Learn about and play with wood in the kindergarten

The thesis explores ways to acquaint children with wood— ancient substance used by our ancestors. We wanted to pursue the vision of acquainting children with wood so they would grow fond of it and play with it in the woods, meadows or playrooms. The children followed the path of sensations, experiments and explorations through play with wood. They grew and embraced the idea of taking care of the nature while enjoying and learning about wood. They touched and sensed the wood from its initial stage as a small tree to its treatment and the production of wood products. The first part of the thesis involves theoretical standpoints of psychological theories regarding child development (focusing on motor development in children and the development of sensations, perception and attentiveness) and the explicit-symbolic level of mental processes. The theoretical background provides insight into children’s play, technical activities and the characteristics of wood as part of activities with children. The main empirical part deals with the activities of children on the basis of perception, sensations, experiments and explorations of wood, all intertwined with the subtle world of play and childhood