Making Use of “Nature” in an Outdoor Preschool

Classroom, Home and Fairyland

Abstract

In Swedish preschools, visits to nature environments are traditionally seen as important, and during the past two decades, interest in outdoor education has increased. This article concerns different ways of talking about and making use of nature in everyday activities in a Swedish preschool with an outdoor focus. The researcher studied 32 children between 1½ and 6 years old and their teachers during a one-year period. The data collected include ethnographic material such as video observations, interviews and local documents. The analysis indicates that nature is used in three ways: as a classroom where children learn about nature, as a home—a peaceful place for eating, sleeping and playing, and as an enchanted world, a fairyland.