AFSA Approved Provider: Forest of Lucky Kids
FOLKplay – Forest of Lucky Kids emerged in June 2024, as a new Organisation that had evolved from my original Forest School, Bush Magic Adventures.
FOLKplay operates 2 days a week during term time, and 3 days a week in the holidays at the beautiful Kum Ba Yah Guide Camp in Mt Keira, Wollongong NSW
We now run our forest school for early years and primary years aged children 2 days a week during term time. We also operate a Nature Playgroup on Wednesday and Thursdays as a drop in program for caregivers and 0-5yrs.
In addition to our term programs we also run a school holiday program that is always fully booked.
FOLKplay is also a contractor for the Wollongong City Council to operate nature play programs on behalf of the Council to the general public on Council Land.
We run our sessions under Mother Geera (Mt Keira) and are seeking closer connections to the local indigenous communities in our area. We have many children who identify as Aboriginal in our programs, including my 3 daughters who are Wiradjuri girls and their father is an elder. We appreciate the chance to learn from Indigenous knowledge and to run our programs on Dharawal land. We begin every new program with an acknowledgment of Country, often carried out by Molly, a proud Wiradjuri girl and daughter of founder, Katrina. We consistently acknowledge that Mother Geera is a sacred women’s mountain and practice “leave no trace” practices.
Free play is a very important part of our program. We ask the children every morning what they would like to do and offer opportunities for facilitated sessions that follow the interests of the children. We normally have 6 teachers on site for our 3-12yr forest school programs which offers the children a variety of options. Whilst some play freely, others may be learning a skill or craft and others may be doing archery or bushwalking. We vary the offerings each day depending on the children’s interests and needs. Our special interest project this term is building a cubby deep in the bush, learning how to use tools, work together, survival strategies, knots and care for the environment as outcomes.
Our Teachers are continually working at developing knowledge of when to step back and when to provide support or assistance to children in their play.
Our programs are open to all children and we strongly believe that our community is stronger because it is so diverse. Several children access our programs with NDIS funding. We have had a lot of positive feedback about the accessibility of our programs to all children, particularly those with special needs.
Another important part of our program is that children are nurtured to develop their own interests. We assist children to learn and to teach each other. The emphasis on community building and teamwork is important as we believe that every child has something to offer the community. We have found that the children step up to our expectations and children who are often struggling at mainstream school can be the best leaders in the Bush School environment. We look forward to the day when we can employ some of the children who have gone through our program as teachers.
We are always looking to improve our environmental footprint and we ensure that we use found objects, natural objects and reuse as much as possible when it comes to resourcing our programs. We are aware that our impact on our site can be damaging and work closely with the Girl Guides Association who run the site to ensure that we are having minimal impact on the environment around us. Children are taught to care for nature and how to observe and handle animals and plants. We are often found cleaning up the bush areas and children love to find old bottles and “treasure” in our clean up treasure hunts. We also involve the children in sorting their waste so that it can be recycled or reused.
Our philosophy strongly embodies the values of the Australian Forest School Association and we look forward to learning from all providers associated with AFSA.
