The team at Funky Nature Time have developed a program, for Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) and Vacation Care (Vac) Services in the Barossa Valley; based on their love of nature and the memory of what resources nature offered when it comes to cubby building. There was a time when the children of the Barossa Valley would go down to the local creek and spend all day building great forts and cubby houses.

A grand cubby house was not something that your Dad bought from Bunnings or something a cubby house designer installed in your backyard, looking like a miniature mansion and costing nearly as much! In this time, cubby houses and forts grew from a ramshackle collection of broken branches and old sheets of galvanized iron or whatever else was available. Sometimes the cubby house or fort would collapse all around you and you would rock up home with a few more cuts and bruises. These are badges of honour and certificates in mastering the act of cubby house building. Tim Gill, a world leading thinker in the area of risk benefit assessment says this is a dying art in the modern bubble wrap world and it is leading to an increase in children’s injuries as the modern child is not developing risk assessment skills.

Using branches, sticks, and stones to create cubby houses helps children develop strong problem solving skills. Renowned natural playground designer Adam Bienenstock says that standardised playgrounds standardize children’s creativity. The open-ended nature of sticks and rocks mean more creativity.

This is a 4 hour long OSHC program, which is run in the Barossa Valley, in which we supply nearly a ton of branches, rocks, sticks, recycled tarps and ropes. There are picture books illustrating other children’s cubbies to help inspire some of the newbies as well as some of the experienced builders. Two members of Funky nature time, who both have extensive experience working at Vac Care programs, help in the construction of the cubby houses whilst asking open ended questions and teaching the children hazard identification techniques. They are skilled at hovering around and helping, without getting in the way of the kids and their own constructions. The Vac staff are trained in and will oversee any behavioural issues that may arise during the session.

Cost per session is $400.00