In Sweden alone, a country of 10 million people, there are 25 non-profit associations anchored to friluftsliv, with 1.7 million memberships spread across 9,000 local and regional clubs. Research for Statistics Sweden, the government’s number-crunching agency, suggests that around a third of Swedes engage in outdoor activities at least once a week. More than half of the population have access to a summer house in the countryside or on the coast.

You said, "If you're ever in Los Angeles we must have dinner"- well, he's here. That's not an invitation! Translated, it means: "You're a boring piece of shit, I'm off, I've had enough of you!" EvenbeforeCovid we spent a huge part of the nursery day outdoors but since 2020 have been basedoutside for the majority of the nursery day and it was great to learn from Dr Jane Reed that this is exactly how Froebel ran hiskindergarten in Bad Blankenburg. In the past 16 years I have read widely and attended many conferences in person and online and engaged with colleagues across theworld to help me develop my knowledge andunderstanding of the youngest children in our education system. I have been fortunate to visit settings across Europe thanks to differentfundingprogrammes andengage indiscussions with colleagues across the globe. These visits and interactions have had a huge influence on my practice. During all my time as a nursery teacher I felt myself drawn to one particular theorist - Friedrich Froebel,something about his ideas and approach just resonated with me.

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This idiom isn’t used to describe the weather, but it can help avoid confusion. Be careful when you say you have cold tootsies in German; this expression is the same in English. If you’re feeling doubtful of a situation, or put off, you might get cold feet. A typical example of this is someone bailing on their wedding. Bonus: So kalt ist es nicht – it’s not that cold A cooking fire doesn’t just add heat; it adds flavour,” says Bax. “Try roasting leeks: you get a charred outer that has slight bitterness and a centre that is meltingly soft, smokey and juicy … sheer bliss.” Thanks in large part to the screen-heavy nature of today’s world, studies reveal both children and adults are spending less time connected to nature. This, of course, despite numerous reports that show just how key exposure to the outdoors is when it comes to our physical and mental health. In her book, There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather, Swedish-American journalist, blogger, and mother of two, Linda Åkeson McGurk explores whether the nature-centric parenting philosophy of her native Scandinavia holds the key to healthier, happier lives for her children. Below, we caught up with the author (whose children are now 9 and 12) to hear about her own upbringing as well as how best to get kids outdoors…even in the dead of winter.

We have a very free work environment and believe that our employees work best when they decide when to work,” says Jakob Palmers, the co-founder of Graphiq, a design agency based in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. “That means people can go and experience friluftsliv when the sun is up and work when it's dark”. So, now we move to onlinelearning for our nursery children and for manyparents this is ananxious time,especially if they have otherolder children at home and are trying to juggle work forthemselves too. But as Ilistened to many questionsfrom anxiousparents I realised what an impact NOT being in the nursery this year has had on their perceptions oflearning for a preschooler. Yes, it works in the singular too, and that can be followed by either a singular or (probably more often) a plural expression. You have this interesting sort-of counter-culture developing. So I think maybe for us, our generation – in the big cities at least – might find other ways of achieving something similar to friluftsliv, maybe more with a spiritual note.”I came across a gipsy encampment, the first of many I was to see....I never saw any of these Romany folk working; always they were squatting before a fire, doing absolutely nothing at all but gaze in the embers. What their philosophy of life is, I cannot guess, but it must be perfected at a very early age, and I imagine none but those who are whispered the secret in their cradles can ever hope to understand it. Idleness has no defence; it cause mental and moral and physical stagnation; but the me I saw in these camps were completely inactive. They were not resting from their labours, but simply lounging killing time. It was almost pathetic to see them, for theirs were not happy faces, but the hopeless, expressionless faces of men sunk deep in melancholy....They were as men without hope, waiting for the end; they were refugees, outcasts, yet neither.” Hi Ulf, thanks for reading and for your very productive comment! Unfortunately you’ve taken the post a little too literally rather than in the gentle humour it was intended (and that everyone else seems to have grasped). I’ve lived in Norway for 4 years now, so clearly I don’t mind the weather too much 🙂 Reply For a preschooler the next few weeks are not about sitting up at a tablelearning letter, shapes or numbers from books or tracingletters etc. In mysetting alllearning is done through play, at no point do we sit thechildren down and say 'Now we are going to learn shapes etc.' and that isn't how it should bedone at home either. From an early age Norwegians soon learn how to dress appropriately. Grasping the concept of layering is just as important as learning to count. If Norwegians didn't go out in bad weather, in certain parts of the country they would never go out at all! (here's looking at you, Bærgen!)

I leave you with a complaint. Now, the country is in a terrible state, and you've blamed it on a number of things: Unemployment rate, the value of the pound and all that... well, it's because the national anthem is boring. As a Brit, I took David’s expression as a gag and nothing else; slightly obnoxious, but well within the normal boundaries of gags in this day and age. It is obvious to me he would never dream of saying that to anyone except perhaps as a running joke to Norwegian friends… and I’ve never met the bloke!There’s no such thing as a bad decision, Kali,” she would say. “There are only hard lessons and gentle lessons. In the end, you always learn.” I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to work in our partner kindergarten in Norway over the Easter break, it was the perfect chanceto spend time in the kindergarten without having to get cover for my own class while I was away. 4 of us in total took part in this job shadowing experience, 2 of us from N. Ireland and 2 from Croatia and as we all lived together for the 2 weeks it allowed for lots of discussions each afternoon and evening. I was in Trondheim last year. Now visiting Norway again in winter. Your writing is so funny. I’ll take the revenge advise.