In today's busy world, many parents find it difficult to provide their children with opportunities to spend time in nature due to their own time constraints. To address this issue, forest kindergartens have been established to offer children more time in nature. We have discovered that spending time in nature offers numerous benefits for a child's development in all areas. There are still few forest kingergartens in Slovenia, but more and more public kindergartens are deciding to join the Network of Forest Kindergartens and Schools in Slovenia to incorporate forest pedagogy into their programs.
In the theoretical part of my thesis, I explore the importance of forest pedagogy and the impact of nature on children. I also examine the role of forest kindergartens and the importance of adults in introducing children to nature. In the empirical part, I conducted a survey with parents whose children attend kindergartens that are part of the Network of Forest Kindergartens and Schools in Slovenia. I asked them about the reasons for choosing a forest kindergarten and their lifestyle habits related to nature that influenced their decision. After analyzing the data, I found that proximity to home, a desire for their child to spend as much time as possible in nature during kindergarten, and friendly and professional teachers strongly influenced the decision to enroll their child in a forest kindergarten. These parents value spending time in nature, and they also enjoy various outdoor activities in their free time.
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