An all-weather, outdoor early childhood program is a unique experience (but fortunately one that is gaining popularity in Australia), and one that comes with many considerations regarding children’s safety. Here’s a list of questions we are most commonly asked about our Little Birdwings Forest Kindy program - and with no surprise they are mostly about … Continue reading What do you do when it rains? (and other frequently asked questions)
bush kindy
The Tree Grows Strong, A Story for Reconciliation.
At Birdwings Forest School we enjoy many types of storytelling, but mostly we use oral storytelling to share our knowledge and experiences. We tell stories of our own experience, Kombumerri and other Aboriginal dreaming stories, stories about seasonal learning and our own play. Sometimes we use props, sometimes we use actions, but for this kind … Continue reading The Tree Grows Strong, A Story for Reconciliation.
Fun with friends in forest school
We love our Birdwings Bush Club and Little Birdwings Forest Kindy because children can have a natural childhood, playing and having fun with friends in nature.
What does risk-taking really look like in early childhood?
One of the biggest hurdles to outdoor play is understanding the nature of risk-taking. We have found that the most challenging daily risk-taking children will experience in our nature immersion programs has little to do with wild nature play at all. Snakes, fire-work, water-play and tree-climbing are not as challenging for children as putting on … Continue reading What does risk-taking really look like in early childhood?
Getting enough nature play?
We want our children to have a special, care-free childhood filled with special memories of family moments and playing with friends, just like our own was. We know it is a priority to make sure our children have free play time outside, but our lives as parents are so busy and childhood is increasingly scheduled, so that it is now difficult to ensure our children are getting enough nature play. Finding the balance between the pressures of modern living and our own values for freedom, creativity and play can be a real challenge families.
The challenges of childhood are meant to be tricky.
Challenge is meant to be a bit tricky. Challenge stretches us and asks us to find our more about ourselves. Challenge encourages us to reflect on our capabilities, our effort and our motivation. It hones our vision and it uplifts us when we finally realise that now we can do it, when we couldn't before. Remember when that was hard?
Storytelling on the track: three ways to explore nature, culture and our relationships with both.
Oral storytelling is one of the foundations of children's development of language and literacy. It's also one of our foundation practices at Birdwings - plus everyone loves a story! Storytelling for us happens in so many different ways. We share planned stories which often have props and scenery specially prepared. These stories we have written … Continue reading Storytelling on the track: three ways to explore nature, culture and our relationships with both.