Philosophy

Are there facilitator/child ratios?

We maintain a 1:11 ratio as a minimum.

Why are my children exposed to and engaged with dangerous or risky activities at Educated by Nature programs?

We believe allowing children to face risk and challenge increases their abilities to push themselves to their limits, to find those limits and then develop ways to expand them.

Children need risk in their lives to allow opportunities for learning, self-development, resiliency building and excitement. Nature provides opportunities for children to experience risk and manage themselves in risky situations.

Facilitators guide participants to grow their ability in self-assessing and manage risk.

For further information and great resources, we recommend checking out Tim Gill’s website.

Should my child wear shoes throughout the program?

Bare foot connection with the earth is really important, however our programs do run in public spaces. Facilitators do a visual sweep of the space during setting up, but we cannot guarantee that there aren’t things in the space that may be sharp or cause injury. We ask that children and adults be aware of the space and ground they are walking on and take care.

What are the Play Responsibilities?

Educated by Nature believes in the child’s right to play and ask children to take on responsibility for their play by respecting themselves, each other and the environment.

Bush Inventors’ Club and KIN Village are drop and leave programs for 6 -12 year olds. Children attending these programs are required to have the capacity to take on the following responsibilities:

• Leave their parent/s or guardian/s at the drop off point and attend the session on their own (for children requiring support workers see Convention 8 of booking terms and conditions).
  Remain within the physical boundaries set by Educated by Nature facilitators.
• Follow Educated by Nature facilitator calls and directions.
  Respond to instructions to gather as a group to listen to safety briefings, instructions and discussions throughout the day (in English).
• Work alongside other children, sharing resources and ideas.
• Use strategies to deal with frustration or other negative emotions. Examples include speaking about how they feel, seeking help or removing themselves from the group but staying within the boundaries.
• Self-risk assess and participate in activities. Some activities are designed to comfort participants (ie. being in a hammock) and some may provide challenge (ie. using carpentry tools).

It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to assess whether their child has the capacity to take on the responsibilities at an Educated by Nature program. Educated by Nature facilitators will work together with the child, as much as practical, to assist with carrying out these play responsibilities.

Why do we drop our children off separate to where you spend the day?

The journey from the drop-off point to our home base forms an important ritual of the day. As we leave our parents/guardians behind, we move out of any feelings of unrest the morning may have caused and into a brand new and exciting space. Leaving our guardians behind gives the day a sense of adventure, as we journey forth.

For this reason, we ask that parents be ready to say goodbye at the drop-off space and do not accompany us any further. We will have at least four staff with us and someone is always available to hang out with any nervous participants until they find their feet.

Why do you use real tools?

We are so glad you asked! There are so many reasons, but here are a few main ones:

• Being able to engage with risky activities is so important for children. It helps them to develop vital self-risk assessment skills for adult life.
• When we trust children, it instills in them a belief that they are capable, building self confidence.
• Real tools are easier to use! Fake, “child-safe” tools are hard to hurt yourself with, but also hard to build with. Children have more success, and are less likely to just give up, when they have real tools.
• It teaches responsibility. We explain carefully the risks and dangers of the tool, and how to avoid them. The presence of real risk pushes them to rise to the challenge and act responsibly.
  
  

I was always taught not to play with fire! Why are you teaching kids how to make it?

All of our fire sessions are accompanied with detailed instructions. We walk through the reasons why we do things in certain ways and explain how they keep ourselves safe. We find that when children are fearful of fire, they act erratically around it and are much more likely to get hurt. When they understand and respect fire, they act purposefully and calmly, taking responsibility for their own safety.

We do not have matches at our programs. Instead, we use Fire Steels. These are not easy! Children must persevere, developing hand muscles and coordination skills, to be able to light the fire. Once lit, we use fire as an opportunity to teach cooking, and then as a catalyst for community building as we all sit around it.

Why the big age range?

Our programs aim to build community and foster mentoring across different age groups – this is reflected both in our participant and staff age range. We believe multiple ages and experiences are important and mentoring can happen backwards through age groups.

Check out this blog for further explanation - The Art of Mentoring

Do you do different things each day/term? Can my child attend a program twice?

No two sessions are ever identical! All our programs have a set flow, but allow for child-led freedom within the structure. (We follow the Natural Cycle as outlined by the 8 Shields Institute of Deep Nature Connection. This cycle is based natural energy flows of the day and fits with our body’s natural progression).

For KIN, each holiday has a different theme, but many children attend multiple sessions throughout each school holiday period. Although elements are the same the possibilities are endless and it is in these similarities and familiarities that children find the comfort to return to the project they started, kick off where they left a game or start a completely new adventure. We also offer multiple locations, so that is another way to alter the experience of KIN Village.

Bush Inventors' Club offers a different theme each term and we mix up the activities each year. For example, if your child attends our fire term two years running we might add in some new recipes or new fire techniques to keep things fresh!