Making friends.

ABOUT WALD KIDS

The basic principles of an indoor playgroup apply to a forest playgroup, the difference being, there aren’t any boundaries in the forest (i.e. four walls, a ceiling, doors) and the experiences are unlimited, individual and on an intense sensory level.

 

Once a week we meet in the morning and greet each other before parting from our parents and siblings to walk through the forest to “our spot”. For approximately 3 hours of undisturbed play, we make most of the forest and it’s surroundings in the company of other children. If a child needs time to settle into the playgroup, mothers are always welcome to accompany their child for as long as necessary. Volunteers are always welcome to tag along.

 

An essential part of our playgroup is free-play: what and for how long a child chooses to play is entirely up to them. This stimulates their basic motor and cognitive skills which then develop at their own rate.

 

This pre-kindergarden age is an important one, and the forest offers an ideal diversity of all-round challenges and opportunites throughout the year without too many distractions. It’s natural materials can be used in creative and imaginative ways because they are still in their original and ‘raw’ form.

 

Children also develop a mutual respect for the environment, plus a sense of responsibility towards themselves in relation to the world around them. Being in contact with other children of the same age helps develop fundamental social skills for life.

 

The use of two languages also exposes a child to another language, be it German which it might need for Kindergarden, or English which is being introduced at a young age in Swiss schools. This helps familiarise a child with the respective foreign language for the future in school.

 

All the training and experience we bring to Wald Kids helps us lead the playgroup how we believe is best, while keeping each invidual need in mind. Our goal is for each child to go home feeling encouraged to try new things, after discovering by themselves, through play, the world around them and their own self.

Working together.

Playing together.