A CLASSROOM IN THE FOREST*
In most countries, children spend their school day inside a building. They sit at desks in a classroom for five or six hours every day. Some children go outside only for a short break. However, there is a special school in Denmark where the children learn outside every day. This school has its classroom in a forest.(lines 1–4)
In the forest, there are wooden tables, benches and a big tent. The children do math, read and write at the tables. When it rains, they can sit in the tent, or they can put on raincoats and stay under the trees. So bad weather does not stop their lessons.(lines 5–7)
Many parents help at the school, too. "Every Friday afternoon, I come to the forest and plant trees with the children," says Lena Holm, whose daughter Maya studies at the school. "The children are very proud of their trees."(lines 8–10)
Parents and teachers say that the forest school is good for children. The children are sick less often because they move a lot in the fresh air. Also, they learn many things about nature. "When Maya went to her old school, she was often sick," says Lena. "Now she is outside all day, and she is almost never sick. And she knows the names of twenty birds!"(lines 11–14)