Don't Forget South Central

On the afternoon of my second day shadowing Sara Kall, nature school teacher from Kokkola, I was prepared to sit in the back of a room, taking notes on my laptop, while Sara trained 7 early education teachers at Triselvran Pre-School. The two-hour training was a service that nature schools provide to traditional schools. Because of the vast autonomy of schools and teachers in the educational system of Finland, some schools may not sign up for the sponsor program that sends children for monthly full day field trips to nature. Instead, they may choose to sign up for four days a year of this. Or they may choose to request Sara’s services to train teachers to do the nature activities themselves. We were at one of these such trainings, and Sara had her box of tricks with her. Upon arrival at 4:00 pm, we set up the box…in the snow, on the playground. Of course, we would be outside…in 10 degrees….it’s a nature training! I was sheepish. For the next two hours, Sara trained...

Sara Kall, Nature School Teacher, Villa Elba Youth Center One of the goals of my Fulbright project was not only to examine how Finnish schools incorporate break time into their schedules, but how much of that time is spent outdoors. How do kids know what to do outdoors? Do the teachers follow them around? Do kids have to be strictly supervised? Is there a difference between the activities of boys vs. girls? To that end, my goal here in Finland has been not only to observe schools, but also nature organizations that might support outdoor learning and experiences. I hit the lottery with the help of nature school teacher Maria Svens, who I reached out to before I even arrived in the country. Her article about the Finnish Outdoor Classroom gave me an overview of how organizations can support schools in teaching students about nature. Maria then connected me with Sara Kall from the Villa Elba Youth Center in Kokkola, Finland where I was fortunate to be able to spend tw...