https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish/videos/746667968808046/ video in German 1mn04sec subtitled in English

Knives and fire in kindergarten?At Germany’s forest schools, everything is outdoors and the toys are tools.

When my brother-in-law was stationed just outside of Stuttgart, my sister enrolled their two kids in a school just like this. They, and the German parents, bicycled their kids to and from school in little bike carts, dogs trotted alongside, the kids were outdoors in the forest and fresh air all day, learning, playing, and–in three months’ time–my four-year old niece was fluent in German. When it snowed or was exceptionally rainy, they had a really cool old Gypsy wagon for the kids to pile into. Their entire experience there was very special.