Enjoying being active outdoors makes children happy and relaxed.

At Kasteeltuin daycare center, children play outside more than inside. When the children do go inside, they bring nature with them. Consequently, the daycare center has held the Groen Cement quality mark for several years. Pedagogical professional Tessa Verkleij explains how children experience nature every day, why outdoor play is important, and how Groen Cement helps with this.   

Tell me, how do children experience nature at your place?
We have a fantastic garden with an outdoor kitchen! We cook together there. In our vegetable garden, the children dig, shovel, and sow, and on the barefoot path, they feel nature under their feet. Toddlers love to hide behind bushes or mess around with water and sand. Our garden is one big adventure. Inside, the children play with natural materials; in the building corner, for example, there are stones and branches. And we have fish and birds that we care for together with the children. We are truly a natural location.

Why does nature play the leading role at your location?
That has actually always been the case. We believe in the Reggio Emilia pedagogical vision, in which every child expresses themselves in 100 'languages'. I'm not talking about words, but for example about movement, drawing, and more. In our natural garden, children balance on a tree trunk or create art from flowers: they can express themselves in all kinds of ways. And nature makes children curious. What do the roots look like under the plants? When does a tadpole lose its tail? We explore these questions together, and in the process, the children learn. Our pedagogical vision, based on Reggio Emilia, takes on even more meaning in nature. That is why the Groen Cement quality mark fits us perfectly.

Why do you think it is important for children to be outside?
We don't have a strict daily schedule. Children feel free, do what they love most, and therefore grow at their own pace. In nature, everything changes continuously; one day we play outside in the sun, and the next day in the wind. There is much to discover and learn outdoors, and that stimulates children's development.

In what ways do you see children grow?
Outside, they are on the move, which is naturally good for their motor skills. They learn new words and their social development grows because they help each other carry branches or bake sand pies. They learn to care for plants, insects, and each other. I think that children who are not often outside are more cautious. They are less likely to dare to do physical things and get bored more easily. We see happy and relaxed children here, as well as true explorers.

How does Groen Cement support you?
'I am the 'builder' for the Groen Cement quality mark, or in other words, the driving force at our location. I find the inspiration sessions and the seasonal consultation hour very valuable. You learn from speakers and gain new ideas. For instance, recently, after a symposium, I immediately went to get seeds and bags of sand with the children. The vegetable garden is completely ready for a new season! The tips from Groen Cement also helped enormously with the layout of our fantastic garden.'

What advice do you give other pedagogical professionals for greener childcare?
Start small, simply bring more natural materials indoors. Decide with colleagues and children what you will collect; think of leaves, bark, or feathers. Do you want to enjoy the outdoors more often? Then move one of your regular routines outside. Start the day outside for a change, or have lunch with the group in the garden. Our children even regularly sleep outside.

Do you have any plans for the future at Kasteeltuin?
'We still want to see which natural materials we bring inside for the very little ones, because not everything is suitable. And a butterfly project is on the program; indoors, in butterfly enclosures, we follow the special process from egg to butterfly. Afterwards, we release the butterflies into our garden. I can already picture it: toddlers pointing at the butterflies or running after them. Children are happy with us, and parents are happy that their children are playing outside and getting dirty. So we are simply continuing with nature experiences at the childcare center in this way.'