Wild Imagination

Nature Play School Holiday events

Review by Susannah Marks

If like many Adelaide families you’re looking for school holiday activities for your kids then you may have heard of Wild Imagination. They run nature play events during the school holidays as an alternative to vacation care. My kids love a balance of indoor and outdoor play, and I was interested to see what a day spent at one of Wild Imagination’s nature play sessions might look like.

In case you’re interested in a Wild Imagination nature play session for your kids these school holidays we’ve taken some photos and shared some of our thoughts below. For a full list of program times and availability, as well as more comprehensive FAQs please check out our event page here.

What is Wild Imagination all about?

Wild Imagination is a 100% SA owned and operated company and their basic manifesto is to encourage kids to engage with their natural environment and to ultimately take better care of the planet.

What that means for those of us looking for fun ways for our kids to spend their school holidays is that they’ll help you get kids off their iPads and Nintendos and out into the natural environment. To me this all sounds pretty good – especially when you consider that time spent outdoors can also translate to better sleep.

What can kids do at Wild Imagination?

Activities on offer at Wild Imagination include:

• spring-themed gardening activities – on the day we went kids got to pot a native plant to take home and put in the garden to attract butterflies
• mud play
• water play
• nature crafts
• loose parts play; and
• bush cubby building which includes construction techniques and knot tying

Kids can have a go at some or all of the activities and there’s something to suit everyone.

Family Sessions and Kids Only Days

At the family session we attended there were plenty of shady spots and places to just relax and take it all in. There was something really lovely about sitting down on a picnic rug and watching the kids play. Families around us were enjoying picnics (picnic mats are provided) and one Dad was even spotted having a short power nap.

Mud Play

The kids-only days at Wild Imagination feature a mud obstacle course and mud kitchens. Having been briefed to bring an extra set of clothes for everyone we knew what to expect.

Once they spotted the mud play area, our kids first sought permission to put their hands in the mud and then to really get stuck into the mud pit. Parental permission given, they leapt in with wild abandon and from then on the mud play area was where it was at.

If your kids are into sensory play they will love this one.

Miss 2 was especially delighted with the consistency of the mud and the many forms it could take. Seeing it dry on her fingers delighted her. She went home with new mud-related vocabulary: “squelch, Mummy”, “muddy!”.

Nature Crafts

Kids can try their hand at clay play, making dream catchers, paint and paint brush making and more. We left with several elaborate clay items designed to be hung in a tree to attract birds.

Loose parts play in their expanded Inventors Playground

Decorating cubbies with scarves

Water play

The day we went was warm and sunny and my kids marched straight in through the front gate and towards the water play area. This was set up using beautifully hand-crafted logs with channels cut into them. Kids could pick up and move the logs around and use them to experiment with pouring water. Cue lots of chats between my kids about science-y stuff like gravity.

There were also tables set up with kitchen utensils like mortars and pestles and lemon squeezers. Perfect for making all sorts of imaginative concoctions!

Mr 8 set to work making ‘mustard’ aided by his trusty sous-chef.

Meanwhile Mr 6 perfects his super secret magic potion.

What we thought

To be honest I was surprised at how much fun my boys had with the water play and how much they enjoyed the freedom to exercise their imaginations.

✩✩✩✩✩ Nicely played, Wild Imagination! Not one mention of iPads, Captain Underpants or the Lego Ninjago movie in three hours.

We think most kids will have a great day here and we imagine they will come home happy and worn out. We found the staff at the event were very enthusiastic and helpful in their interactions with the children. They were always on hand to help out with filling watering cans, keeping an eye on the mud pit, and encouraging the kids’ sense of wonder.

Play & Go tips for enjoying Wild Imagination

We think the FAQs on their site (read them here) are pretty comprehensive and it’s worth checking them before you go to make sure your kids get as much out of the experience as they can.

Key points being:

• Bring changes of clothes including underwear
• Bring bags to take home dirty or wet clothes as well as creations
• BYO food and water bottle
• There are warm showers on site as well as proper toilets
• Wild Imagination is an all-weather event so kids should dress accordingly
• We were glad we brought along sunscreen and spare hats to protect our kids from the elements.

Tickets to Wild Imagination

The full day kids events are $65 per child, plus booking fee.

Multi day passes available: 2 day pass = $110 (save $20). 4 day full season pass = $210 (save $50)

Play & Go readers can receive 10% off the Kids Only and Family Sessions during Spring. The code is: PLAYANDGO

Buy tickets to Kids Only events here

About Susannah: I’m a mum to three boys and a little girl and I am learning to embrace the chaos. I love my morning coffee, exercise, cranking up some good tunes on the stereo, and heading away to new places on holiday. Originally from New Zealand, I now call Adelaide home and I love getting out and about and exploring all the fabulous things for families to do in Adelaide.

For more information and all enquiries please visit Wild Imagination’s website

What: Wild Imagination Nature Play School Holiday

When: School Holidays

Where: Bonython Park

Who: Kids of all ages and families

At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently. All photos are by Play & Go.

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