Collaboration between Anders Leren met Paarden and Nedlandic

Anders Leren met Paarden has developed a method to help children learn school subjects in a playful way. Below, Tanja explains how this works.

More and more children are falling behind in education, unable to focus well in class, or are diagnosed with conditions like dyslexia or ADHD. It is not uncommon for many children who struggle in education to also end up in care. When learning doesn’t work, many children give up, develop poor self-esteem, or face behavioral issues.

In many cases, this is entirely unnecessary. Often, these are exceptionally smart children. According to Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, these are children who are visually smart, kinesthetically smart, nature smart, self-smart, people smart, and musically smart.

And sometimes, they may appear less language- and math-smart. But… this is because the education system doesn’t cater to these children. These are children who are gifted in different ways and are very visually oriented (while education tends to be language-based).

Children are naturally curious and eager to learn. By offering the material in a different way, it often works. Active learning is fortunately becoming increasingly popular. Unfortunately, many schools struggle with limited outdoor space and the right teaching methods. ANDERS LEREN MET PAARDEN is a method that involves horses, used by certified horse and child coaches to help children learn school subjects. This often takes place outside, in beautiful natural locations. How does it work?

Children love being outside, playing, and moving, and they enjoy colors. Spelling and math rules are translated into various courses and games that can be done on and around the horse or pony. Donkeys and dogs often join in as well. Through play, children learn to tell time, memorize multiplication tables, add and subtract, read, and do verb spelling. A variety of materials are used for this. The plastic poles from Nedlandic are perfect for the program. They maintain their beautiful color and are indestructible. Because they are lightweight and available in many bright colors, we can use them for all sorts of activities in ANDERS LEREN MET PAARDEN! For example, a long red pole for the big hand of the clock and a short green pole for the small hand. We’ve also translated parts of the math method “Met Sprongen Vooruit” (With Leaps Forward) by using poles to walk tens and make sums. In the verb spelling course, we use the red “I” pole as a base, and then we ride through the course with many more colored poles to find the correct verb forms and endings.

ANDERS LEREN MET PAARDEN now has more than one hundred horse coaches, spread across the Netherlands and Belgium. During training, participants receive an extensive materials package and the opportunity to purchase the poles at a discount from Nedlandic.

More information about the Anders Leren met Paarden training can be found here: www.anderslerenmetpaarden.nl 

We at Nedlandic are very happy to contribute to this project, helping children master school subjects in a fun way. The coaches of Anders Leren met Paarden buy products from Nedlandic to further help the children develop in their learning.

Blog written by Tanja Stigter