Ever wish you’d learned multiple languages while you were a child when your brain was hardwired for it? What about the language of nature, can you speak it?

Unfortunately, many children grow up in environments that don’t give them the opportunity to become fluent in things like growing food, caring for animals, understanding where their food comes from, or even rudimentary life skills. Yet children are inherently curious and most love to get their hands dirty.

With their nursery of the future project, Nursery Fields Forever, architectural practice aut- -aut aims to exploit children’s innate qualities. Using a “renovated” educational approach, children will learn from nature, both in technique and practice.

An integrated learning environment both inside and out, the future nursery schedule changes by the seasons. As the architects explain that the young students’ daily routines (aged two to five years-old),  they “unfold along a trajectory based on natural cycles.” This trajectory includes spaces that merge didactic and farming, with a leaning toward organic, biodynamic, and permaculture practices.

The benefits of an education like this move beyond tactical skills. Children learn how to develop socially, physically, and cognitively as they interacting with plants and animals. This teaching style makes it easier for kids to approach and interact with others as there’s a shared mission, especially when that effort involves taking care of something like an animal or plant.

Learning in this way demonstrates that domestic skills can act as a bridge for less social children to acquire confidence when engaging with others, while they also build self-esteem and learn to take responsibility.

While starting at such a young age makes fluency “second nature,” it’s never too late. Get out there and grow.

All images from aut- -aut.