Nature Programme 17th February 2012

Last Friday we began our nature programme for the term (where we take our 10 eldest children into the bush for nature education once a week). With 9 new children to the programme it has been an exciting time as they had been eagerly waiting for the day that they would get to go to the special places that their friends, who have now left for school, told them about last term.





This Friday was the second week of the programme for the children; they were excited and raring to go.

We began this week with a visit from Police Education Officer Senior Constable Marnie. We have had lots of discussions with the children at Kindergarten about remaining safe, but it was great to have this reinforced by Constable Marnie.

Trying out our whistles with Constable Marnie







Soon we were ready to head off further into Mairpark. One of the children this week had brought a long rope from home, following on from work he had been doing at Kindergarten. This rope became a prominent part of today’s experiences. We climbed up the steep 'Punga hill' which due to the rain the night before was lovely and slippery - great for sliding back down on bottoms! The rope was particularly useful here. We tied it to a tree at the top and the children were able to use it to pull and heave themselves back to the top - only to slide all the way back down again.

Determination, Risk-taking

There is always time to enjoy the pleasure of food and a social chat.

The 'magic tree' has become a feature of the programme which the children like to visit most weeks. After heading off to the magic tree - the rope once again came in useful. The children thought it would be a great idea to make a rope swing, will all of them trying different techniques to try and throw the rope so that it looped over one of the bigger branches.

Problem-solving, Experimenting

  How will we get the rope over the tree?

Manjula and Leon were our fantastic parent helpers this week (thank you we couldn't do it without your support) and introduced the children to their skills and knowledge of the bush. 

Working together, Team work

Thinking creatively 

 Hut building with rocks

'Nature helps children develop powers of observation and creativity and instils a sense of peace and being at one with the world' (Crain 2001).

Christine