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| What does one of the happiest places on Earth know that we don't? Getting outside in nature is vital. |
Denmark is known for being one of the happiest countries on our beautiful Earth. What strikes me as I watch a new film just launching now called NaturePlay isn’t what the educators from Denmark are saying. I’ve heard before that outdoor time and time playing in nature is good for us and especially for kids as they develop into healthy creatures.
What stands out this time in this movie is the breadth of Denmark’s commitment to embracing, as a culture, this way of life and specifically developing adventure parks in cities and educational programs nationwide with this inclusion of nature into their children’s everyday lives. The people in Denmark know from a personal and public health level that for the wellbeing of not just that child, but of their society as a whole, it’s important to focus resources on the seemingly simple, but often overlooked, concept of Nature Play.
And this is the BOOM of this film.
At the end of the film, there is a cameo from Matt Damon, the Hollywood movie star, who speaks at a rally for Save Our Schools about too much testing and not enough Nature Play in the schools in America. His points are poignant: none of the qualities that got him to where he is today can be “tested” and every kid is an individual puzzle, not a robot to be fit into a standardized test.
If you are curious to learn more about “NaturePlay - Take Childhood Back” or would like to set up a screening of the film in your community or school, find more information here.
Healthy society. Healthy planet. Healthy children. Let’s play in nature.
-Annie @OutdoorsyMama
Disclaimer: The NaturePlay film was sent to me without cost for screening. All opinions are always and forever shall be my own.
As someone who works with preschool children in a school setting, I have always been impressed with how other countries teach. I remember seeing a film similar to this one where they taught the children things like how to raise chickens from the egg to the table. Some teacher friends and I visited a preschool once here in Washington State that was completely OUTDOORS. The only inside space they had was a room (we peeked in the windows) that looked like a space for naps (no tables, chairs , toys, etc.) I love it when I see schools like this popping up. This is how we were meant to learn, and live!
ReplyDeleteShannon you are right on!!! There does seem to be a movement to at least finally re-acknowledging how important this is -- like you said, from egg to the table. Beautiful. Thank you, Shannon!
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