English to Portuguese Social Sciences Education / Pedagogy unschooling / homeschooling

One way to take learning out of the box is to take kids out of the classroom—the philosophy behind the growing global forest-kindergarten movement. At Cedarsong, on Washington’s Vashon Island, the first total-immersion nature preschool in the U.S., kids ages two to six learn through hands-on exploration in all seasons and weather (cedarsongnatureschool
.org). The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs’ forest kindergarten, in New York, is built on the nearly 100-year-old Waldorf philosophy that education should address children’s emotional, physical, and creative development, not just their intellect. For the littlest learners, this means warm, natural spaces and a break from the wired world—easy to do when your classroom is Saratoga Spa State Park (waldorfsaratoga.org). In Massachusetts, the Natick Community Organic Farm’s Forest Gnomes classroom is a clearing in the woods with an outdoor fire pit and a craft house for frosty winter days (natickfarm.org). And farm schools like the Waldorf-inspired Good Earth Farm School in Austin, Texas, trade the wilds for a WORKING SPREAD (goodearthfarmschool.com).