By Regina Kruse-Özçelik

Early Birds Istanbul Founder and Author

What family would enroll their child in a kindergarten that has no conventional toys, an empty playground, and almost no interior furnishings? Instead, they would encounter a wild, free garden and raw materials such as wooden building blocks, straw bales, sand, tree bark mulch, clay, soil, and trees .

Can children build their own kindergarten?

Before the children could even start playing in the sandbox, they had to design it, build it, and fill it with sand with the help of their families. Before they could ride their bikes, they had to plan and build a suitable road. The same process was required for furnishing the outdoor group rooms. This is how the tables and chairs, the tree house, and the mud houseswere created, staying true to the motto: Dream it, plan it, and build it!

How do children actively shape their environment?

When the garden flooded after every heavy rainfall, this was used as an opportunity to work with the children to install a drainage system. When the sun shone continuously and the children needed sun protection, they erected a movable sunshade with the help of their supervisors. After learning how to harvest and plant fruit and vegetable seeds, they built an earth oven in which they could bake vegetables and many other dishes. In each case, the next project developed from a current situation that required a solution.

The children built their kindergarten according to their needs. Step by step, they designed the entire garden - and continue to do so. They are still constructing their own world today. Their ideas and wishes are incorporated into every single project. The countless opportunities for participation are crucial to this concept. The children thus have a direct influence on the design and use of the respective object. These are prerequisites for the project-based learning approach, and this is precisely why families want their children to be with us at EBI-Nest.