Bush Kinder recognises the place the bush has in Australian folklore and the significance of the land in Aboriginal culture.
No toys, No tools, No art supplies
The children and adults benefit from using only what nature has provided.
https://www.bushkinder.education bushkinder@gmail.com
Claire Warden and I have taken years to put together a showcase of some of the most significant work in education.
Each chapter is authored by leaders in their field.
Published by Pademelon Press
Being launched at the end of March with Claire at the IANP Symposium in Victoria and me the Childhood Summit in QLD. Click the images to be taken to the events.
Place based nature kindergarten in Victoria, Australia published in the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education is now able to be freely viewed by using this link https://rdcu.be/boLR6 or clicking the image
“If we’re really going to engage with sustainability, then we need to do things with a focus on critical pedagogies,” Sue Elliott maintained. “It’s very easy to do the lovely sensory things about ‘how does the tree feel?’, and hug the tree, and to investigate different animals that you might find from a science perspective, but we need to take it a step further.”
Rain or shine, keen children from Goodstart Early Learning Bathurst leave behind toys, books and buildings for their Bush Kindy session in Mount Panorama-Wahluu’s bushland. The program is enhanced by strong Aboriginal educatorsand a positive relationship with Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC).
Moving
away from standardised climbing equipment and into trees…. for safety!
Take
a look at this video of what happens when one step in a New York subway is
slightly different from the others.
A
slight deviation in a pattern of assumed environmental factors [the steps]
increases the likelihood of an accident to occur.
When
faced with standardised design, we speculate, we predict, we make an assumption
that our relationship with the environment is constant, predictable and safe.
We
no longer assess safety we assume safety.
When
children are supplied with standardised climbing equipment, they do the same.
Children are inadvertently taught to assume safety and not assess it.
In
my teaching practice I work in both a natural environment [Bush Kinder] and a
built environment [Home Kinder].
My teaching colleagues and I observed components of each environment and what those components ‘told’ the
children.
When
we focused on a comparison of tree climbing and trestle climbing, this is what
we found.
A
frames are unbending,
the
rungs are evenly sized
evenly
spaced.
Braches
vary,
they
move.
They
talk to you,
they
creak,
they
sway,
they
let you know if they are going to support you
[or
not].
Bush
Kinder kids know this,
they
shift their weight,
their
hands switch branches.
They
listen as the trees talk to them and
They
answer the trees with their movement.
Internationally
respected landscape architect Helle Nebelong states“I am convinced that standardised playgrounds
are dangerous, just in another way: When the distance between all the rungs in
a climbing net or a ladder is exactly the same, the child has no need to
concentrate on where he puts his feet. Standardisation is dangerous because
play becomes simplified and the child does not have to worry about his
movements. This lesson cannot be carried over to all the knobbly and
asymmetrical forms, with which one is confronted throughout life.”
Rarni
Rothwell and Olivia Ogden of St Josephs Outside School Hours Care – North
Ipswich. Shifted their practice inline with their beliefs and allowed children
to “climb trees and scale to new heights”
“The
new me would watch quietly... observe the capabilities of the climbers; ask
questions if I needed to confirm they were considering the risks carefully. As
I become more aware of the climber’s knowledge and skill, my focus of inquiry
would switch to more abstract ponderings. I would listen to what they are
sharing with me. I would celebrate their achievements as they grew in
confidence and reached greater heights. I would ensure that I captured this
learning for the families and children to revisit. I would ensure that they
always had access to this unique learning environment...”
Children perceive climbing as fun and strive to
accomplish reaching the highest point possible,
overcome challenges and test their abilities.
Climbing a tree can build confidence and develop
coordination, problem solving skills, and strength.
As children play together in a tree, their social,
creative and imaginative skills are enhanced.
Children should be encouraged to climb safe
trees. Playing outside in a tree gives them direct
contact with nature and the tactile experience of
touching different barks and leaves.
Children have a natural instinct to be cautious of
heights. When climbing a tree, they will learn skills
to seek out stable branches and determine the
best route to take kidsafe NSW
Giving children opportunities to climb trees gives them opportunities to learn to assess risk and stay safe. Doug Fargher
