< link rel =" stylesheet " href =" http : / / editor . daum . net / services / blog / css / contents 4 view . css ? ver = 1 . 1 . 114 " type =" text / css "/>< link rel =" stylesheet " href =" http : / / editor . daum . net / services / blog / css / theme 4 view . css ? ver = 1 . 1 . 114 " type =" text / css "/> 세계 최초 로 유치원 을 만들 어 낸 국가 는 독일 이 다 . WSJ 는 14 일자 보도 를 통해서 숲 속 유치원 이 150 년 전 독일 에서 세계 최초 의 유치원 을 연 프리드리히 프뢰벨 이 늘상 강조 했 던 " 어린이 들 을 숫자 와 글자 가 아닌 자연 속 에서 뛰놀 게 하 라 " 는 가르침 을 따르 고 있 다고 전했 다 . 이 처럼 유치원 의 발상지 인 독일 에선 오히려 유치원 을 자연 으로 다시 되돌리 는 운동 이 일어나 , 3 ~ 6 세 의 어린이 들 이 날 마다 근교 숲 에 가 노래 를 부르 고 진흙탕 에서 뒹군다 . 지치 면 , 나무 둥치 의자 에 걸터앉 아 쉰다 . 미취학 어린이 들 이 숲 에서 교육 을 받 는 발트 킨더 가 르 텐 ( 숲 속 유치원 ) 이 독일 에 현재 700 개 정도 있 다고 한다 . 덴마크 에 이어 , 1990 년 대 중반 부터 생겨난 숲 유치원 에 가 는 독일 어린이 들 이 늘어나 고 있 다 . 숲 유치원 에 는 벽 에 둘러싸인 건물 은커녕 , 컴퓨터 나 장난감 도 없 다 . 숲 에서 발견 하 는 것 이 장난감 이 다 . 어린이 들 은 숲 에서 노래 를 부르 거나 동물 을 관찰 하 고 당근 과 견과 류 등 을 간식 으로 먹 는다 . 유럽 학자 들 의 연구 에 따르 면 , 숲 유치원 에 다닌 어린이 는 일반 유치원 에 다닌 어린이 보다 상상력 과 의사소통 , 집중력 이 뛰어나 다고 WSJ 는 보도 하 고 있 으며 , 벌레 와 같 은 ' 위험 요소 ' 가 있 는데 도 불구 하 고 , 숲 속 유치원 에 다닌 어린이 들 은 일반 유치원 의 아이 들 보다 병 에 도 덜 걸린다고 한다 . 최근 들 어 독일 과 덴마크 의 숲 속 유치원 을 벤치마킹 해서 스칸디나비아 국가 들 과 스위스 , 오스트리아 , 미국 에서 도 비슷 한 유치원 이 많이 생겨나 고 있 다고 합니다 . WSJ 원문 소개 German Tots Learn to Answer Call of NatureBy MIKE ESTERLApril 14 , 2008 ; Page A 1 IDSTEIN , Germany -- Each weekday , come rain or shine , a group of children , ages 3 to 6 , walk into a forest outside Frankfurt to sing songs , build fires and roll in the mud . To relax , they kick back in a giant " sofa " made of tree stumps and twigs . The birthplace of kindergarten is returning to its roots . While schools and parents elsewhere push young children to read , write and surf the Internet earlier in order to prepare for an increasingly cutthroat global economy , some little Germans are taking a less traveled path -- deep into the woods . Germany has about 700 Waldkindergärten , or " forest kindergartens , " in which children spend their days outdoors year - round . Blackboards surrender to the Black Forest . Erasers give way to pine cones . Hall passes aren ' t required , but bug repellent is a good idea . Mike Esterl Two students in Idstein ' s Waldkindergarten . Trees are a temptation -- and sometimes worse . Recently , " I had to rescue a girl " who had climbed too high , says Margit Kluge , a teacher at Idstein ' s forest kindergarten . Last year , a big tree " fell right before our noses . " The schools are a throwback to Friedrich Fröbel , the German educator who opened the world ' s first kindergarten , or " children ' s garden , " more than 150 years ago . Mr . Fröbel counseled that young children should play in nature , cordoned off from too many numbers and letters . They are also a modern - day snapshot of environmentally conscious and consumption - wary Germany , where the Green Party polls more than 10 % and stores are closed on Sundays . Only a fraction of German children attend Waldkindergärten , but their numbers have been rising since local parent groups began setting up these programs in the mid - 1990 s , following the lead of a Danish community . Similar schools exist in smaller numbers in Scandinavia , Switzerland and Austria . The concept is sparking interest far afield -- even in the U . S . , whose first Waldkindergarten opened in Portland , Ore . , last fall . " The computer arrives early enough , " adds Norbert Huppertz , a specialist in child development at the Freiburg University of Education and a Waldkindergärten booster in Germany . Academic studies of such schools are in their infancy . Some European researchers believe Waldkindergärten kids exercise their imaginations more than their brick - and - mortar peers do and are better at concentrating and communicating . Despite dangers , from insects particularly , the children appear to get sick less often in these fresh - air settings . Studies also suggest their writing skills are less developed , though , and that they are less adept than other children at distinguishing colors , forms and sizes . In the rolling countryside of Idstein on a recent rainy morning , parents dropped off their children at a muddy parking lot a bit after 8 as the temperature hovered around 