Out + About: Cause I got wheels, and you want to go for a ride…

April 27, 2015

Biking is a thing in Denmark. In fact, it might be THE thing here in Denmark. I read somewhere that just over 80% of households in metropolitan Copenhagen don’t own cars so your bike wheels are definitely your main wheels and they start them early.

Over Easter, a certain bunny delivered a bright and shiny red bicycle for our tot. I was a little nervous about putting her on two wheels – especially when the guy at the shop bluntly told me that training wheels weren’t really an encouraged option here.

I’m a bit of a nervous biker myself. I never cease to admire the confidence that people have here while tossing a tot on a bike seat in the back, or an infant up front in those Christiana bikes. It’s not uncommon to see two or three kids loaded up in those things (sometimes sitting together with their own kiddie bikes inside the carrier of the larger one). But it’s a way of life.

And she was ready… a year of propelling herself on those balance bikes they have here seemed to do the trick. The forest school has quite a collection of them and kids get that sense of comfortable balance rather fast, even with all those layers on.

Which is not to say we didn’t have a few rough patches. There were definitely a few tears, and a few run ins with the bushes on our street. As for me, I was definitely starting to doubt the decision of skipping the training wheels – and so was my back. After spending two days leaning over, I suddenly understood why I kept seeing Danish parents in our neighborhood who were also teaching their kids the magic of two-wheeled independence with broomsticks shoved in those bicycles. Wish I had figured out that one sooner…

But then…just like that…it clicked….and she got it. As a parent, it’s bittersweet. You realize – as they circle the block round and round without you – that this is just one of what will be so many times that they’ll leave you behind, each time going faster and going further. Soon, it’s not just around the block but all the way to the ocean. And you realize, next time it will be a bigger bike…and then even a car. As a child growing up, I loved those days of gaining new freedoms and couldn’t wait for them. As a parent, they come much too quickly – but it doesn’t make you any less proud.

Q + A : Does anything ever happen to them out there?

April 21, 2015

(knock on wood…knock on wood…knock on wood…)

Fair question. When I see them leaping off a mud bank (which sticks in hand), or careening towards me on those balance bikes that they ride like their Formula One cars, I can’t help but think that accidents must be a dime a dozen, but the thing is, they aren’t really. Kids are kids and things will happen, sure, but from what I can tell, and from what all the teachers and parents I talk to say, it’s not any more than in any other children’s environment.

I couldn’t find any real statistics to back up my anecdotal findings so far (forest school educators out there, if you’ve got them, send them over!) but the thing is, the kids in general seem to respond really well to the freedom that they’ve been given. One of the most interesting things that I observed when I attended the first couple of days together with my daughter was that often times, stronger kids look out for the younger or weaker kids. When they’re out in the woods, the older kids might help the smaller ones navigate tree trunks or jumps or other obstacles. Which doesn’t mean that the kids don’t take a bit of a beating…our tot routinely comes home with bruises that make her legs look like a dalmatian puppy, but she’s proud of every single one. We go through a lot of band-aids around here, but those seem to be less about dressing actual wounds and more about having a visual reminder (courtesy of Elsa or Dora or Doc McStuffins) to tell the story of a scrape well-earned to anyone who will listen.

Part of what makes this system work is a mutual understanding between the school, the parents and the students…when something does happen, like a hurt limb (yes, it does happen – not often) or someone forgotten in the woods (yes, it does happen – not often) or someone who slipped into the pond (yes, it does happen – not often), there’s an understanding to keep things “not a big deal”. In general, one of the reasons that kids are allowed so much freedom, is because the educators are allowed so much freedom. And because there’s an understanding in the community that everyone is to some degree responsible. When the kids board a train or bus, other riders help make sure the class stays together. If there is a straggler, another adult would help that child find his or her class.

I know for many in the US (myself included), this immediately screams of stranger danger but the social contract is different here. If something does happen, no one threatens lawsuits here and everyone is expected to help. It’s just the way they do things, and as a parent, you’re expected to accept that here. People do what they can to solve the problem, learn from it, and then move on…

So do things happen? Sure, but not often – or not any more often than they would anywhere else. But still, knock on wood for me just in case!

Out + About: Copenhagen’s Cherry Blossoms

April 20, 2015

I hope you like pink, because we have a lot of it today… Cherry blossoms are in full swing here in Copenhagen, and being that we came here from Washington, DC, which is about one step short of Japan when it comes to these fluffy blooms, we hopped out to check them out this weekend.

In addition to the forest school topics, occasionally we’ll cover adventures that we have out and about. I cover many of our travels on my other blog, but we’ll share a few of the “#offduty” things that we here too. After all, there’s more to life than just school, n’est-ce pas? Even if the school is a purported free for all in the forest…

Anyway, cherry blossoms were the name of the game this weekend, and so was sunshine and full on spring weather. If you’ve ever done a Danish winter, well, you know what a big deal that is…(and if you have indeed done a Danish winter, please take a moment to congratulate yourself). Here’s the thing about cherry blossoms in Denmark though…in DC, if you want to see them, you head down to the tidal basin, a stone’s throw away from the city’s most significant monuments. Here, you head down to the cemetery. Yup, this riot of spring life is surrounded by death.

From what I can tell, Danes are pretty matter of fact about death. And if our visit to the Bispepjerg Kirkegard was any indication, it doesn’t have to be a lonely end to be afraid of. The cemetery is actually a cemetery of course, but it also seems to double as a park full of flowers and visitors and families having picnics, and young angsty loves holding hands and making googgly eyes at each other. Kids are climbing trees, and adults are scattered around on blankets, and just about everyone is gawking at the beautiful trees…Must be that Danish sense of practicality – why use all that space for just the dead? You could get double the value if it works for the living too. I don’t know if it’s like that all the time, but it certainly was this weekend. And if you ask me, maybe not a bad way to go?

If you’re interested in catching the blooms in Copenhagen (and we would highly suggest them), they’re in peak bloom right now so hurry along. One windstorm and these ladies will fly into the night…

Information on the Bispebjerg Kirkegard can be found on the Kobenhavns Kommune page, but basically it’s open during daylight hours. Bonus, park (if you drive) in front of the Gruntvig Church and start there in Copenhagen’s tallest (but scandi minimalist) house of worship, and take a walk over to the cemetery. And don’t forget your picnic blanket!

PS – For those that asked, the tot’s sneakers are from See Kai Run .

Wise Words n.03

April 19, 2015

Source: Takaharu Tezuka’s TED Talk, “The Best Kindergarten You’ve Ever Seen”