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2017 Spring | Arts & Humanities, Education & Outreach

Preschool in a Forest against ADHD

Student(s):

Kayla Carrington

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Kit Harrington

Partner(s):

  • Fiddleheads Forest School

Faculty advisor(s):

Peter Kahn Director of the Human Interaction with Nature and Technological Systems (HINTS) Laboratory, University of Washington

An individual’s underdeveloped ability to identify and regulate their energy poses a challenge for global environ- mental awareness, in addition to personal development and well-being. This study investigates whether child-nature interaction at Fiddleheads Forest School, an all-outdoor preschool in the University of Washington’s Arboretum, can help foster self-regulatory behavior. My involvement with this program included assistant teaching twice a week, in addition to collecting footage of children interacting with nature. Results from videos demonstrate students engaging with several domains of self-regulation within the outdoor space. These results can provide design implications for the emerging North American movement toward outdoor nature schools.