'Wild Toddlers' was the first thing that we read when we received a very unexpected email from Emilie Zandvliet. She was inquiring as to whether or not she could take a group of very young children on an expedition through Wester-Amstel’s park. At first glance, her request was at odds with the core values of Wester-Amstel: 'tranquility, nature and culture'. But we had read her email too hastily. Her email was in fact about “toddlers in the wild” (and their (grand)parents), not “wild toddlers”. Therefore, we gave Emilie permission for this one-time visit, which took place on the morning of 6 August 2021.
Emilie came, saw, and conquered. With a band of mesmerised barefoot toddlers surrounding her, all excitedly shouting "cuckoo”. Emilie will explain that one in more detail below. After that morning, Emilie asked us if she could come more often with her 'wild toddlers'. Having seen the day’s events with our own eyes, we were able to confidently say: “yes”. Therefore, in the coming season Emilie will organise a series of “morning activities” at Wester-Amstel (which she will do on her own accord and under her own responsibility). We plan to add her “Toddler in the Wild” events to our own events calendar, so keep your eyes open for that.
Our barefoot adventure at Wester-Amstel. Shoes off everyone, shoes off!
By Emilie Zandvliet
Toddlers and preschoolers actually prefer to walk barefoot, and rightly so! But to allow them this experience, do you have to specifically take them to a place like 'The Barefoot Path' in the Tureluurse Heide? The answer is, no! It is a lot more fun to create your own path, which is exactly what we did in a place where dogs aren't allowed to poop. We went to work with a group of Toddlers in the Wild (Peuters in het Wild) in the beautiful park at Wester-Amstel. And guess what? When you have toddlers and preschoolers, you don’t even need to make the path yourself. They love to do that all by themselves.
Unfortunately it was not a sunny Friday morning, but that didn’t spoil the fun. Before I talk about the day, let me introduce myself and ‘Toddlers in the Wild”. Who am I and what is that? I am Emilie Zandvliet and I’ve been organising and guiding preschool nature activities for a number of years now under the name ‘Toddlers in the Wild’.
Toddlers in the Wild is a national project of ‘Natuur is een feest’ (Nature is a party). Throughout the Netherlands, nature activities for toddlers and their parents and/or grandparents are organised. It’s aimed at people who want to enjoy nature in the woods/park together with other toddlers and their (grand)parents or for those who need a reason to visit the woods with their toddler/preschooler.
We start each outing with a story, poem, or song as a way to introduce the morning's theme. Our theme at Wester-Amstel was: "Blote Voeten" (Bare Feet). And naturally, in this situation, a song and then a short talk is appropriate. A number of children were immediately enthusiastic and took off their shoes right away. While others were enthralled with a cat sitting in a tree and decided to sit and watch it instead. But it was fine, because that’s allowed and is actually part of the game!
During our walk through Wester-Amstel’s park, we collected various materials (feathers, chestnuts, leaves, grass, stones, pine cones, acorns, twigs, shells, etc.) in buckets. The children felt and smelled everything. And with every new find, they shouted "cuckoo", so that all the children and supervisors could take a good look at what they had discovered. There were also butterflies, beetles, and a spider seen and we also found a nice big spot with star moss. Of course, we left it there but we all felt how wonderfully soft it was.
When we arrived at the large pond it was the moment to make our own path. It went really well. We first put the soft objects together, then the harder ones, and finished it off by making a nice mud bath. Finally all the shoes came off and everyone could enjoy the path barefoot. The fun lasted for quite some time and everyone agreed that it was a super successful morning. We hope that we will be able to host our Toddlers in the Wild activities at Wester-Amstel in the future.
If you would like to participate in one of our activities with your small child (or a child you are looking after), please contact Emilie Zandvliet for more information. You can reach her by email pihwuithoorn@telfort.nl. You can also keep an eye on Wester-amstel’s agenda for future ‘Toddler in the Wild’ events.