Since opening our first kindergarten in 2011 we have been developing the Kids Love Nature approach, and with 5 settings across Dorset and Hampshire, we believe our approach offers education to young children with a unique difference. We see ourselves as different because we focus on what is most important for a child growing up in the 21st century, allowing them to receive great learning in beautiful natural environments, something that each and every child should be able to experience.
Our belief that each and every child can thrive shines through at all our kindergartens. In this article, we will discuss exactly how one of our outdoor nurseries will benefit your child.
We are preparing the next generation for a better future
We believe in giving children ownership over their learning, and their lives, so that they can grow into empowered and independent adults. By providing children with the knowledge and skills to be able to make their own choices, We are helping to develop a generation of young people who will be able to shape their future for the better.
What we know about learning is hugely different from what we understood 30 years ago yet the way many children are educated has hardly changed at all. At Kids Love Nature, we are challenging the norm and providing a 21st-century education that will equip our children for the future.
We are providing skills for life
At Kids Love Nature, the different areas of learning are integrated into the child’s particular fascinations. Literacy, mathematics, creative projects, science and technology are woven through a learning experience that stems from the child’s own interests. This child-led approach to learning not only respects children’s early learning and development as an important stage in its own right, but it also prepares them for later learning and life experiences.
In addition to the everyday learning experiences a child will encounter at this important age, we also provide them with life skills such as; how to safely build a fire and other bushcraft skills, and how to grow, prepare and cook their own healthy food, how to care for small animals and how to look after themselves and others.
We are improving your child’s emotional well-being
Emotional well-being is one of the most important skills that we can provide for young children in today’s world. Managing stress, positivity, acceptance, communication and relationships is at the forefront of our educational approach. We want your child to flourish, to be confident, balanced, and most importantly happy.
We believe in helping children to form great attachments with our practitioners from the offset. A warm, kind and supportive key person will allow your child to form a bond with someone special who takes every care to meet their needs. This key person will follow them on every step of their journey and will work closely with you as parents and carers to support their emotional well-being and resilience.
A child’s ‘Key person’ will follow them on their journey and be able to monitor and help improve their emotional well-being and resilience to the world.
Your child is developing in the best way possible
Open-ended resources enable children to invent and be creative. We don’t ever want to put a limit on a child’s imagination or explorations, so we ensure resources can be used in a multitude of ways to support learning and play.
Personal development occurs both in our indoor and outdoor learning spaces, through activities such as:
Role-play
Writing, drawing and painting
Team building
Exploring
We believe that children learn by having a go, experimenting, being inventors. Their intelligence is enriched by finding out what works and what doesn’t, by exploring the endless possibilities. This is what develops and encourages children’s unique creativity.
We are helping your child to make a difference
Education for sustainable development is a fundamental part of the Kids Love Nature approach. If children are going to be caretakers of the planet now and in the future, they need to come to know and love the natural world. If they feel connected to nature, they will want to protect it.
Activities we do with the children at our outdoor nurseries on a daily basis encourage this and include;
Learning and discovering first hand about animals and nature through daily Ranger explorer sessions
Preparing home-grown and organic food for their lunches and snacks
Visits from nature professionals to develop a child’s knowledge and understanding
Ready to join the adventure at an outdoor nursery?
We hope our approach sounds like something you want to be part of. So if you want your child to be part of inspiring, natural learning in beautiful outdoor environments that have all been awarded ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted then get in touch with your nearest kindergarten to arrange a visit.
Alternatively, if you would like to read more about the Kids Love Nature approach or the learning environments we provide, then head over to our story here. Our Facebook pages are also a great way to see more about what we get up to. Take a look at our Marwell, Lymington, Avon Heath, Lytchett and Durlston kindergartens and get in touch today.