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Nature and environmental education plays an important role in early childhood education. In this article we will look at the importance of nature and environmental education in different pedagogical concepts and show how these concepts include nature and the environment in the children's learning process.

1. forest and nature kindergartens

Forest or nature kindergartens focus their work on the children's direct contact with nature. In these daycare centres, the children spend most of the day outdoors and experience nature up close. Nature is used as a learning space and source of inspiration to awaken the children's interest in the environment and to promote their understanding of ecological interrelationships.

Role in nature and environmental education:

• Direct contact with nature

• Nature as a learning space and source of inspiration

• Development of environmental awareness and ecological understanding

The concept of the movement kindergarten focuses on the holistic promotion of children through movement. It is based on the idea of giving children plenty of space and time for free movement and thus supporting their motor, cognitive and social development.

More than just romping and playing

A movement kindergarten is a facility that specialises in promoting the motor development and well-being of children. The focus is on targeted movement activities that are tailored to the needs and abilities of the children. Attention is paid to a child-friendly design of the environment and the play materials. In this article you will learn how a movement kindergarten is structured and what advantages it offers for child development.

Basics of the movement kindergarten

A movement kindergarten is characterised by a child-friendly design that is specifically adapted to the needs and abilities of the children. The environment and the play materials are designed in such a way that they support and encourage the children's natural urge to move. Care is taken to ensure that the activities are varied and diverse in order to train and improve the children's motor skills.

An important aspect of the movement kindergarten is the teaching of joy and competence in movement. The children should learn to consciously perceive their bodies and to move in a targeted way. They should develop a sense for their own abilities and limits and learn to accept and respect them. The promotion of social skills also plays an important role. Through joint movement experiences, the children learn to show consideration for each other and to work together.

Origin

The concept of the movement kindergarten emerged at the end of the 1960s within the framework of reform pedagogy. The idea behind it was to give children more space and time for movement and to promote it as a central component of child development. The movement kindergarten sees itself as a kind of "movement space" in which children can move freely and without constraint. This is not only about physical movement, but also about emotional, social and cognitive movement.

The emergence of the movement kindergarten is closely linked to the person of the Swiss doctor and educator Emmi Pikler. Pikler dealt intensively with the development of movement in children and developed a concept based on the freedom and self-determination of the child. Movement development should not be disturbed by external influences such as coercion or excessive demands.

In the 1970s, the first movement kindergartens were established in Germany, based on the ideas of Emmi Pikler. Since then, the concept of the movement kindergarten has evolved and is now used in many day care centres. The aim is to provide children with a positive movement experience that promotes their motor, cognitive and social development. The focus is on the needs and interests of the children.

Movement kindergarten in practice

In a movement kindergarten, there are different movement offers that are specifically adapted to the children's motor skills. These include, for example:

• Climbing facilities such as ladders, ropes and nets

• Exercise course and obstacle courses

• Slides, swings and seesaws

• Balls, hoops and other play materials

• The children have the opportunity to move freely and discover their surroundings. The teachers make sure that all children are supported appropriately and that no one is overtaxed. The alternation between movement and rest phases is also important to promote balanced development.

The concept of bilingual education describes the learning of a foreign language in the day care centre. The children learn according to the so-called immersion principle. The aim is to give the children access to a second language, such as English, as early as possible.

Background globalisation

Interconnections between nation states on a cultural and social level have been steadily increasing in Europe since the end of the Second World War. As a result, multilingualism is playing an increasingly important role in education. Bilingual day-care centres are therefore becoming increasingly popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Globalisation on a cultural and social level is the driving force behind this, but there is also a view in modern pedagogy to provide children with language support as early as possible. The reasons for this are obvious. On the one hand, learning a second language opens up better opportunities for children in their later careers. On the other hand, studies have shown that children between the ages of 3 and 5 are particularly receptive and able to learn, and learning another language is therefore relatively easy for them.

In the educational approach of Froebel, the central element is that the child is perceived as its own individual with its own needs. Froebel-oriented day care centres offer a stimulating environment for holistic learning.

Fröbel pedagogy: a holistic education for children

The Fröbel pedagogy, named after its founder Friedrich Fröbel, aims to promote the development of children in a variety of ways. It emphasises the importance of play, creativity and social learning for the growth and development of the personality. In this article we will explain the basics of Fröbel's pedagogy, its principles and the benefits for child development. Discover why a daycare place that is oriented towards the Fröbel pedagogy could be the right choice for your child.

In the concept of Reggio pedagogy, reform pedagogical approaches are combined with new innovative ideas of child education. Reggio pedagogy places the child at the centre and is not a rigid concept, but a school of thought on child education.

