Bush Kindy "Chugan"
Being Outside with Nature
Chugan Learners
Chugan happens five days a week at Loving Hearts. Each session has up to 10 children per session with our Chugan leader and ECT, who both have Bush Kindy training through Cottonwood Learning. The Chugan program involves tool work, ropes and fishing. Through this program children will be encouraged to practice Dadirri (Deep listening) a word from the Ngan’gikurunggurr and Ngen’giwumirri languages of the Aboriginal people of the Daly River region, 220 kilometres south of Darwin, NT. We collaborate with Uncle Allan Lena to create respectful programs for our Chugan Learners.
An important part of childhood is being outside in nature
At Loving Heats, we believe childhood is precious and we acknowledge that an important part of childhood is being outside in nature. We know that children are natural learners who embrace every opportunity to explore. We recognise that children need more unstructured time outside and this knowledge is supported by research. We view Chugan (Bush Kindy) as an extension of our unique indoor/outdoor program which forms a special part of our learners complete early learning experience.
Chugan provides uninterrupted time in a rich natural environment that is ideal for children. When children engage in this type of play in peer groups, they experience opportunities for play that are not always seen when playing within our service learning environments.