WILD WONDERS 

Nature Play

Animal & Insect
Investigations
 
 
 
- interactions 
   - overcoming fears
- develops empathy
- ecosystems
 
- responsibility
  - cognitive development 
- nature appreciation
- stewardship
 
- life cycles
  - science concepts
- discover animal behavior
 
 

 

  • Look! A bat!
    Look! A bat!
  • Tracking squirrel
    Tracking squirrel
  • Viewed and photographed by child with the Zoomy
    Viewed and photographed by child with the Zoomy
Creative Arts
 
 
 
 
- exercising fine motor skills
- hand eye coordination
  - creativity
- social skills
 
 - pre-writing skills 
- experimenting
  - cause and effect
- self control
 
 - critical thinking
- inventiveness
  - sense of calm
- stress release
 
  • Building leprechaun traps
    Building leprechaun traps
  • Making a rain stick
    Making a rain stick
Dramatic Play
 
 
 
- communication skills
- cooperation skills
- imagination 
- developing empathy
  - anticipate new situations
- taking turns
- sharing
- free expression
  - exploring different family and community roles and real life situations
- imagination
- verbalize ideas
- understand emotions
Environmental Ed
 
 
 
- life cycles
 - increased awareness
- foundations for stewardship
- respect for the environment
- concentration
- relaxation
- fine and gross motor skill development
- imagination
- resiliency
- greater social skills
- increase in observation skills
- exploring/experimenting
  • Assessing the impact of the industrious beavers
    Assessing the impact of the industrious beavers
  • Owl pellet dissection & identifying bones found inside
    Owl pellet dissection & identifying bones found inside
  • Mosquito larvae wiggling around in the fairy hole!
    Mosquito larvae wiggling around in the fairy hole!
Gardening & Foraging
 
 
 
- promotes healthy eating
- improves focus and memory
- respecting nature
 - patience
- introduces science concepts
- teaches responsibility
- teaches children where our food comes from
  - learn to plan & organise
- sensory experience engaging all senses
- relieves stress
- plant life cycles and identification
  - fine motor, loco motor and body management
Literacy
 
 
 
- language skills
- sequencing events
  - emotional awareness
- imagination
- character education
- reading comprehension
  - work independently
- increased quantitive reasoning
- understand our customs and values
- creating own stories
  - gather information
- learning that words/letters have meaning
Math, Science, Construction & Engineering 
 
 
 
 
 
 
- balance
- counting    
- number concepts
- estimating
 
 
 
 - measurement
- patterning
- building imaginations
- geometry
 
 
 
- building structures
- critical thinking
- problem solving
- classifying shapes, size, colour
 
 
 
 - one to one correspondance
-building confidence & familiarity
 
 
 
 
Mindful Moments
 
 
 
- stress reduction
- improves focus 
- less emotional reactivity
- boosts memory
- relationship satisfaction
- empathy
- compassion
- decrease in anxiety and depression, increase well being
- patience
 - feeling of being connected 
- improves general health
- builds resiliency
Music & Movement
 
 
 
- relaxation
- language development
- creativity
- dancing  
- patience
- energy release
- self esteem building
- improves mental health
- form of expression
- teaches self discipline
- improves social skills
- impoves memory
Physical Literacy
 
 
 
- strong body
- self confidence
- improves health
- vestibular system 
- boosts academic learning
- self awareness
- sense of autonomy
- understand their limits & assess risk
- decrease in depression,anxiety, fear
- coordination
- cause and effect  
- cooperative play
Place Based Learning
 
- inspires stewardship
- immerses children in local landscapes, culture and local heritage
 - engagement and enthusiasm for learning
- develops reverence for the land, connection to our community
Pre-writing
 
 
 
- use hands to complete a task
  - use scissors
- take care of the materials
 - self confidence
- hold a pencil properly (pincer grasp)
  - hand eye coordination
  - organization
- taking things apart and putting them back togethe
- sorting
  - develop hand muscles
  - imagination
 
Sensory Play
 
 
 
- hand eye coordination
- social interaction
 - encourages exploration
 - science concepts
- language development
- motor skills
 - problem solving
 - patterns
- calming, regulating
- stimulate senses
 - cause and effect
 - sharing/taking turns
  • Star anise, cinnamon sticks, whole clove...
    Star anise, cinnamon sticks, whole clove...
  • Bubble wrap
    Bubble wrap
  • Cinnamon scented rice & Valentine loose parts
    Cinnamon scented rice & Valentine loose parts
Woodcraft, Tools, Fire, Shelters
 
 
 
- hand eye coordination
- understanding tools
- fine motor skills
- compare which tool works best for their needs
- organizing
- how things fit together
- planning & designing
 - communicate needs (space for working, right tool for job)
- expressing creative ideas
- resiliency
- problem solving
 - learning to recognise & assess risk

The Beauty Of Child's Discovery 

  • The teams enjoyed a Gingerbread scavenger hunt through the Ranche. They never caught him, but they were rewarded with gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate for their efforts
    The teams enjoyed a Gingerbread scavenger hunt through the Ranche. They never caught him, but they were rewarded with gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate for their efforts

Meet Bandit Our Support Dog 

Bandit came to be a part of Jess' team and started joining both teams on outings when we had a child who was anxious around dogs. This child had yet to experience a positive pet interaction. Jess and Sarah decided that it would be beneficial for this child and the whole team to be exposed to a trusted pet. Bandit loves to come play with us, going for hikes, playing frisbee, and exploring the creek with the children are definitely the best part of his day! Oh and nap time of course, if a child is having troubles sleeping Bandit is right there to snuggle up beside the child. 

https://youtu.be/-PhVlW9gSzg