September 26, 2024
Hybrid Outdoor Kindergartens: A New Solution to the Childcare Crisis
The prototype, a simple support structure, will enable nature-based preschools to stay open rain, shine, and smoky, facilitating broader and more equitable adoption.
Forrest Murphy
CAST Architecture
Murphy
Seven new early learning programs began operations in September 2020, while nearly all schools and child care facilities in the state remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From Ellensburg to Olympia, the nation’s first full-day, outdoor preschools were authorized under a Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) pilot program. The programs proceeded unhindered by widespread closures of traditional early learning centers, because outdoor gatherings were considered a low risk for virus transmission.
Outdoor kindergartens (also known as “forest kindergartens,” “nature kindergartens,” or “farm kindergartens”) are growing in popularity across the United States. A growing body of scientific literature demonstrates the significant benefits that nature-based education offers to young children. Some of the evidence-backed benefits are seemingly self-evident: increased physical activity and reduced childhood obesity, as well as enhanced motor skill development. Ever-changing weather provides an immediate stimulus for building resilience and self-regulation. Regular exposure to nature is widely recognized to reduce stress levels for people of all ages.
Research suggests that outdoor preschools also provide a wide range of less tangible developmental benefits to children. Studies have shown that nature-based education for young children is linked to accelerated brain development, improved academic performance and educational outcomes, improved executive function, communication skills, emotional resilience and improved social-emotional well-being. Increased time spent in natural environments has been shown to reduce negative symptoms of ADHD and provide therapeutic benefits for neurodiverse children.
Washington State, like the rest of the US, faces a child care crisis. In King County, the average cost of full-time preschool care for one child is 35% of the median household income. For nearly half of unemployed parents in Washington State, finding child care is a barrier to seeking full employment. The already severe shortage of affordable child care has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the state is currently only meeting 30-50% of its estimated child care needs. Large swaths of eastern and western Washington remain “extremely under-accessed.”
High construction costs and lengthy construction projects are the primary factors limiting the number of new child care facilities. Rapidly increasing the number of outdoor preschools has been proposed as one strategy to address the ongoing child care shortage. There are nearly limitless possibilities for rapidly deploying low-cost outdoor classrooms at the neighborhood level wherever there is demand. Even the smallest parks and green spaces provide ample opportunities for young children to explore and learn.
Perhaps the greatest challenge in significantly increasing outdoor preschool capacity is the most obvious one: outdoors. Dealing with changeable weather is an inherent part of nature-based education, but extreme heat or cold can make an all-day program impractical for both children and educators. Fully outdoor preschools may have to suddenly close in the face of high winds, thunderstorms, or poor air quality during wildfire season.
For many families, especially low-income families, who don’t have flexible work hours, this level of unpredictability can be fatal.All of the successful full-day outdoor programs in DCYF’s pilot program were able to use some sort of indoor facility—an adjacent community center gymnasium, an existing preschool building, or, in one case, an unused Parks Department greenhouse—as a backup in case of invoking “extreme weather protocols.”These “backup” spaces allow outdoor schools to achieve the same reliability as traditional indoor programs.
Seattle architecture firm CAST Architecture worked with Maddie Cole, director of Fiddleheads Forest School, to develop a prototype of a very simple support structure that bridges this gap, enabling broader and more equitable adoption of nature-based preschool. Our analysis shows that ongoing operational costs and net benefits are similar for the two models. However, the average upfront capital cost per child for the proposed hybrid outdoor school setup is only 25-50% of a comparable indoor program. If a school district or affiliated nonprofit were to scale up hybrid outdoor schools, they could serve more children with the same upfront investment.
The basic module of the design is a pavilion-like structure with roll-up doors that can be fully enclosed in inclement weather to prevent unauthorized use outside of school hours. When buttoned closed, it is sized exactly to meet DCYF’s minimum square footage requirements for childcare centers and can operate continuously in most weather conditions. Full temperature control is not required. Outdoor schools typically operate between 20°F and 90°F. Closing the doors mitigates extreme temperatures and can be supplemented with low-volume radiant heat panels or portable air conditioners as needed.
The exterior portion of the shelter provides a covered outdoor space for daily classroom activities on a dirt or wood fiber floor. The interior portion of the shelter is enclosed on three sides and can accommodate portable sleeping cots on a raised floor. In one scenario, the shelter can have screened-in portable toilets and provide hot meals from an off-site kitchen or third-party provider. Alternatively, if utilities are available, a slightly larger structure can be fitted with plumbed toilets and a simple on-site kitchen to serve up to three classroom shelters.
Importantly, the structures are small enough to be installed singly or unobtrusively in clusters in many public green spaces, and the design is flexible enough to be repurposed in the future for picnic shelters or other uses if needed.
The whitepaper, including additional details on prototype design, financial analysis and other reference materials, can be downloaded at https://www.castarchitecture.com/early-learning .
Forrest Murphy is principal of CAST Architecture, a recognized regional leader in early childhood education design.
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