First outdoor preschool opens

quote:Children will play outside all day, rain or shine, in warm or wintry weather at Canada's first outdoor preschool.

The Carp Ridge Forest Pre-School promises its students few comforts like plastic toys, climate control, or electric power when it opens in about two months in Ottawa's rural western outskirts.

Kidsicles in 4...3...2...1...

Nature education is important, but really.

I think this is a really neat idea. Although I do wonder whether the European places she's modelling it on gets milder weather than Ottawa does...

That said, as long as she's taking precautions to make sure that kids can stay warm enough in the winter, and not get sunburned in the summer, then this sounds fabulous.

There was a time when kids were sent outside to play and only came in at mealtimes after spending all day tobogganning or building snowpeople or whatever, with breaks here and there to get warm with hot chocolate. I know that when my son and I go to the snow hill, he could stay for hours playing in the snow, if he's dressed right for it.

I love it, what a great idea. And to be fair, it does say that they will be indoors when it gets real cold.

I wish they had this when my kids were little.

Yeah, what Michelle said. I don't remember being a total outdoors kid when I was younger, but I certainly did my share of playing in the snow at recess and lunch. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img] I'm sure some of my friends would have loved being in a different kind of school, though.