We are starting to get excited about our upcoming term three Bush Inventors’ Club (After School Program)! A favourite amongst children and playworkers alike, this term centers on learning to create, care for, and cook with fire. When founded on the three pillars of respect (respect for self, others, and the environment), teaching fire provides…
The children had such conviction about knowing what the birds were saying. More than that, they felt such a strong connection with birds.
Time outside is incredibly valuable. It contributes to both our physical and mental wellbeing, promoting activity whilst providing a sense of connection and belonging. In our programs we see these benefits over and over again. At Bush Inventors’ Club, kids often arrive from their day, stressed, irritable and finding it difficult to focus. To counter…
Nature. Even if it’s the grass in your backyard or plants on your balcony, it’s all around us — even during coronavirus. In an episode recorded well before coronavirus hit us, Maggie talks to nature play experts Gillian McAuliffe and Daniel Burton about the perfect places for growing bodies and minds to play.”
Throughout this cubby building process, a child’s curiosity is being developed. The open-ended nature of the task allows for exploration, experimentation, play and creativity. The physical development of the child is enhanced, as they engage their fine motor skills, using tools or tying up tarps.
Our Bush Inventors’ Club after school program started out as a place for invention, tinkering and building as a team. We were inspired by the work of Gever Tulley and the Institute of Applied Tinkering. As a result, our after school program provides space for children to build, create and invent. It has now turned into…
We are incredibly fortunate to meet an increasing number of children through our KIN Village school holiday programs. We have observed over the last few years at our programs, and previously in our role as teachers, a decline in the number of children who possess even the most basic of ‘home’ skills. Children who didn’t…
At our Mud Pies Nature Playgroups this term we have been exploring child development through the art of weaving. Weaving, threading and sewing requires strong finger muscles and good coordination. In support of their fine motor development, children first need to strengthen their gross motor systems, building core muscles and shoulder girdles to be able to…
‘Alright kids, imagine you are a Chuditch*, silently hunting for your prey. Carefully move across the landscape…’ We had only taken a few delicate steps when we were interrupted by a wandering group of fellow wild children, whom, like me, were surprised to come across each other in this bush setting. They were a group of…
When deciding on new locations for our Mud Pies Nature Playgroups we search for simple nature spaces in local neighbourhoods. The ideal location is somewhere close to where families live so they can easily return to the space between our sessions. Somewhere that feels like it envelopes you with protective trees and bushes but also provides…
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