Israel’s first outdoor preschool incorporates switchblades and scorpions

19/06/2017 4:04

It sounds like a Jewish mother’s nightmare: a preschool class held outdoors in the desert. But parents in this remote Israeli town drop off their children at Gan Keshet every weekday during the school year, setting them free to cook on a campfire, whittle sticks with switchblades and search for scorpions. Class goes on rain (rare) or shine (intense). “The kids meet real life when they come here,” said Ron Meltzer, the school’s soft-spoken principal and visionary. “Spending time in nature — without an iPhone or computer — gives them many important gifts. I think it’s a solution for a major problem in our culture today.”

Tess Michaels