Learn Hardcore German: Im Kindergarten spielt unsere Tochter gern draußen und liebt die Bewegung im Garten. - In kindergarten our daughter likes to play outside and loves the movement/exercise in the garden.

in + dem = im
- in dem Kindergarten → im Kindergarten
- This contraction is standard and very common (like an dem → am, zu dem → zum).

Using the full form in dem Kindergarten is possible but sounds more formal or contrastive, e.g. when you want to stress that specific kindergarten.

Just in Kindergarten (without an article) is not standard German here. Unlike English “in kindergarten”, German usually needs an article with places like der Kindergarten, die Schule, die Uni, so you say im Kindergarten, in der Schule, etc.

What case is Kindergarten in here, and why?

Kindergarten is in the dative case:

Base form: der Kindergarten (masculine, nominative)
Dative singular: dem Kindergarten → contracted to im Kindergarten

The preposition in is a two-way preposition.

With location (answering Wo? – “Where?”), it takes the dative:
- im Kindergarten (where she is)
With direction/motion (answering Wohin? – “Where to?”), it takes the accusative:
- in den Kindergarten gehen (go to kindergarten)

Why is it unsere Tochter and not unser Tochter?

Tochter is a feminine noun (die Tochter). Possessive determiners like unser behave like ein-words and get endings that depend on gender, case, and number.

Here, unsere is:

person: wir → unser-
case: nominative (subject of the sentence)
gender: feminine (Tochter)
correct form: unsere Tochter

Compare:

unser Sohn (masculine nominative → no ending)
unsere Tochter (feminine nominative → -e)
unser Kind (neuter nominative → no ending)

What exactly does gern do in spielt unsere Tochter gern draußen? Why not use mag?

gern is an adverb that expresses liking the activity of the verb:

Sie spielt gern. → “She likes playing.” / “She enjoys playing.”
Pattern: etwas gern machen = “to like doing something”

If you used mag, the structure would change. mögen typically takes a noun object:

Sie mag Schokolade. – “She likes chocolate.”

To express liking an activity with mögen, you have to rephrase:

Sie mag es, draußen zu spielen.

That is grammatically correct but longer and less natural in everyday speech than:

Sie spielt gern draußen.

So for “likes to play outside,” spielt gern draußen is the most natural choice.

Is there any difference between gern and gerne?

In modern German, gern and gerne are practically interchangeable in meaning.

Sie spielt gern draußen.
Sie spielt gerne draußen.

Both are correct and mean the same thing. Some speakers feel gerne is a bit more “flowing” or slightly more formal/polite in some contexts, but there is no real grammatical or semantic difference here. In the given sentence, you can use either.

Why is the word order Im Kindergarten spielt unsere Tochter gern draußen and not Im Kindergarten unsere Tochter spielt gern draußen?

German main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule:

The finite verb (here: spielt) must be the second element in the clause.
Only one element can come before it (subject, adverbial, object, etc.).

In the sentence:

1st element: Im Kindergarten (adverbial phrase of place)
2nd element: spielt (finite verb)
then: unsere Tochter gern draußen

If you said Im Kindergarten unsere Tochter spielt gern draußen, the verb (spielt) would be in third position, which is ungrammatical in a main clause.

You can also say:

Unsere Tochter spielt im Kindergarten gern draußen.
Gern spielt unsere Tochter draußen im Kindergarten.

As long as the finite verb is the second element, the rest can move for emphasis.

How does the part und liebt die Bewegung im Garten fit into the grammar of the sentence?

This is a coordination of two clauses that share the same subject:

(1) Im Kindergarten spielt unsere Tochter gern draußen
(2) [Im Kindergarten] liebt unsere Tochter die Bewegung im Garten

In everyday speech, German usually omits the repeated subject in the second clause:

Im Kindergarten spielt unsere Tochter gern draußen und liebt die Bewegung im Garten. → Full version: … spielt unsere Tochter gern draußen und (unsere Tochter) liebt die Bewegung im Garten.

So grammatically, you have two main clauses joined by und, both with a (visible or implied) subject unsere Tochter and a finite verb in second position:

spielt (2nd element in the first clause)
liebt (2nd element in the second clause, if you “restore” the omitted subject).

What does draußen mean exactly, and how is it different from außen or im Freien?

draußen
- Means “outside” / “outdoors” as a place adverb.
- Sie spielt gern draußen. – “She likes playing outside.”
außen
- Means “on the outside (surface)” of something, often in contrast to innen (inside).
- Die Tür ist außen blau und innen weiß.
im Freien
- Literally “in the open”, used like “outdoors / in the open air”.
- Sie spielt gern im Freien.

In your sentence, draußen is exactly right for “outside (not inside the building).”

Why is Bewegung used here? Does it really just mean “movement,” or more like “exercise”?

The noun Bewegung has several meanings, and in everyday contexts it often means physical activity / exercise:

Ich brauche mehr Bewegung. – “I need more exercise.”
Kinder brauchen viel Bewegung. – “Children need lots of physical activity.”

In your sentence:

… liebt die Bewegung im Garten.

This is best understood as “loves the physical activity in the garden” – running around, climbing, playing, etc. It is not about a single specific “movement” but about being active.

In other contexts, Bewegung can also mean:

political movement – die Frauenbewegung
motion – die Bewegung eines Zuges

But here the natural reading is “exercise / physical activity.”

Why is it die Bewegung with the article, not just liebt Bewegung?

Using the definite article die here makes Bewegung feel like a specific, concrete type of activity in that situation:

Sie liebt die Bewegung im Garten.
→ She loves the (physical) activity she gets in the garden.

If you said Sie liebt Bewegung im Garten, it would still be understandable, but it sounds more generic/abstract, like “she loves movement in gardens (in general).”

German often uses the definite article with abstract nouns when talking about a particular instance or situation:

Ich liebe die Ruhe hier. – I love the quiet (here, now).
Die Musik gefällt mir. – I like the music (that is playing now).

Why is Garten also in the dative in im Garten? Is this the same rule as im Kindergarten?

Yes, exactly the same rule:

Base form: der Garten (masculine, nominative)
Dative singular: dem Garten → contracted to im Garten (in dem Garten)

Again, in with a location (where?) uses the dative:

im Garten spielen – to play in the garden (location)
in den Garten gehen – to go into the garden (direction, accusative)

Could the sentence be ordered differently, for example Unsere Tochter spielt gern draußen im Kindergarten und liebt die Bewegung im Garten? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, that alternative order is grammatically correct and the basic meaning stays the same.

Im Kindergarten spielt unsere Tochter gern draußen …
→ Slight emphasis on the place (“At kindergarten, our daughter…”).
Unsere Tochter spielt gern draußen im Kindergarten …
→ Slight emphasis on the subject (“Our daughter likes to play outside at kindergarten…”).

German allows quite flexible word order for adverbials like im Kindergarten, gern, draußen, as long as:

the finite verb is in second position, and
the sentence remains natural for native speakers.

So your reordered version is fine and idiomatic.

Why are words like Kindergarten, Tochter, Bewegung, and Garten capitalized in the middle of the sentence?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence:

Kindergarten – noun, masculine
Tochter – noun, feminine
Bewegung – noun, feminine
Garten – noun, masculine

This is a core spelling rule of German. Adjectives, verbs, and most other word types are not capitalized (except at the beginning of a sentence or in specific fixed cases), but nouns always are.