Kuskusu Morinoyouchien

Kusukusu forest kindergarten, named so because it is a name that can roll freely off the tongue for the children, runs fours days a week. They have between 9 & 12 children attending and the forest school leaders are observers and simply adults among child-led activities. The children were all very happy to lead the way for me as I was new to the park. It was great to see such confidence within a group of young children and 

Whittling the time away.

There was a group discussion in the morning to remind everyone of the previous session's events. 

Today, they were building a den that had fallen down from the last time. There were no stories to preclude what had happened, no dragons in the forest...

Building the den (again!)

Seeds to plant in the garden.

During the morning session, there was a lot of interest from other groups of children who were part of day care events nearby,  yet they still came over to visit us and find out what we were up to. The children were very animated by their activities and enjoyed building a new den along with a garden outside - "We can use it in the house!" they would say if they found something new. They planted 'seeds' in the garden and even made 'toys' to put inside the house. It was very refreshing to see the children provide their own creativity. 

A toy for the house

The leaders provide help by way of observing the use of knives, providing string for crafts, and so on. The primary leader of the kindergarten started the school after her son was born so he would have somewhere to attend where he enjoy freedom and creativity coupled with his educational development.

Lunch - self sufficient children

The children decide on when they want to have lunch and slowly do so by themselves or with some friends. And then, activities resume. After lunch, some children took to making food. Some had started putting leaves on a stick and pretending it was grilled fish. Others making dango (sticky rice balls) and so on.

There was a clear leader amongst the girls and also one amongst the boys and their interaction with the group determined the way the activities were led. 

Digging in the garden

Finally, it was story time and we headed back to the parents. 

It is worth noting that, in the case of someone crying, the child had to find a way to make amends of the situation. This was great to see as the teachers were merely observers here and never intervened. The children were able to find a solution and move on from that. It didn't always mean a resolution for the situation but at the same time, everyone was happy with the results. When there was a crier in the group, it was interesting to note the dynamic in the group. Sometimes there would be friends offering comfort, other times the group would disperse and the crier would simply realise that stopping would be the better option. Interestingly, the leaders of the group would not interact at all with the criers, perhaps they were 'too cool' for this, but as a result, all but one helped their friends.

Another great Forest Kindergarten day and very different from the last! It shows that regular attendance matters as to how at ease the group can feel in these surroundings.

This is the park Kusukusu use - http://musashinoparks.com/kouen/musasino/