This is a bird’s eye view of our outdoor space highlighting the size and sense of space for the children,  the different levels and natural surfaces that is provided along with a mixture of mature trees and newly planted areas. The outdoor space affords children the freedom to run, jump, skip and enjoy the sense of freedom and space.
Look what our outdoor space has to offer
Within the outdoor environment several interest areas have been designed to meet the interests and needs of the children. Open ended recourses are available to facilitate play encouraging creativity and social interaction.
Sandpit
We have a large sandpit with ample room for many children. A variety of sand play toys are readily available as are nature items found in the garden such as flowers, twigs and stones which are used in their creations.
Mud kitchen
Our purpose build mud kitchen is always a busy area. Real utensils are provided for play providing an authentic experience for the children. A raised herb garden next to the mud kitchen provide fresh herbs and flowers for cooking.
Play area
Our play area is situated under a canopy of mature beech trees. There is a variety of surfaces including bark, stone and deck for the children to move around on. The play equipment include a slide, seesaw and climbing frame along side loose parts play materials which are swapped around during the year.
Decked area
Our large decked area provides for many activities from the more relaxing story telling or yoga to the venue for our more energetic actives like parachute games and duck duck goose.
Tree tunnels
The perimeter of the outdoor space is lined with mature beech trees which over the years have evolved into our tree tunnels where kids can stroll and experience a forest like environment. Many a scavenger hunt have been enjoyed here including when the Easter bunny visits.
Vegetable patchs
Our vegetable patches provide excellent hands on gardening experience. Children actively learn about the life cycle of plants and insects and observe first hand how things grows. Early exposure to the natural environment builds positive attitudes towards the environment in general.
Pond
Our pond is situated next to a relaxing area for kids to rest and watch the fish during their busy morning.
Giant garage
A large cable reel has been transformed into a multi-level garage with ample room for many vehicles supporting small group play.
Small world play table
A cable reel has been repurposed to provide a raise space for small world play. Everything from dinosaurs, farms, zoos even fairy's have been created on this table. The space facilitates small group imaginary play encouraging social and literacy development.
Pollinator Programme 2025
We at Budding Explorers preschool have been fostering a love of nature for many years at our outdoor preschool with well establish wild meadows to support our beehive. Our play area is immersed in nature so our pollinator ambassadors (aka the children) can observe up close all the pollinating insects and flowers providing a ‘bee-positive action' for the Pollinator Programme 2025
Along with pollinators we have tadpoles in our pond and plenty earth loving insects. Our art projects reflect the interest of the children such as our homemade binoculars and vibrant coloured tissue flowers. We deeply believe in nurturing a knowledge of nature in preschoolers as they are the protectors of our future environment. #beechampions #Biodiversity in Schools #siro #PollinatorProject
 Our pollinator ambassadors (aka the childrenDressed for the morning immersed in nature |  Our Bee hive in our wild flower meadowLooking forward to harvesting the honey this weekend |  Our flower beds |  Meadow |
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 living willow domeA current foamily kindly donated willow this spring and we created a living willlow dome for the children to sit and observe |  I spy flower poster |  I spy insect poster |  Play groundplayground immersed in the nature |
 Tadpoles |  Flower art |  Binoculars |