Elements:
nature based play
Supporting children being outside, active & creative!
Reconnect with nature
In this busy world children don’t often have the time and space to connect with nature. Outside, natural environments are the prefect resource for aiding the development that growing children need. Research suggests that psychological and physical health improve for children when they spend time in nature on a regular basis. At Elements we like to look at how children benefit from nature from an both an educational & developmental perspective. We look holistically at how the brain, body, and spirit can benefit from our special curriculum.
REGISTRATIONS OPEN FOR:
Pre-Xmas &
Summer holidays
in CHRISTCHURCH
Educational, therapeutic & fun
The Elements curriculum is carefully planned with education, child development and fun perspectives in mind. Experiences are selected based on their ability to inspire children to think in creative ways and to be active. We have developed a range of curriculum programmes for various ages and interests. While we are immersed in natural settings, and aspects of learning about plants, animals and sustainability are included in our programmes, they are not our sole focus. Primarily we are about children being active and creative in natural settings as well as supporting their love of learning. Elements can offer bespoke Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) sessions for school groups or excursion days for ECE or other community groups.
The Elements story
Elements Education launched in Christchurch in February 2017. We began with playgroups for children aged 0-6 years and their caregivers. Organically, a Saturday morning programme became popular for children especially those who were looking for outdoor and collaborative experiences, but not necessary group sports. Programmes offered in school holiday periods began to sell out from one holiday period to the next.
Throughout 2018 and 2019 new programmes were offered in Ashburton & Selwyn. Wellington/ Lower Hutt & Upper Hutt came on board January 2020. By mid 2021 Elements was also operating in Blenheim, Dunedin & Palmerston North.
The turmoil of the covid interruptions and lockdowns impacted Elements. Decisions needed to be made to rest the North Island programmes and pause some other programmes. Currently there are consistent sessions at our homebase in Christchurch and occasional sessions in Blenheim and Dunedin.
Locations
Elements uses a variety of locations in Canterbury, Marlborough, Wellington & the Manawatu regions. These include a private farm, natural reserves, estuaries and regional parks. Each site has its own inspirational environment features for us to explore or weave into our creative play. We enjoy woodland areas for tree climbing and hut making, grassed spaces for running and group games, and water features such as streams to jump and ponds to float boats in.
Risk assessments and health & safety documentation is completed for each site. See our locations tab for more details of locations near you.
Physical Benefits
There are multiple physical benefits for children engaging in Elements programmes. Such as developing gross motor skills where children challenge their vestibular system and coordination by moving in all directions while climbing trees, scaling rocks, rolling down grassy hills, and running from one place to the next. They also develop strength and endurance by walking up hills and carrying heavy rocks, planks and sticks.
Fine motor skills are developed by grabbing hold of heavy and large objects and for example climbing trees help to develop strong grasping patterns in hands – getting the hands ready to do finer and more delicate work such as holding a pencil. Also, our activities such as finger knitting, moulding clay, and working with wool fibre or even picking up acorns off the ground help to fine-tune these motor skills.
Visual skills and auditory (hearing) processing skills are also nurtured through frequent outdoor play.
Social -emotional & creative learning
At Elements we allow for ample unstructured playtime in the great outdoors, which leads to creative social adventures between the children. This is often the time where they build structures together as a group, and invent their own games.
The Elements curriculum inspires children to think independently and openly. Our environment, resources, and activities are carefully selected to allow time and space for kids to create, build, and use their imagination.
Literacy is woven throughout our curriculum programmes. Snack times usually have a shared literacy component such as favourite read-aloud books or collaborative storytelling. Often themes of the programmes are based on classic storybooks.
