Inhabiting in a Forest of Early Childhood Education and Care: Entangled with Grass, Ants, and Grasshoppers

As the impacts of climate change gain increasing attention, natural elements have become a significant focus in the field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Two main trends have emerged: one involves bringing nature into kindergartens, such as nature corners in classrooms, more plant decorations, and classroom pets; the other involves taking children out into natural environments, such as hiking, camping, and forest schools. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork from a private kindergarten in China, which rents a small forest for the children, this paper explores what it means to inhabit a forest in the context of ECEC. While a 3-year-old boy was catching grasshoppers, he was accidentally bitten by a red ant, causing his hand to swell. Although the teachers initially worried it might be a more serious bite from a leafcutter ant, they later concluded it was likely an allergic reaction to a local red ant. Despite the concern raised by the incident, the boy’s parents were understanding and believed it was not a serious issue, allowing him to stay at the kindergarten for the rest of the day. At first glance, this story appears to be about child safety in kindergartens. However, from a posthuman perspective, humans and more-than-human entities are entangled, and the ant’s bite can be seen as a form of boundary-making from the more-than-human. In the context of the Anthropocene, this paper may contribute to the broader conversation on posthumanism in education, advocating for a more inclusive understanding of ECEC that acknowledges the significance of more-than-human actors.