Bush kinder

For several years, Warekila has run a bush kinder program that provides valuable opportunities for our children to explore the natural environment and to extend our educational program. ​Once a month, our four year old group embarks on an adventure to a local reserve, such as Koonung Creek Linear Park, where they spend the day outdoors.

The development of bush kinders reflects the mounting body of evidence that outdoor activities such as exploring natural environments, are beneficial to children and contribute to improving children’s health and wellbeing.
​- Victorian Department of Education and Training

Bush kinder, or nature play, settings are physically characterised by:

• Diverse sensory elements and landscapes (e.g., hills, flowers, water, dirt)
• Loose materials for play (e.g., logs, bark, leaves)
• Risk and challenge (e.g., balancing, climbing)
• Novelty and change (e.g., seasons, growth)
• Local cultural and geographical relevance (e.g., Indigenous meanings, landmarks)

There are many and varied benefits of bush kinder, including:

• Increased confidence, motivation and concentration, increased social, physical, imaginative and language skills
• Deeper conceptual understandings and respect for the natural environment
• Families and wider community attitudes towards natural places for play and children’s risk management can be enhanced
• Teacher’s understandings of and relationships with the children are deepened
• Sustained shared thinking and more frequent child-initiated interactions with teachers prompted by the natural environment and found loose parts

Source: Dr Sue Elliott, University of New England, Armidale, NSW