At Vineyard we have been on the path of Nature Play for some time now. I am known around the traps for being pretty savvy with iPads…and yeah, I find them pretty exciting. What I find REALLY exciting is best practice education, a holistic approach that enables all areas of a children’s learning to be addressed.
Nature Play is important for a myriad of reasons. It encourages calculated risk taking – a skill much lacking in the sometimes ‘cotton wool’ generation of today, it allows sensory opportunities, physical experiences, connections with the science curriculum and a peaceful time for students – and that’s just the beginning!
We entered into Nature Play with our highly successful on site experience – students engaging with natural materials and their environment, read more at this blog post; https://stephkrie.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/outdoor-play/
Building on this learning we have now gone off site with our Nature Play. Adjacent to our school is the Little Vines ELC, the feeder kindy for our school. ELC Director Alex Nicholls is an experienced educator in Nature Play and has helped to advocate for it’s place in our curriculum. On alternate weeks our Foundation and Year 1/2 students have been traveling to the Little Vines Bush Block, and enjoying every minute of it!
Students enter the Bush Block through a ‘secret garden’ style hole in the scrub, just off the Riesling Trail. They follow natural paths beaten into the undergrowth by curious children, tunnels through the scrub at child height – not easily accessible by grown ups.
The ‘play equipment’ is as natural as it comes;
– a dirt slide
– a haybale ‘castle’
– a tree cubby
– a climbing frame of old tree trunks which is also sometimes some cars…or rockets…or whatever!
Scratches aren’t whinged over, rather worn as badges of honour. Dirty clothes mean a successful day.
Encouragement is an old fashioned push up the hill with a hand on the back, a pull on a tyre swing or a ‘You can do it!’
The excitement of found creatures and special ‘things’ and accompanying learning – questions asked, curiosities piqued.
Loose parts add to the natural excitement of the environment.
The Nature Play experience at Little Vines has been immeasurably successful, we will share more throughout the Term.
FromtheForest 