Reggio Pedagogy: A Pedagogical Concept for Day Care Centres

Reggio Pedagogy is an innovative educational concept that has its roots in the northern Italian town of Reggio Emilia. The method emerged after the Second World War under the leadership of Loris Malaguzzi, an Italian educator who worked closely with the citizens of Reggio Emilia to build a new education system for their children. Over the years, Reggio Pedagogy developed into an internationally recognised approach that is clearly distinguished from other pedagogical concepts such as the Fröbel pedagogy, the Montessori education or the Situational approach takes off.

Origin and basic ideas of Reggio Pedagogy

Loris Malaguzzi was convinced that children are active, curious and creative beings from birth, capable of shaping their own learning processes. He saw education as a collaborative process based on dialogue and cooperation between children, educators and parents. Central to Reggio education is the notion that children have "100 languages" to express themselves and explore the world. These "languages" can manifest themselves in artistic, musical, physical, linguistic or emotional forms of expression.

Unlike in the Pestalozzi Pedagogy which emphasises the holistic development of children through head, heart and hand, Reggio pedagogy emphasises the importance of the aesthetic, cultural and social dimensions of learning.

Concept of Reggio Pedagogy

Reggio pedagogy is based on three fundamental principles:

• The image of the child: Reggio pedagogy assumes that every child is unique, competent and curious and has great potential to explore and understand the world. In contrast to other pedagogical approaches, such as the Fröbel pedagogy which considers play as the central method of learning, Reggio pedagogy focuses on children's diverse forms of expression and their interaction with the environment.

• The environment as a third educator: The spatial design of the day-care centres plays an essential role in Reggio pedagogy, as it is regarded as the "third educator". The environment should encourage the children's curiosity and creativity and offer them a variety of opportunities to develop their "100 languages". Natural materials, light and colours are used consciously to create a stimulating learning atmosphere. This aspect differs from concepts such as the Forest or nature kindergarten where the natural environment itself serves as a place to learn and play.

In concrete terms, the approach of religious education is about offering children an approach to religion that supports them in developing and deepening their religious faith in later life. The concept of religious education is based on four dimensions: meeting the child in the concrete life situation, providing positive basic experiences, accepting learning without reservation and the spiritual path.

The different dimensions in religious education

Dimension 1: Picking up the child in the concrete life situation

The dimension is about being oriented towards the needs of the children. The educators: Inside, they should question and analyse the children's actions. From this they should recognise which need the children are currently lacking. For example, if a child cries because a wish is not fulfilled, the educators should recognise what it is about and then, for example, take the child in their arms and comfort them.

Dimension 2: Providing positive basic experiences

The focus of this dimension is to strengthen the child's basic trust in itself, its fellow human beings and nature. The educators should show the child love, affection and appreciation. The children should learn that who they are - with their strengths and weaknesses and their personality - is okay and normal. Furthermore, the child should be shown that it can rely on others. In this way, the children should also be able to master difficult situations and challenges in the future.

Dimension 3: Accepting learning without reservation

Similar to the concept ofOpen pedagogy of mindfulness the child should experience that he or she is accepted and loved just as he or she is, regardless of character, appearance and life situation. The effect of the educators as role models is central here. The children should learn to accept without reservation.

First things first: This approach is not about children not being allowed to use toys in the kindergarten. On the contrary, they should even play/craft, but not primarily with industrial toys, but with objects such as pillows, blankets, cloths or natural materials.

Idea: Addiction prevention

The toy-free approach originated in Germany in the 1990s. The basic idea is to teach children more life skills. The basis for the concept are observations in the therapy of alcoholics, which show that well-developed life skills are a prevention against addiction. Life skills are understood as psychosocial abilities that enable children to cope productively with difficulties in life and to deal with other people in an adequate manner.

Goal: More life skills

By not using commercial toys, the creativity of the children should be encouraged. The children should already play, but they should develop their own ideas for play with the materials available. This should strengthen creativity, self-determination, problem-solving skills and the ability to relate to others.

The point is that children do not learn to compensate for negative experiences and emotions by buying or using toys, but to find a way to deal with them. Other goals of the toy-free approach are: To become aware of their own needs and feelings and learn to deal with them, to build frustration tolerance and to promote social relationships and communication skills. In the toy-free approach, the educators function primarily as companions and observers of the children.

Planning is half the battle

When implementing a toy-free play idea in a day-care centre, the planning phase is especially crucial. Children need to be prepared for the removal of toys and it needs to be explained to them what exactly is happening around them. Role plays, story or conversations are suitable for this. Subsequently, the classic toys are put away for a certain period of time (3 to 6 months). The teachers do not give instructions for possible games but give the children the opportunity to simply "discover". However, it is crucial for the success of the project to effectively involve the parents, especially in the beginning, so that they accompany the process.

