{"id":4638,"date":"2024-12-17T03:01:22","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T03:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hcmontessori.vic.edu.au\/?p=4638"},"modified":"2026-09-23T11:19:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T01:19:05","slug":"bush-kinder-program-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montessoriminds.vic.edu.au\/hoppers-crossing\/bush-kinder-program-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Bush Kinder Program 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A grant to help our Kindergarten children learn outdoors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hoppers Crossing Montessori Centre is thrilled to announce that we have been awarded the Bush Kinder Grant to deliver an enriching Bush Kinder program for our Kindergarten children in 2025. We are excited to share some of the key outcomes we aim to achieve through this program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bush Kinder Grants Program is a Victorian Government (Department of Education) initiative that helps kindergarten services set up or expand nature-based learning, giving children more opportunities to spend time in natural environments such as local parks, bushland reserves, or purpose-designed outdoor spaces. Being part of this program allows us to extend our Montessori approach \u2014 which already values hands-on, self-directed learning \u2014 into the natural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, we explain how it connects to the Early Years Learning Framework and how we keep children safe as they explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Bush Kinder?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bush Kinder (sometimes called nature pedagogy or forest-based learning) is an approach that takes children out of the traditional indoor classroom and into a natural outdoor setting on a regular basis. Rather than following a fixed lesson plan, educators support children to lead their own exploration \u2014 investigating plants and insects, balancing on logs, building with natural materials, and noticing changes in the weather and seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This child-led style of play sits comfortably alongside the Montessori philosophy already embedded in our program, which encourages children to follow their own interests within a prepared, purposeful environment \u2014 in this case, the natural environment itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Educators remain closely involved throughout each session: observing, asking open-ended questions, and helping children build their own understanding of risk, such as how to move carefully over uneven ground or handle natural materials respectfully. Every child engages with this style of learning differently, and the pace at which individual skills and confidence develop will vary from child to child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Bush Kinder connects to the Early Years Learning Framework<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our Bush Kinder sessions are planned and delivered in line with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF v2.0), which guides the educational program at every approved service in Australia. Time spent in a natural setting offers opportunities that may support each of the Framework’s five learning outcomes, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n