Muddy Feet

Muddy feet is an opportunity for our youngest tamariki to play the Muddy Kids way!

Our Muddy Feet spaces within our one day programme grew from our families asking for a space where younger siblings could join older brothers and sisters on our adventures. Our community has always felt more like a family, where children from three to twelve learn alongside one another through natural scaffolding , relationships and shared play.

We have a limited number of places available for 3 and 4 year olds to join the Muddy Kids freeplay sessions. We have a separate dedicated ratio of 1:5 for our younger Muddy Feet.

Our reduced ratio for younger friends means they can be Muddy Kids, just with a little more supervision.

We are not Ministry of Education registered but include their guidelines in our practice. In fact we exceed their minimum requirement for supervision to promote connection with our little ones and give them the space to learn for themselves in the safety of trusted freeplay.

As we are in an outdoor environment, children must be toilet trained to join us as we are unable to provide nappy changing facilities. (Occasional accidents are fine! )

What are the benefits of mixed age play?

Mixed-age play offers significant value in early childhood, fostering an environment where children of different ages can learn from each other. This scaffolding offers benefits to both groups. Younger children benefit from the guidance and modelling of older peers, while older children develop leadership and empathy skills by mentoring the younger ones. By engaging in mixed-age play, children experience diverse perspectives and challenges, leading to richer, more holistic development.

For younger children, playing with, or observing older students helps expose them to more advanced language and interactions. New games are learned and bridges are formed. The wider range of development across age groups allows for everyone to play at their developmental level, rather than being restricted by age.

In our play, no one is ‘forced’ to play with any other child. We instead foster empathy through identification of emotions (“I can hear you sound angry, what is frustrating you?), observation (“I can see our friend Bob is upset, why do you think that is happening”) and empathy (“Do you remember how you felt when you were told no?”). This teaches communication and promotes emotional awareness.

We coach our children through dispute resolution that takes into account all perspectives. We do not operate as a dictating judge in conflicts (except where safety is a concern) but rather as a mediator who insists on kindness and understanding.

Details

Ages: 3 to 4
Adult to child ratio: 1:5
Time: 9am-3pm
Days: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
Location: Long Bay Regional Park and Lake Pupuke (Takapuna/Milford). Our parks offer a variety of places to play. We chose our sites each week depending on the season and weather. Each morning of the One Day Programme, parents are notified through our private facebook group where we will be setting up for the day.
Cost: $79/session, approx $750-$880/term depending on the term length.

Lake Pupuke (Takapuna/Milford)
Thursday session,
NOW OPEN!

“The responsibility of our educators is to hold a safe space, emotionally and physically, for the children to test their own limits, explore their imaginations and grow.”