#220: Favorite Places and Relationships with Nature in Children’s Drawings from a Forest Kindergarten

This study examines how 5–to 6-year-old children in a forest kindergarten in Japan represented their favorite places through drawings and follow-up conversations. Most children selected outdoor places as their favorites, with 17 of 18 drawings depicting outdoor spaces and 16 of those 17 placing favorite places in natural settings. The findings suggest that children understood favorite spaces not simply as attractive scenery, but through relationships, preferred activities, and everyday participation in a nature-rich environment. Children’s drawings also included remembered and imagined elements, suggesting that meaningful experience with place extended beyond the immediate moment. Together, these findings suggest that everyday interaction with the natural world may support children’s positive and meaningful relationships with nature in early childhood.