Danish preschool

[Anonymous]

Could you imagine sending your child to a preschool like this one?

https://youtu.be/Jkiij9dJfcw

The boy in the tree seems crazy to me. The children whittling with knives stresses me out.

[Anonymous]

Never

[Anonymous]

Prepper Preschool -- these kids will SURVIVE!

[Anonymous]

Doesn't bother me, but it worries my husband. We've been introducing knives and scissors slowly to the 3 year old.

[Anonymous]

The Danes are the inspiration for High Tech High, a public charter school in San Diego that was founded in part by Qualcomm to address the skills gap in the high tech sector. They might be on to something. Our kids need to know how to take risks. We coddle them so much. Back in the day, kids had to help out on the farm etc. and definitely knew how to handle tools, sharp things and drive tractors. Now we want to protect them from every thing. Maybe we should take a page from the Danes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Danes are the inspiration for High Tech High, a public charter school in San Diego that was founded in part by Qualcomm to address the skills gap in the high tech sector. They might be on to something. Our kids need to know how to take risks. We coddle them so much. Back in the day, kids had to help out on the farm etc. and definitely knew how to handle tools, sharp things and drive tractors. Now we want to protect them from every thing. Maybe we should take a page from the Danes.

blah. I am so tired of the whole "we must let our coddled children play with knives!" claptrap. If YOU want your child to play with knives, you can do so at home. My kid is not going to be farmer most likely, so he doesn't need to know how to sharpen a scythe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Danes are the inspiration for High Tech High, a public charter school in San Diego that was founded in part by Qualcomm to address the skills gap in the high tech sector. They might be on to something. Our kids need to know how to take risks. We coddle them so much. Back in the day, kids had to help out on the farm etc. and definitely knew how to handle tools, sharp things and drive tractors. Now we want to protect them from every thing. Maybe we should take a page from the Danes.

That's interesting! I had never heard of this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Danes are the inspiration for High Tech High, a public charter school in San Diego that was founded in part by Qualcomm to address the skills gap in the high tech sector. They might be on to something. Our kids need to know how to take risks. We coddle them so much. Back in the day, kids had to help out on the farm etc. and definitely knew how to handle tools, sharp things and drive tractors. Now we want to protect them from every thing. Maybe we should take a page from the Danes.

That's interesting! I had never heard of this school.

[Anonymous]

My 18 month old would probably absolutely adore a preschool like that when she is old enough. To be honest, I wish I had someone guiding me on how to not coddle her and letting her explore the world like that. It's really hard to resist the urge to try and protect her all the time when she'd be much happier climbing and exploring and just running wild.

[Anonymous]

The knives don't bother me, and neither does the tree. The open water would. I would think that drowning would be the biggest risk.

I also think that you could give kids the same benefits by just choosing a location away from open water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The knives don't bother me, and neither does the tree. The open water would. I would think that drowning would be the biggest risk.

I also think that you could give kids the same benefits by just choosing a location away from open water.

I don't know what's so different about Denmark that they are able to get away with this but we are not.
I'm in Canada so I'm talking about North Americans.

[Anonymous]

This looks awesome to me. I would also be worried a bit about water, but if I had a kid (as I do) who knew not to go in and I knew I could trust him, I would be ok with it (if I had a wilder kid, then I'd probably not go this route).

[Anonymous]

PP here. Bonus: they're 5 and they know the word pedagogue!!

[Anonymous]

Isnt there an outdoor preschool in Bethesda?
the idea is not completely alien

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isnt there an outdoor preschool in Bethesda?
the idea is not completely alien

Outdoor preschools are all the rage right now. Actually, I think they originated in Denmark.
I'm not sure the North American ones are quite as wild as the ones in Scandinavia. We are trying to replicate a great idea but it is not part of our culture. In Scandinavia, they have friluftsliv and allemansrett. The Norwegians say :
Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær! It means that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. Children in barnehage go outside rain or shine. They all own waterproof dungarees and coats. It is mandatory uniform at preschools.