“I’d love to send my child to your Bush Kindy but they need to get ready for Prep.” Cue passionate speech…
How Does Bush Kindy Prepare Your Child for Prep?
As educators, we’ll be really honest with you — it hits us in the gut when a family who’s been with us for some time tells us they’re moving their child to another service or adding extra days elsewhere to “get them ready for school.” We know you’re doing what you believe is best for your child — and we absolutely respect that. But sigh...
Sigh.
You listen to doctors when it comes to medical concerns — because they’re experts.
You trust dentists with your child’s teeth — because they’re experts.
So when it comes to your child’s learning and development, we’re simply asking:
Can you listen to us too?
Because we are experts in early childhood education. This is what we’ve trained for, researched, and lived every single day — and we care deeply about getting it right for your child.
We’ve spent years immersed in evidence-based practice and hands-on experience that shows what truly supports healthy development and real school readiness. And we promise you — with all of our hearts — that what we offer at Little Wildlings is exactly that.
Bush Kindy offers children an incredible foundation for school readiness by combining outdoor play with meaningful learning experiences. Through child-led exploration in natural environments, kids develop the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills they need to thrive in the classroom.
Take, for example, one of our four-year-olds, who spends her mornings at Bush Kindy climbing logs and building stick shelters with her friends. She’s not just playing—she’s problem-solving, using teamwork, negotiation and communication skills, and developing resilience. When Miss C wanted a door for her shelter, after many iterations, her group figured out how to build it so that it wouldn’t collapse on them. These moments of trial and error help children build perseverance and confidence—key traits needed when facing new challenges at school.
Another child, also four years old, recently found a beetle at Tree Kindy and became fascinated by its movements. His curiosity sparked questions, leading to a group discussion about insects, habitats, and life cycles. Without even realising it, he was developing early science and literacy skills by asking questions, sharing ideas, and expanding his vocabulary—just like he’ll be expected to do in the classroom.
In the gate, one of our three year olds was carefully balanced along some logs, testing each one with her foot before stepping. This simple activity strengthened her gross motor coordination and risk assessment skills—both essential for sitting at a desk, managing a schoolbag, and participating in play in the school yard.
“Bush Kindy gives children the freedom to move, to make mistakes, and to learn from those mistakes in a safe, supportive way,” says Amanda, our Director at Little Wildlings. “That kind of learning builds resilience, which is so important as they enter the more structured environment of school.”
Social-Emotional Learning: The Missing Piece
Many children are not truly ready for school if they lack social-emotional skills. The ability to manage emotions, form friendships, resolve conflicts, and show empathy is just as important as knowing letters and numbers. In fact, research shows that children with strong social-emotional skills adjust better, learn faster, and have fewer behavioural issues at school (Durlak et al., 2011).
Bush Kindy naturally nurtures these skills. In open-ended play, children navigate real-life situations: taking turns building a dam, comforting a friend who is sad when they find a dead worm, or working through their frustration when having to wait their turn to look at said dead worm under the microscope. These experiences help children develop emotional regulation, cooperation, and empathy in an organic, meaningful way.
“We see the children growing in confidence every week,” says Amanda. “They learn to express how they feel, listen to others, and work together—skills that are just as important, I’d argue, more so, than learning the alphabet right now.”
Even something as simple as sitting together under a tree for our gratitude circle fosters listening and turn-taking—skills essential in the classroom.
Kimberley Sey, of Hygge in the Early Years is a strong believer in Social and Emotional skills as being more important than reading and writing when it comes to school readiness.
“A child may show strong early skills—like reading, counting, or advanced language—but that doesn’t mean they’re emotionally, socially, or physically ready for the expectations of a formal classroom.”
Building the Foundations for Writing and Literacy
Writing readiness starts well before children pick up a pencil, and Bush Kindy is the perfect environment to build those essential pre-writing skills. Activities like digging with sticks, weaving with natural materials, climbing trees, and threading leaves strengthen the small muscles in children's hands, wrists, and fingers—muscles they'll later use for holding pencils and forming letters. Ask any OT and they’ll tell you that children need to run, jump, leap, spin and build those large gross motor skills and muscles before those smaller muscles required for writing are ready. And ask any Prep teacher and they will let you know that children aren’t behind if they arrive at Prep not yet knowing how to write their name - that is what Prep is for, that’s a Prep teacher’s job!
Early literacy is woven into everyday play by our educators at Little Wildlings. When children are climbing, collecting, or creating with natural materials, they’re building the physical strength and control they’ll need for writing later on. It’s all connected. Children use sticks to draw shapes and letters in the dirt, create storylines in imaginative games, or help make signs for their bush cubbies. Educators encourage rich language experiences through storytelling, singing, rhyming games, and nature-based books read aloud under the trees.
“We don’t push worksheets or flashcards,” says Amanda. “Instead, we build language and literacy through stories, songs, and meaningful conversations inspired by what the children are curious about. And on the flip side of this, if your child is interested in learning to read and write, then of course, we encourage this! But we don’t force this kind of harmful academic pushdown on children who aren’t yet developmentally ready.”
These natural, playful experiences help children develop vocabulary, listening skills, and phonological awareness—all essential building blocks for learning to read and write.
So when is my child ready for school?
School readiness is not about academic skills - that is what school is for! School readiness is about social and emotional skills, physical development and communication and language skills. Really, it’s about emotional maturity.
What we’re looking for as educators is:
Can your child pay attention for short periods of time? We generally say 1 minute for every year, e.g. 3 years old, 3 minutes.
Can your child follow simple instructions? (Remember that asking a 4.5 year old to follow more than a 3-step instruction is developmentally inappropriate. One step instructions are appropriate; three-steps is really pushing it at this age).
Can they ask for what they need?
Can they manage their emotions and behaviours (at 4.5 year old level)?
Can they play well and share with others (not that sharing is developmentally appropriate but more so, can they manage their emotions without resorting to hurting others, or big meltdowns if asked to do so)?
If so, then your child is ready for school! And of course if you have any questions about your child’s development or readiness for school, please do just come and ask. We are passionate educators. We deeply care about your child and their development and we know that Bush Kindy is a wonderful way for children to spend their Kindy years learning as nature intended.