Comparatively speaking, Germany, as the country that has trained the most scientists and scientific and technological talents in the world, has won half of the Nobel Prize, and is far superior in early childhood education.
So how did these German parents do it?
Nature Education in German Kindergartens
1, explore the forest freely
Here, children's toys are made of natural materials by teachers and children.
Children can carve wood or make small crafts, and learn skills such as reading, painting, dancing and singing. The content is similar to that of urban kindergartens, but it is full of freedom and creativity, giving children the right to choose independently and the space for free development. Not limited by space or adults, children can fully explore the forest with interest and curiosity within a safe range.
2. Interest-oriented and exploratory learning.
As the saying goes, "interest is the best teacher", and forest kindergarten also adheres to the interest-centered educational concept, so that children can increase their knowledge and experience in practical operation and practice.
Every child's interests and specialties are different, and the school does not make specific regulations. Children can run, jump, grab mud and plant flowers. It covers many subjects that can be studied: biology, botany, zoology, sociology, ecology, meteorology, mechanics and so on. There are also life skills: conflict resolution, developing goodwill, sympathy and empathy, physical exercise ability, better balance and flexibility.
3. Observe plants and learn about all kinds of small creatures.
Children have a natural interest in flowers and trees, but compared with children living in cities every day, children in forest kindergartens have more opportunities to get in touch with nature. Children in forest kindergartens can learn which grasses can make tea, which insects are beneficial, and even know which grasses can repel mosquitoes. This is popular science knowledge that many adults don't know, but children can easily acquire it in this process.
It can be seen that the achievements of Germans in science are closely related to their educational methods. So what did the children learn in the actual education process?
Children learn these skills in nature education.
1922 niels bohr, a scientist who won the nobel prize in physics, has strong hands-on ability. His spirit of thinking, speaking and doing in scientific research, his self-confidence and tenacious attitude are closely related to his family training and his love for manual activities since childhood.
In forest kindergarten, children can dig mud to make cakes, grow their own flowers and plants, and observe small animals and insects. This organically combines children's knowledge and practice, effectively enhances children's practical ability and develops children's creative thinking.
In this process, children can not only get the opportunity to show their creativity, but also have enough confidence in their intelligence, cultivate the spirit of daring to say and do, and persevere in the end.
Picasso is one of the greatest painters with creativity, concentration, cooperative spirit and social skills. He once said, "It took me a lifetime to learn to paint like a 6-year-old."
It can be seen that children's creativity and imagination are endless, and even masters can envy them. In the early stage of early childhood education, what we have to do is to keep this characteristic of children as much as possible. In nature education, children can build buildings at will and knead the soil into different shapes, which is beneficial to children's intellectual development and tap their potential creativity.
Inattention is the most common behavior problem of school-age children. According to the report of Statistical Manual of Psychological Abnormal Diagnosis, about 3-5% of children suffer from attention deficit disorder. However, epidemiological data show that the figure of 3-5% may need to be raised, and it is currently estimated to be 5-7%. Current research has confirmed that children's inattention is widespread, but the severity is different.
But nature education can avoid this very well. Imagine if a child hears melodious songs in the quiet and empty nature, will he listen carefully? If a child sees an ant nest in the process of building a wooden house, will he squat down and observe it carefully? This invisibly increases children's concentration on things.
The ability of scientific exploration has been mentioned in the five steps of Montessori's early childhood education method: giving children absolute freedom, and "freedom" is the basic principle of Montessori's "science pedagogy". Simply put, Montessori believes that the compulsory "teaching" method is harmful to children, especially preschool children. Unless the children's minds are liberated, the development of these ethnic seedlings will not be sound. At the same time, Montessori believes that "freedom" is an innate basic human right.
Moreover, children's extroversion behavior is often a response to internal needs, especially in early childhood, there will be a special "sensitive period" for a certain demand at a certain stage. If we can grasp the needs of this period for education, the enlightenment effect on children will get twice the result with half the effort.
The law of natural education practices this point well: it is much better to give children full freedom in exploration, find their sensitive places, and let them find the direction and way of scientific exploration that they are interested in in in the comfort zone, which is much stronger than adults stiffly filling their brains with knowledge.