Originating in Scandinavia 50 years ago, 'Forest School' or 'Bush Kinder' for the Australian environment, is a play-based approach to nurture children's relationships with nature. It's an opportunity for children to explore the natural environment in an open-ended and play-based way, as such, 'no tools, no toys, no art supplies'.  

We are fortunate to have Maroondah City Council permission to use an area of natural bushland and open recreational space for our bush kinder program. We also recognise the significance of Land and Country to the traditional Custodians, the Wurundjeri People. We recognise that Aboriginal people of Australia have a deep respect and spiritual relationship to their country and have lived, worked and played on this land for over eighty thousand years before us. The elders have passed on through their generations, their customs, traditions, beliefs and dreamtime. We share common values of Love, Respect and Gratitude for the Land we live, play and work on for Bush Kinder.

We will be transitioning into this program during the first term as we get to know your child and your child becomes familiar with our kinder environment and their peers. We will also have incursions and education programs for the children covering topics of road, dog and snake awareness and safety to learn and practice before commencing the bush kinder program. 

We'll update you via School Stream as well as with a notice at the sign-in area once the first few weeks of term have passed regarding dates and times, we will be visiting the bush kinder site through excursions. These excursions will lead up to the commencement of the bush kinder program starting on site as timetabled (page 6). 

The following information contained in this handbook is written for when we begin the bush kinder program on site. For excursion purposes, we will be following the same practices and policies set out in this handbook, e.g. children will still require appropriate clothing when visiting the site.  

In readiness for this experience, we will also provide children with engaging safety-orientated development opportunities, including dog safety incursions and road safety training.  

Welcome To Bush Kinder

Bush Kinder will provide all children explore the natural environment through open ended play, investigating and exploring, child led learning, and being able to ‘just be.’ 

Bush Kinder

Central to the philosophy at Brentwood Park Kindergarten is respect for the environment and the way in which we learn, connecting children with their local community and encouraging creative thinkers and problem solvers who take safe risks. There are obvious synergies between this philosophy and the principals underpinning the bush kinder program. 

Transition Period