Forest Kindergarten Teacher Trained at NOLS

“For us, it’s a small stretch,” said Keaton, who has been the Antioch School’s Kindergarten teacher for 10 years, after beginning her career in public schools. Not only does Forest Kindergarten embody the school’s educational ideals, but it also builds on Keaton’s own classroom organization. “I’ve never had a day where we didn’t go outside,” she said. Also, her class, like others at the school, “has taken weekly hikes in the Glen for many years.”

The Forest Kindergarten model began decades ago in Europe, spreading from its well-received introduction in Norway, where a shortage of classroom space first prompted the outdoor initiative. Keaton said the concept is beginning to appear elsewhere in the United States as well, with schools shaping the program to reflect their individual institutional goals.

Keaton said she had been aware of the model since her own now 17-year-old son was in the nursery group at Antioch School, having read about it in an article the nursery teacher had clipped and posted on a bulletin board. She also has formative memories of attending a youth camp where there was “a forest home.” Then, in recent years, she pursued continuing education courses with the National Outdoor Leadership School. All of that coalesced into inaugurating the Kindergarten Forest program at Antioch School this year.

“I decided I wanted to have more of an extended time out-of-doors,” she said.

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