While some kindergarten and

preschool teachers have turned

to iPads in the classroom,

others advocate for a different

kind of immersive learning --

outdoor classrooms.

On an island outside of Seattle,

Washington, one preschool class

is reconnecting with

the natural world in

a nontraditional setting.

Our environmental reporting

partner, EarthFix, takes us

outside to the first

forest kindergarten in

the United States.

>> Hi, Victoria.

So good to see you this morning.

[ Chuckles ]

>> Love you.

>> Are you kids ready to walk

in?

You look ready to walk in.

Squirrel Camp?

♪ Squirrel Camp

♪ Squirrel Camp

♪ Heading up to Squirrel Camp

♪ Do-do-do-do-do

>> This might seem like a day

at camp, but, actually, this

is a school.

>> It is held completely

outdoors.

There's no indoor time for

the children.

I'm noticing the color.

>> Orange.

>> Yeah, it's orange.

>> Erin Kenny is the lead

teacher and founder of

Cedarsong Nature School...

>> Lillian noticed it's

a different color.

It's orange.

>> ...a preschool with no walls,

no desks, and no computers...

>> I'm flying in a jet!

>> ...where the tree canopy

is the ceiling and climbing

barefoot is not just allowed,

but encouraged.

>> Uhh!

>> Hey, look at you, Phoenix.

>> These kids aren't diving

into reading, writing, and

arithmetic.

But that doesn't mean they

aren't acquiring knowledge.

>> Anybody else?

These are all great ideas.

Does anybody else have another

idea?

>> Or maybe a decompo--

Maybe the mushrooms can

decompose into the ground

and then -- and then turned

into soil.

>> There's great learning taking

place with young children.

>> That's exactly right, Dana.

That's how soil is formed.

You're right.

>> When they're just allowed

to explore nature, they're

learning all kinds of valuable

principles about gravity and

texture and shapes and colors

and all the things that you

might expect to see in

a preschool curriculum.

They're just doing it outdoors

and naturally at their own pace.

>> Cedarsong opened in 2006

on Vashon Island, a short ferry

ride from Seattle.

>> Does anybody have a story

they'd like to tell?

>> I do.

>> Yeah?

>> It was the first forest

kindergarten in

the United States.

Kenny built the school in

response to the alarming trend

she was seeing -- American

children spending less time

playing outside.

>> Elizabeth, you want to get

on?

They're stopping the bus for

you.

>> And when kids stay indoors,

Kenny says their connection

to the natural world withers.

>> [ Whispering ] See up there?

>> [ Whispering ] I see it.

Do you see way up there?

>> [ Whispering ] Yeah.

>> [ Whispering ] Does anybody

want to lie on the ground?

[ Normal voice ] Learning

outdoors was one of the best

ways to create a positive

and intimate bond

with the natural world.

>> But what happens when

the weather turns cold and

rainy?

>> Well, we put on a coat

if it rains, and we put a --

a fleece if we get cold.

My lips are turning blue, right?

>> [ Laughs ]

The children have no problem

with the weather no matter

what the weather is.

Once children are appropriately

dressed, they can spend many

hours in nature with no cares.

>> Cedarsong parent Tania Zimmer

agrees.

>> I've never really had

an issue with them with

the weather.

They've never complained about

it once.

I think it builds a certain

amount of resilience and grit.

>> Zimmer says her two daughters

love going to school outside.

>> There hasn't been a day

where they have not wanted

to come to the school or

they've left in a bad mood.

>> Now, a decade after Cedarsong

started, the outdoor-school idea

is growing.

Similar schools have sprouted

across the nation.

In the Greater Seattle

metropolitan area alone,

there are now more than

two dozen outdoor schools.

>> Hi!

Hi, hi, hi!

>> One is

the Fiddleheads Forest School

nestled among the towering

cedar trees of the University

of Washington Botanic Gardens.

>> Does anyone else want to run

around the classroom before

lunch?

Mena, you want to go, too?

Aria, you want to go, too?

Okay, let's get out some of our

energy.

>> Come on!

>> [ Speaking indistinctly ]

>> Teacher Joanna Wright

says she noticed an inherent

benefit to outdoor preschool.

>> Yes. You got it.

Whoo!

You got it.

>> If a child has a lot of

energy and needs to run, that's

not inherently a problem.

So they're able to get that

energy out and come back

to a more focused and

ready-to-learn state.

>> ♪ Well, I...

>> Kit Harrington cofounded

the school.

She says while interest in

outdoor schools has grown,

the larger educational system

isn't evolving as quickly.

Many states say a school without

walls is not a school, and

that's why neither Cedarsong

nor Fiddleheads are licensed.

>> There are elements that

pertain to building codes,

for example, and we don't have

any building.

>> You can't have climbing

structures that are more than

6 inches off the ground.

You can't have standing water

that's more than 2 inches.

>> Keep the area free of rodents

and other insects, for example,

which is a very important part

of our curriculum.

It's a very important part

of our classroom.

>> Look at my praying mantis.

>> Let's see if we can catch

some more insects.

>> A growing body of research

shows that outdoor play leads

to better behavior and academic

performance.

Harrington says they plan

to participate in formal

research to help build a case

for the academic rigor

of outdoor schools.

>> It's the whole ocean

of Puget Sound.

>> For parent Ashley Sampson,

it's not about the academics.

>> For me, I feel like it's more

important that my 4-year-old

gets the most opportunities

to play.

Once they get into school,

they don't have as much

playtime, and that's sort

of gone forever for the rest

of their academic lives.

>> For now, formal academic

learning still happens indoors

at desks and in front of

computers.

But as more students attend

school outdoors, who knows

how far the idea will spread?