Theatre education is about playing with the children in a theatre-like situation. This enables the children to immerse themselves in different roles and thus stimulate their imagination and creativity.

Linguistic & Social Component

On a linguistic level, the vocabulary is expanded. In this way, children learn new terms and ways of expressing themselves. Furthermore, verbal and non-verbal language is promoted. Gestures and facial expressions can be better understood and used. In addition to empathy and consideration, interaction and cohesion are also particularly promoted here.

Cognitive & Musically Creative Component

On a cognitive level, memory, concentration, perseverance and holistic thinking are promoted. In the musical-creative area, imagination and creative expression are strengthened and learning how to use different materials is made possible.

Biological-vital & emotional component

The children's gross and fine motor skills are explicitly trained. Theatre play stimulates the children's joy of movement and improves their body awareness. On an emotional level, the understanding of roles, self-perception and self-confidence are strengthened and the ability to make decisions is trained.

The theatre pedagogy and the enthusiasm for it should of course be present in the children as well as in the educators. This makes the concept a successful mixture that promotes the social, emotional and aesthetic competence of the children and stimulates their creativity and imagination.

This relatively new approach is primarily concerned with supporting children in the development and expansion of their self-, material and social competences as well as activating the children's own potential and resources in order to promote their development as far as possible.

Action- and experience-oriented concept

The situational approach goes back to the German scientist Armin Krenz. Krenz conceived the situation-oriented approach based on the situational approach in the 1980s. The situational approach focuses on the children's experiences. Based on findings from different scientific fields (developmental psychology, educational research, neurobiology and attachment research), the situational approach assumes that the behaviour and actions of children / people are structured by the experiences and experiences they have had before. In other words, the present constructs itself through our past. This is the starting point for the situation-oriented approach, which wants to enable the children to process, understand and relive experiences they have had. In this way, the children should build up socio-emotional and practical life skills in order to be able to cope successfully with challenging situations in later life.

Three pillars of the situation-oriented approach

Thefirst premise refers to the experiences and communication between children and adults. Children have six modes of expression (behaviour, play, language, painting/drawing, movement and dreams) in which they can process and work through their experiences. In the situational approach, the forms of expression are seen as symbolic and coded messages that must first be deciphered and interpreted by the adults.

Thesecond pillar of the approach is the role of the educators. In the situation-oriented approach, their main task is to support the children in their self-development. With their behaviour, the educators are also role models for the children. They should be characterised by a high level of curiosity, willingness to learn and motivation.

The third pillar of the approach are projects. Project work is given by the children. The children deal with what is currently interesting and important for them. This is to be experienced together with children in everyday life so that they can draw the greatest possible benefit for their later lives.

The concept of systemic education is based on the findings of systems theory. Based on this, the child is also perceived as part of a system and the child's actions are classified and reflected in the systemic framework.

A holistic approach to promoting development processes

Systemic pedagogy is a pedagogical concept based on a holistic view of people and their environment. It assumes that the human being must be considered as part of a system and that changes in the system and in the relationships between the people involved can lead to positive development processes. In this article we will take a closer look at systemic pedagogy and its areas of application in educational practice.

Fundamentals of systemic pedagogy

Systemic pedagogy is closely related to systemic therapy and is based on similar principles. It assumes that everyone is in relationships and that these relationships influence each other. This means that changes in one relationship can have an impact on all other relationships in the system.

Another important principle of systemic education is the consideration of systems as a whole. This means that not only the individual person, but also his or her environment, relationships and society as a whole must be considered. Pedagogical interventions should aim to bring about changes in the system and in the relationships between the people involved.

Areas of application of systemic pedagogy

Systemic pedagogy can be applied in many areas of pedagogical practice, for example in schools, in education, in youth welfare or in family work. An important area of application of systemic pedagogy is the work with families, especially in case of educational problems or problems in the relationship between parents and children.

Another area of application of systemic pedagogy is working with groups. Here, the aim is to improve relationships between group members and bring about changes in the system. Systemic pedagogy can also be applied in schools to improve relationships between teachers and students and to positively influence the learning environment.

Practical application of systemic pedagogy

The practical application of systemic pedagogy takes place through systemic diagnosis and intervention. Not only the individual persons are considered, but also the relationships between the persons and the environment. Systemic diagnostics is usually done through interviews and conversations with the persons involved.

Educational interventions are planned and implemented on the basis of the diagnosis. These can, for example, consist of changing relationship patterns, adapting behaviour or changing environmental factors. The aim is always to look at the system as a whole and to bring about changes that promote positive development processes.