40 degrees Fahrenheit . Inspecting a WormSome of the children , wrapped in thick winter clothing , stooped over to inspect a worm . Then the five girls and four boys trudged into the neighboring woods with their two teachers before pausing to hold hands in a circle . " Good morning , sun , even though we can ' t see you today , " said the 51 - year - old Ms . Kluge , as the children joined in song and then acted out a play involving rabbits . They hiked a few hundred feet into the forest before settling down to jump in puddles , examine a hibernating lizard and paint Easter eggs . A girl named Maxi went off to whittle a branch with a hunting knife . Another made " chocolate - vanilla - strawberry - herbal pudding " by stirring mud with a twig . At snack time , the children sat on logs and munched on carrots and nuts while Ms . Kluge told them about the life cycle of toads . A boy named Ben wanted to know whether a North American visitor accompanying them was " a cowboy or an Indian . " A bit before 1 p . m . , after jumping in more puddles , playing around a makeshift tepee and singing another song involving the Easter bunny , the children emerged from the woods grinning and caked in mud to be picked up by their waiting parents . " It ' s peaceful here , not like inside a room , " said Ms . Kluge , who has headed the Waldkindergarten since it opened five years ago . The children rarely venture into a trailer in the forest that ' s used as a shelter in extreme weather . Ms . Kluge says no child has ever asked for a toy . The children improvise instead with what the woods have to offer . And there haven ' t been any bad accidents beyond the occasional scrapes and bruises . Not everyone has a feel - good experience . Frankfurt resident Donna Parssinen sent her son to a Waldkindergarten last year but says he got Lyme disease from ticks . It resulted in meningitis that temporarily paralyzed half his face . " I still like the idea " of Waldkindergärten , says Ms . Parssinen , " but once is enough . " Her son now attends a four - walled kindergarten . Still , many German indoor kindergartens take children to nearby forests once a week to tramp around . A spokesman for Germany ' s Ministry for Family Affairs said it welcomes the arrival of Waldkindergärten , which typically receive local government subsidies similar to those of state - run kindergartens . Iwao Uehara , a professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture , says he has been trying to set up such a school in Japan , but the project is struggling . Until there ' s evidence that Waldkindergärten graduates end up attending " famous universities , " it ' s going to be a tough sell , he says . In Portland , though , Marsha Johnson launched Mother Earth kindergarten last fall to combat what she calls " early academic fatigue syndrome . ... We have 5 - year - olds who are tired of going to school . " The 14 children spend four hours a day at the privately run school playing in a state park forest . How to Handle a SawAmong the nature - based activities , children learn how to handle a real saw . " A plastic saw is no good , " says Ms . Johnson . " You might as well give them a plastic life . " The worst that has happened thus far to the children is the occasional bee sting , she says . Mimi Howard , a director at the Education Commission of the States , which advises states on policy from Denver , says some U . S . teachers feel pressure " to push academics earlier and earlier . " The federal No Child Left Behind law introduced standardized testing for reading and writing by third grade , but some studies recommend more " open - ended learning experiences " for young children . " We ' re in the debate phase , " she says . In Fife , Scotland , Cathy Bache recently took matters into her own hands and founded a private nursery school . About 20 children explore the local forests , " saw logs , make fires when cold and look at fungi , " she explains . Ms . Bache admits the children fall out of trees " quite often " -- but that she doesn ' t let them climb higher than 6 feet , the cutoff point for her insurance policy . Write to Mike Esterl at mike . esterl @ dowjones . com edited by yourdoctor