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1.5-hour and 2.5-hour weekly Bush Playgroup and Family Forest Skills.
Join us on Monday or Wednesday mornings at a beautiful private property in Wallington/Ocean Grove. Surrounded by trees, open space, and wildlife, this playgroup is designed to nurture physical, emotional, sensory, and social development.
We are a 100% outdoors, all weather group. We keep a predictable rhythm of connection, play and story. We use real tools, bushcraft and nature arts to explore our space. Flora and Fauna connection is a big part of our program with the group facilitated by an ecologist and teacher.
At times we include an excursion to the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve and the Barwon Heads Bluff. We also open these up to the community as a one-off contribution/donation session.
We’ve noticed it takes time to build up a connection with the playgroup community and a unique environment such as ours, so we ask for a full term commitment for this program. If you are looking for a casual offering or would like to try out the space before committing, you can sign up to our Nature Playgroup Stay and Play sessions. These run at various times Mon, Tues and Weds (see below).
If our session does not fill or we have known absences, we may open up casual spots. Keep a look out on the day prior to playgroup for this option.
We know that with illness, holidays, babies and meeting our children where they are at, sometimes attending weekly is hard. If you miss a session, you can use the fee as credit on any of our programs in the following 6 months.
Playgroup is targeted at children aged 0-5 although sessions are open to families of all ages (for our Wednesday group we actively encourage children up to 12 years of age). If you have an older child who has the day off school for some reason, they are most welcome to come along every now and again. Nature play will be guided by the children's interests and developmental stage.
You may even choose to continue your journey with us after Bush Playgroup into our Bush Kinder or Forest School programs.
1-hour casual Nature Playgroup Stay and Play.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we offer a relaxed, nature-based playgroup — running during our Bush Kinder and Forest School program — where families supervise their children and are responsible for their arrival and departure at the designated times.
Little ones in the company of their carers, explore the space by:
joining the activities offered to our Forest School and Bush Kinder children
engaging in free play
getting creative in the mud kitchen
roaming the site or;
simply unwinding and connecting with others.
With multiple days and session times available, you can choose what works best around your child’s naps and routine. You can even choose back to back sessions, or extend your time on the day.
Bookings remain open until the session starts.
Volunteer-led Community Playgroups.
Welcome to Wildflower Kids, encouraging child-led play and the promotion of our wellbeing through nature connection.
We are registered with Playgroups Victoria with $20 million Public Liability Insurance and are coordinated by Born Wild Community Inc.
Our community playgroup is facilitated by volunteers, while children are supervised by their families.
We usually begin with a Welcome Circle and Acknowledgement of Country. Sometimes there is a theme and activity and children are encouraged to engage with this or choose their own free play. This self-directed play is actively encouraged!
Our activities make use of natural materials to encourage exploration and to minimise waste. We try to use as few manufactured toys as possible. We endeavour to promote life skills, fine and gross motor experiences, stories, imaginative play, and observations of the world around us.
Some areas have restrictions on what we can take from the space, what we can bring in, and what areas we can access. Please be respectful of this so that our playgroup can continue.
We are an inclusive playgroup, and all families are welcome. Being outdoors in nature, let’s accept all children’s needs and behaviours. Nature is an amazing self-regulation resource for us all.
Our playgroup sessions are generally targeted at children aged 0-5 years with a focus on child-led play and families interacting with each other outdoors. Children over 5 are most welcome to attend as well.
Our Community Playgroup is offered to everybody on a donation model. You can bring some fruit for our fruit bowl, a gold coin or two on the day, transfer a small amount weekly, donate through Humanitix (please note Humanitix does take 2.5% in fees) or offer a donation for the term.
All donations to our Community Playgroup go directly back into supplying resources. Some of our costs include: insurance for our volunteer facilitators, Playgroups Victoria membership, replacement of broken or damaged resources such as mats, tarps and wagons, activity supplies including paint, clay, glue etc.
MULTI AGE GROUPS Our programs target children aged 0–12, with research consistently showing that younger children thrive by observing and learning from older peers, while older children build leadership and empathy skills. This approach fosters a rich, inclusive setting that supports a wide range of developmental needs.
NOT FOR PROFIT Born Wild Community is a registered charity, meaning all payments we receive are put back into improving our programs. We are required to meet minimum numbers and self support our programs. In the event a program does not meet minimum numbers, transfer to alternate days, or a full refund of the registration fee will be offered.
If you are NOT SURE if Born Wild Community is right for your young person, please contact us and we can provide additional information and options info@bornwildcommunity.org.au. Please note the program does not have administration each day on email or social media. Responses will usually be provided within 3-5 business days.
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