I Ur och Skur preschools base their teaching on outdoor activities and all educators are called leaders, disregarding their educational background.

The purpose of this study is to find out how the leaders of six I Ur och Skur preschools are working, specifically with the written language, in the outdoors environment. The study discusses the concept of literacy, methods leaders use and the advantages and disadvantages they experience with outdoors education and the thoughts they have about outdoor activities. The basis for this study is the objective pursued in the curriculum: "preschools should strive to ensure that children develop an interest in written language and an understanding of symbols and their communicative functions". Respondents have also been asked what outdoors education means to them on a personal level.

To achieve my research results five qualitative interviews, with room for follow-up questions, were conducted. One of the respondents felt that she lacked time but still wanted to participate and doing so by answering questions by email. A total of six interviews were conducted, transcribed and analyzed. All respondents in this study are active leaders in I Ur och Skur preschools in a major city in Sweden.

The results of the six interviews from the leaders show how they work with written language activities for children outdoors. The methods used seem quite similar between the various preschools. The leaders exploit the opportunities that are given, e.g. they write in the snow with watercolors or draw in the sand with sticks. They also read books outdoors for the children. The advantage, according to respondents, is that the material never ends, it is possible to write with almost anything. Possible disadvantages are bad weather conditions or too much background noise that may distract the children at times when they need to concentrate.