Out In All Weathers: Britain's Secret Garden Nursery

"As a nursery teacher, I found that being indoors with small children with very little space was stressful for me as an adult, so I imagine for a child it's even worse," Bache says. "You can't really get more egocentric than a three-year-old -- and indoors they're all so close together, they bump into each other and get upset, and there are all those toys to fight over." "Outdoors there's a lot of space, a lot of freedom and a lot of independence." At the Secret Garden, the only shelter will be a wattle and daub structure with no walls. There will be no toys. The children will be encouraged instead to play with the toys nature provides -- sticks and leaves, mud and rainwater, fir cones and acorns. Bache firmly believes there is no such thing as bad weather, just inadequate clothing, and she says children love being out in all weathers. Bache got the outdoor idea from Norway, where she lived for four years with her own three children and saw early education rooted in the outside world. She was struck by the vitality of children cared for in outdoor kindergartens there. Commentary: By George! I think she's got it! http://tinyurl.com/weup3

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