When our children are around 4 years of age, we start thinking about getting ready for school. The problem is, we tend to think being ready for school means learning some literacy and numeracy. Believe it or not, that's the easy bit. Those concepts will be much easier to learn when all the other stuff … Continue reading Are They Ready For School? No, Ready for Life!
Celebrating Australian Pollinator Week with Kids and Native Bees
Did you know that native bees are significant in Kombumerri culture? Jabreen, the Kombumerri creator, feasted on native bee honey after shaping the lands and waters of the Gold Coast. Jabreen eventually created Jellargal (Burleigh Mountain), the place of honey and the place of bees. The Dreaming story emphasizes the sacred connection between Aboriginal culture … Continue reading Celebrating Australian Pollinator Week with Kids and Native Bees
Top Tips for Ticks in Nature Play
A Parent's Guide to Ticks In Australia with a Bonus FREE Fact Sheet Meet Ixodes holocyclus. We love creatures, but this little bitty arachnid, commonly known as ticks, is not our favourite friend to meet when we play. Ticks generally spend their time hanging out in humid places like creeks, forests and bushy spots (so, … Continue reading Top Tips for Ticks in Nature Play
Respectful Ways to Help Children
As parents, caregivers and mentors, our role is to provide support in a respectful manner, allowing children to tackle challenges on their own terms. For sure, it's often easier to do things ourselves, than to allow our enthusiastic, but unskilled, two-year-old to do it. But should we? When do we help, and when do we encourage persistence? What is the best way to help children? What's so bad about helping, anyway?
Oral language development through storytelling
he moment we are born, humans begin to learn through their senses and emotional connections. Oral storytelling continues this learning - tapping into our innate ability to make sense of the world through relationships with others.
Five Benefits of Adventure Play
As parents, we try to provide our children with the best tools and experiences to shape their growth, development, and overall well-being. We want to foster creativity and imagination, balance this with physical and mental wellbeing and combine it with the ability to self-manage and problem-solve! We also want our children to have a lot … Continue reading Five Benefits of Adventure Play
Reset, Recharge and Refocus: the therapeutic benefits of adventure-based programs for kids.
Written by BIRDWINGS FOREST SCHOOL "Sometimes when you try hard things, you find out you can actually do them!" This exclamation was the epiphany that came to a child while his group was scrambling up a gully. He was leaning over the steep rock-face he had just climbed up, a little surprised that he had … Continue reading Reset, Recharge and Refocus: the therapeutic benefits of adventure-based programs for kids.
Confidence flows from Connection: helping children do hard things
All learning begins with a sense of trust and security. We cannot possibly ask children to learn something new if they do not feel safe or cared for. Connection must come first and through connection we learn about each other, and what we are ready to do. At Birdwings Forest School, we work closely with … Continue reading Confidence flows from Connection: helping children do hard things
Birdwings – QORF Outdoors Queensland Award Winners 2020!
Birdwings Forest School have been named winners in the Nature Play Community award for the 2020 Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation Outdoors Queensland Awards. This award recognises our contribution to the provision of community nature play and green spaces of the Gold Coast, including our WildPlay Adventurers playgroups, our Community Spring Fair, Nature Connection Training and the ecological projects we continually work on as an integrated part of our Bush Club and Little Birdwings Forest Kindy programs.
Community Spring Fair, 2020
Despite the interesting events of 2020, we have flourished in our creek and bush play this year, and it was our pleasure to be able to share our joy with our Birdwings Forest School and local community in our recent Spring Fair.