End of year celebrations at The Farmhouse

$LAST BUSH TRIP: (From left) Abigail McConnell with son Sam Avery and Sam\\u2019s dad Dion Avery, Alice McCarthy and Judd Thomas with son Jarrah Thomas, Oliver Annear with parents Melissa Tyrrell and Ben Annear, and Fern Byrnes and parents Lana Wolstencroft and Todd Byrnes at the Loyola Bushland Reserve for The Farmhouse\\'s end-of-year celebration. \\n$

LAST BUSH TRIP: (From left) Abigail McConnell with son Sam Avery and Sam’s dad Dion Avery, Alice McCarthy and Judd Thomas with son Jarrah Thomas, Oliver Annear with parents Melissa Tyrrell and Ben Annear, and Fern Byrnes and parents Lana Wolstencroft and Todd Byrnes at the Loyola Bushland Reserve for The Farmhouse's end-of-year celebration.

As the year draws to a close Bush Kinder students at The Farmhouse finish their last activities

Mansfield Courier

December 23, 2024 • 01:00

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SCHOOL and kinder is out for students across the shire, and for the Bush Kinder class of 2024 at The Farmhouse the new year represents the start of their formal education as they head off to primary school.

"Childhood is big and bold but the years seem to fly by in an instant," said Farmhouse founder Kim Stoney.

"When a child finishes kinder, celebrating just one year means acknowledging almost a quarter of their lives."

Kim acknowledges heading off to school is a big deal.

"In the absence of western society having many societal traditions to acknowledge a child’s development towards adulthood, places like The Farmhouse have crafted

traditions families look forward to every year," she said.

The Rites of Passage is a ritual, event, or experience that marks a major milestone or change in a person's life.

Rites of Passage celebrate the social movement of individuals into and out of groups or stages of critical importance to the individual and to the community.

A child moving from their kinder years to commencing formal education is one of these.

“This concept is woven into our Bush Kinder program throughout the year and culminates with our final bush trip," said Kim.

"For transition to occur smoothly, it’s important the child feels capable, confident and ready, and that confidence is reflected in the eyes of the parental figures and wider community."

At the end of the year in The Farmhouse’s Bush Kinder program, children participate in their normal bush trip with their educators.

However, when they return from their final big bush walk their parents, grandparents, siblings and other people special to that child are there waiting for them.

"After a number of special traditions on the day, children know with complete certainty that they’re ready for the next big step in their lives and they have the full support of their community behind them.

"These kinder children have a resilience and poise that belies their age, with student Jarrah Thomas asking at the end whether they were going to high school now," Kim said with a laugh.