Educational Leader Sam and Early Childhood Teacher Anneke, from our Carlton Learning Precinct (CLP) service write about how the Bush Kinder program has been designed with early literacy and language skills in mind.
Carlton Learning Precinct (CLP) has taken an innovative approach to School Readiness Funding (SRF) to strengthen their focus on early language and literacy. This approach has enabled six team members to undertake the Certificate IV in Early Language and Literacy. With this professional learning underway, the team are exploring how language and literacy skills can be meaningfully integrated into their Bush Kinder program.
Using their new and emerging knowledge, educators at CLP intentionally embed literacy and language into every aspect of the bush kinder experience. Language and literacy become part of the fabric of each session, woven naturally into play, exploration, and discovery. Educators use spontaneous moments to embed and extend children’s learning on language and literacy concepts, such as positional language, letter formation and sound play.
When educators embrace positional language, they use and encourage phrases like, “under the bridge,” “over the log,” and “behind the leader.” These interactions help children build spatial awareness while expanding their vocabulary in meaningful ways.
CLP educators also intentionally focus on letter formation. Drawing letters begins with recognising lines; tall, short, slanted and curved. Bush Kinder offers limitless opportunities to observe these shapes in the natural world. Children may note the spiral of a fern, the arch of a fallen branch, or the straight edge of a stick. You’ll often hear a child exclaim, “Look! It makes a V shape!” as they watch ducks carve a pattern through the water. Observing shapes and patterns and tracking movement and lines with our eyes and fingers are important pre-writing skills.
Sound play is equally important. Educators model playful language during shared experiences on Country, stretching out words, playing with rhyme, and drawing attention to phonemes. Whether it’s the echo of the rhyme “log, frog, dog”, or a child asking, “what language do trees speak?” educators are attuned to the children’s learning through every moment. These strategies can help children notice the rhythm and sound of language, which lays a strong foundation for reading in a child’s education journey.
“We rolled this big log, og, og, og away and wonder if we might find a fat frog og og og or see a cheeky dog? Log, frog, dog all rhyme! Og is a funny sound to make, how does it feel in your mouth?”
Educators use the Bush Kinder setting to listen closely to what is occurring around them. Educators and children may look at the sparkling sap, listen to the songs of the birds, or the rustling of the leaves. All these sensory experiences are an opportunity to build upon children’s phonemic awareness, where they notice, recreate or discuss sounds. Educators might practice listening to the birds, and later, use the same skill to practice listening to the beats in a child’s name, or rhymes in two words.
This is a great example of how intentionality can deepen children’s learning in any setting. At CLP, language and literacy is a key focus, and one which is embedded in all that they do. When at Bush Kinder, educators thoughtfully weave language and literacy concepts into every element of the program—from rhythmic rhymes shared on Country to identifying environmental print in nature’s textures and patterns. This approach highlights the importance of deep, responsive and intentional teaching, which goes beyond tokenistic and “one size fits all” approaches to teaching.
By tuning into phonemic awareness, positional language, and playing with sound, children develop a deeper understanding of language and literacy. CLP’s commitment to continuous improvement and ongoing professional learning is clear through their approach to embed literacy and language practices in the Bush Kinder environment. Their approach is a reminder that outdoor learning spaces are not separate from teaching; instead, they are fertile ground for it. With curiosity, responsiveness, and intentionality, Bush Kinder becomes a dynamic learning environment, where language and literacy skills grow as naturally as the landscape around it.
