Nature Kinder
Our Nature Kindergarten programs extend the Steiner approach into the natural world, giving children the time and space to develop a deep relationship with nature, place and the living world around them. Through imaginative play, practical work, movement and exploration, children learn to care for themselves, one another and the land.
Across both programs, children are encouraged to move, explore, take healthy risks, work with their hands and follow their curiosity. Through the Steiner rhythm of imaginative play, practical activity, storytelling, movement and connection with nature, the children are given the freedom to experience the natural world deeply and develop a lasting sense of wonder, care and belonging.
Bush Kinder Mondays
Our Monday Bush Kinder takes place in a secluded picnic area beside the Birrarung, where the children spend their day immersed in the natural landscape. With plenty of time for free and imaginative play, children build dens, climb trees, create swings and explore the changing world around them. They learn to notice and care for the small creatures they encounter, tending to bugs and insects, foraging for edible weeds to cook with and gathering plants that can be used for natural dyes.
Walking is an important part of our day. We are inspired by the work of Helle Heckmann at Nøkken Kindergarten in Copenhagen, where long daily walks are an integral part of the children's experience. While our own walks take us through the beautiful surrounding bushlands, we share a similar appreciation for the value of walking as an essential part of childhood. Through sustained, rhythmic movement, children strengthen their physical endurance and coordination while supporting the healthy development of their rhythmic system — particularly the heart, lungs and metabolic processes. The natural rhythm of walking, with its alternating movements across the whole body, helps bring the body into balance and harmony.
Each Bush kinder day includes an extended walk of around an hour, allowing the children to explore further afield. We may wander through the nearby bat habitat or make our way into the meadows, stopping to observe bees, butterflies and dragonflies. These walks offer opportunities for wonder, discovery and physical challenge, while helping children develop a sense of belonging to the places they visit.
Risky play is also an important and valued part of our Bush kinder program. Children are encouraged to explore their physical capabilities and discover what their bodies can do through climbing, balancing, running, jumping and navigating uneven terrain. They learn to assess challenges, recognise their own limits and build confidence through experience. With appropriate guidance and supervision, children are also introduced to the responsible use of tools and practical equipment. These experiences nurture physical competence, resilience, independence and a healthy relationship with risk.
Farm kinder fridays
On Fridays at our Farm kinder program, children become active caretakers of our lush school gardens. Through practical, hands-on work, they learn what it means to nurture and care for the land. Mornings are spent sowing seeds, weeding, watering, harvesting and tending to the plants that provide food for our community. We work together to grow the food we eat, giving children a meaningful connection to the journey from soil to table.
Our gardening follows the changing seasons, with an awareness of traditional seasonal rhythms guiding what we plant, grow, harvest and prepare throughout the year. Children work with real gardening tools and are introduced to biodynamic practices through the preparation and application of our own garden preparations. They help care for the trees by applying tree paste after pruning and take part in the many small, purposeful tasks that keep a garden healthy and thriving. Through these experiences, children begin to understand the cycles of growth, the importance of healthy soil and the interconnected relationships between plants, animals, people and the land.
At farm kinder there is plenty of mud, movement and joyful hard work as children embrace the rhythms of gardening and learn through doing. The garden also becomes a place for imaginative play, discovery and practical learning, as children observe the changing seasons and the many creatures that share this living environment.
An important part of our Friday farm kinder program is the connection we nurture between the school gardens and the Collingwood Children's Farm. The gardens provide an opportunity for children to grow vegetables, herbs and flowers, while the farm offers a broader experience of food production, animal care and the rhythms of farm life. Together, these places help children develop an understanding of where our food comes from and how we can care for the land that sustains us.
In the afternoon, we walk to the Collingwood Children's Farm, where the children have the opportunity to connect with farm animals and the rhythms of farm life. They observe the animals closely, learn how they are cared for and, where appropriate, take part in caring for them. Through these experiences, children develop respect, responsibility and a growing awareness of their place within the wider natural world.
