide visual examples of practices mentioned in Nature Kindergartens and Forest Schools. This DVD, filmed at the Auchlone Nature Kindergarten, is perfect for practitioners working with children in natural settings and for parents to better understand the goals of a nature-based program. The DVDs were filmed over a year in 2011/12; the first, reviewed here, focuses on spring. Each new DVD is associated with the other seasons and focuses on specific practices. The DVD comes with a companion booklet that describes the practices shown and explains the organization and possible uses of the materials. Together, they serve as a training piece for teachers (and parents) to better understand the practices that are beautifully described in Warden’s Nature Kindergartens book. This particular DVD focuses on nine examples of practice: transitions, risk, adult role, trust, self-engagement, consulting children, sustainability, sense of place, and depth of learning. Each is described in the booklet, shown in the DVD, and ends with a question for reflection.© 2013 Children, Youth and Environments DVD Review: Outdoor Learning – A Year at Auchlone 221 Narrated by Warden herself, each concept or practice is described and depicted in the DVD, as the nature kindergarten class climbs trees in the forest, plants black currant bushes in the garden, or makes bread in the kinder kitchen. Each concept by itself is worthy of discussion so the questions for reflection presented at the end of each segment provide an opportunity to consider one’s own practice. For example, the first segment is focused on transitions. In the nature kindergarten, Warden suggests that “transitions happen daily, from inside to outside, from movement to still, from sound to silence.” In this segment, examples are provided of the daily transitions. The class is shown in a circle reviewing a “floorbook” that provides photographs that were taken at a previous time. The children are given time to reflect on their previous experiences (in this case, related to birds) and talk about what is coming next. The children are then shown hiking to the forest and then being very quiet as they approach a nesting bird. The question for reflection suggested at the end of the segment is “How do you support children through daily transitions?” Any program, whether or not it has the same kind of outdoor setting as the nature kindergarten, goes through daily transitions. Therefore the ideas are relatable and the reflection on one’s own practice becomes a valuable exercise. Throughout this DVD, Warden makes available ways for children to encounter the authentic experiences that nature provides. She suggests that adults need to facilitate rather than teach by modeling key behaviors and allowing children to...