BUSH KINDY PROGRAM
Due to our wonderful location, with the bush on our doorstep, Allambie Bush Kindy offers a wonderful Bush Kindy Program which allows the children to connect directly with nature. In the natural environment, the children are free to explore and play with virtually no boundaries, enabling the children to connect through play with the space and their land in a way that cannot be done under a roof or within walls. Nature is the ultimate open-ended resource.
Overseas research highlights eight benefits children gain from learning in the outdoors:
- Building confidence and independence
- Feeling empathy for others and nature
- Improved fitness
- Mental health benefits
- Learning by experience
- Exposure to manageable risk
- Better sleep and mood
- Learning about spiritual meaning
What your child will experience
The program runs three days a week for an hour and a half each morning ensuring that all the children in the preschool classes have the opportunity to participate.
During a bush kindy session, we may explore bush tracks, look at the inhabitants of puddles with a magnifying glass, identify birds with binoculars or observe changes to the bush and wildlife in the area. The children will have the opportunity participate in physical activities such as digging, constructing, negotiating uneven ground and climbing rocks and trees, as well as other fun activities like making mud pies and creating art in the sand with sticks and stones. The program also compliments the sustainable practices already in place at the centre and it teaches the children respect and responsibility for their local environment.
How your child will benefit
Through the Bush Kindy Program, we support children to develop self-motivation, concentration, confidence, independence, resilience. and self-esteem. These are the most important indicators for school readiness. We would also encourage the children to work individually or in groups to problem solve, be creative and occupy their time independent of man-made equipment.
Children are natural learners. Our Bush Kindy Program will provide your child with the time and an ideal environment for them to learn in – over an hour of uninterrupted play in the bush, using what nature has provided as learning materials.
Bush Kindy will be a special part of your child’s total experience at Allambie Bush Kindy. Following the Early Years Learning Framework, each child’s developmental progression and particular interests will be noted by the educators. The educators will use this knowledge to support the children’s learning just as they do at Kindy. Through play your children will connect with and respect our bush environment.
Read here what the Manly Daily had to say about Allambie Bush Kindy (formerly Allambie Heights Children’s Centre) and the importance of encouraging children to spend time outdoors, while learning about nature.
For our Bush Kindy Program policies/risk assessments please contact the centre.