Lynn McNair, head of the Cowgate Under 5's Centre in Edinburgh, is struggling to think of a single indoor activity children cannot do outside. Based on a Froebelian ethos, the centre's garden doors are always open and children have the freedom to play wherever they wish.
‘Our children run barefoot if they choose to, no matter whether it's snowing,’ she says. ‘It really is a very natural, ecological kind of existence. We cook porridge outside. You can have woodwork, block play, or draw outside.’ Eventually she thinks of something: ‘I suppose there's not a piano outdoors.’
Being outside is so ingrained at Cowgate that Dr McNair says she would ask a staff member to leave if they were reluctant to spend time outdoors. ‘I wouldn’t want to ever compromise the experiences children have outdoors to appease staff.’
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