How "Nature Play" Helped Me Reconnect With My Own Childhood

There’s no denying it, when I attended Forest Kindy, it was because I needed something for my bold, brash, completely untamed five-year-old.

Every time we visited a playground, she’d climb the wrong way up the slide. If I signed her up for a class or workshop, she’d wander off to the opposite side of the building, chasing something entirely different—and far more interesting (to her, anyway). For a while, I genuinely thought it was just us. Maybe we weren’t like other families whose kids sat still, followed instructions, and just... fit in.

When we found Wildlings, everything changed.

With no walls to bounce off, my daughter stopped resisting. No battles. No bolting. Just natural, effortless curiosity. She was drawn into the world beyond the “sign-in spot”—a place of bugs, creeks, sticks, and stories. A place where a whittling knife or a flint and steel wasn’t off-limits, but an invitation—a thrill. A place where real learning happened because it mattered.

And something surprising happened to me, too.

I remembered.

Remembering Who I Was—Before the Deadlines and Responsibilities

I remembered rolling down a giant pile of builders’ sand at my childhood home. I remembered grass cuts on my fingers as I wove long blades into messy braids. Dirt under my nails. Tangled hair. The scent of warm earth, blue skies, and freedom.

You see, our senses hold our strongest memories. Touching clay, walking barefoot on wet grass, hearing the sound of cicadas—these things pull us back. All the way back to a time when we were fully present. Immersed in wonder. Free.

Back to a time before life demanded so much of us.

And through my daughter’s eyes, I realised—all of her firsts were becoming my seconds.

Nature Play Might Be for Your Children…But It’s Also for the Child You Used to Be

Before you had to be “responsible,” you were wild.

Most of us didn’t call it “nature play” back then. It was just... play.

Riding bikes until the streetlights flickered on. Making potions out of mud and crushed flowers. Damming creeks with sticks, pretending to be scientists or sorcerers.

And if you were lucky, the grown-ups weren’t hovering too close.

They trusted you—at least a little—to take risks, get messy, and come home scraped up and full of stories.

Then we grew up.

And somewhere along the way, we stopped playing.

Watching Your Child Rekindle Their Curiosity Can Rekindle Yours

At Wildlings Forest School’s Play Group and Forest Kindy programs, you don’t just drop your child off and leave.

You watch them.

How they crouch low to study a beetle trail.
How they shout with joy when they figure out how to swing across a gully.
How they call your name—not for help, but to share something wonderful.

And something stirs in you.

You notice how the light filters through the trees.
You run your hands over tree bark, just to feel its texture.

You start asking questions again:

“What kind of bird is that?”
“Does this leaf smell like lemon… or something else?”

Curiosity becomes contagious.

You Get Permission to Slow Down

In the adult world, slowing down can feel almost... rebellious.

But in the bush, there’s no rush. No bells. No pressure. Just moments.

Moments where you sit beside your child, not managing them.
Moments where you’re not the teacher or the entertainer, just the witness.
Moments where time stretches out, and you can finally exhale.

And as your child plays, you realise—this is your time, too.

Sharing the Gift of Wonder

There’s a quiet joy in discovering the world alongside your child—not as the expert, but as their companion.

When you say, “I don’t know—let’s find out,” you show them it’s okay to be curious, to explore, to not have all the answers.

And maybe—for the first time in years—you feel that wonder return.

Not in big, dramatic ways.

But in small, soul-deep moments.

The kind that remind you who you were before the roles and routines.

A way back—to connection, to curiosity, to the mud-splattered, wonder-filled childhoods we thought we’d left behind.

So yes, Forest School is for your children—but, like me, it might just be for you, too.

🌿 Ready to reconnect?

Explore Wildlings Forest School’s weekly programs for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers, and homeschoolers. Rediscover the joy of slowing down, getting dirty, and feeling fully alive—together.

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Written by Kerrie Harth. Kerrie is a mother, lifelong play advocate, and artist with a deep commitment to helping parents and children to be seen, heard, and supported in this wild ride called life.

Kerrie Harth