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Nature Area ‹ <strong>SIK</strong>-<strong>Holz</strong>®<br />

09<br />

The child's interest<br />

dep<strong>en</strong>ds on the<br />

possibility of making<br />

his own discoveries.<br />

m. montessori<br />

Natural Area<br />

Experi<strong>en</strong>ce and understand nature<br />

With relatively small financial means, dreary schoolyards<br />

can be turned into op<strong>en</strong> air laboratories for<br />

a dynamic and <strong>en</strong>thusiastic learning experi<strong>en</strong>ce. To<br />

achieve this, every schoolyard needs a sustainable<br />

"gre<strong>en</strong> framework" of trees, shrubs, lawns and flower<br />

beds. The more diversity, the better. It is comparatively<br />

easy to bring a beautiful flower field to the schoolyard.<br />

It requires only a pieces of op<strong>en</strong> soil. Already in the<br />

first year many wild herbs will grow.<br />

The interaction of flora and fauna can be increased<br />

within the areas of the schoolyard which are not<br />

frequ<strong>en</strong>ted very much. By creating heaps of leaves and<br />

stones, and ideally also a small pond, many birds, insects<br />

and small animals will be attracted to the schoolyard.<br />

Nesting boxes and insect hotels can be built to<br />

observe those animals. Each child should also be able<br />

to experi<strong>en</strong>ce the life of a plant from sowing to harvest<br />

during his school days. No great efforts are necessary<br />

for this. A small bed for each child, about half a<br />

square meter, is suffici<strong>en</strong>t. Raised beds with a height<br />

of 50 cm are especially advantageous. Here, childr<strong>en</strong><br />

who use wheelchairs or carry prostheses can also do<br />

gard<strong>en</strong> work. Another way to create a little gard<strong>en</strong> for<br />

each child is to use mobile vegetable boxes that can be<br />

tak<strong>en</strong> home during the holidays. After the harvest, the<br />

vegetables can be prepared and eat<strong>en</strong> together. Or it is<br />

processed into jam, dried fruit or tea. All of these are<br />

defining social experi<strong>en</strong>ces with very complex learning<br />

cont<strong>en</strong>ts. In the computer age these things must not<br />

be lost.<br />

Each child should also learn how waste food and plant<br />

matter become valuable compost. Here the importance<br />

of earthworms, snails, beetles and other bugs can be<br />

learned through observation. Simple compost containers<br />

can be constructed by stacking and wedging some<br />

wood<strong>en</strong> boards. By ev<strong>en</strong>ly mixing dry and wet waste,<br />

annoying odors are prev<strong>en</strong>ted. But these also belong to<br />

the s<strong>en</strong>sual experi<strong>en</strong>ce of nature in a schoolyard.<br />

Other s<strong>en</strong>sory experi<strong>en</strong>ces in the schoolyard can be<br />

self-built wind chimes that hang in the trees and<br />

appeal to the s<strong>en</strong>se of hearing. Or the familiar touch<br />

path, which, by touching natural elem<strong>en</strong>ts with feet<br />

or hands, trains the tactile s<strong>en</strong>se and the temperature<br />

s<strong>en</strong>se. The s<strong>en</strong>se of balance is trained by interesting<br />

opportunities for movem<strong>en</strong>t. There are many examples<br />

for this on the following pages. Only the <strong>en</strong>tirety of<br />

the s<strong>en</strong>ses lets us experi<strong>en</strong>ce the dim<strong>en</strong>sions of our self.

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