Ages 3 to 8 · whole school

Working on social and emotional skills does not have to mean extra work

Jungle Buddies gives your school one continuous learning line from toddler to second grade, with lesson material you can teach without preparing it first.

Request a sample pack View the school brochure

Where it gets stuck

You see it every day, but you have no structure for it

A teacher picks up signals all day long. A child who cannot let go of a parent at the gate, a conflict in the playground, a four-year-old who says he cannot do it before every single task. Spotting those moments is not the hard part. Working with them in a grounded way is.

What schools are missing is rarely goodwill. It is time, material and a build-up that holds together. Loose lessons from a folder work for a while, until next year's teacher does something else.

It is such rewarding material: ready to use and well grounded. I can really see the effect, there are far fewer conflicts.Katrien, learning support teacher

The learning line

Four stages, the same characters

Children meet the Jungle Buddies again every single year. That is exactly the point: repetition with a higher bar.

Stage 01
Toddlers and first year
Meeting the five characters. Five themes about the individual: me and the group, I can do this, I feel, I play.
Stage 02
Second year of nursery
The six social and emotional themes begin. Stories, games and exercises deepen what they already know.
Stage 03
Third year of nursery
The same themes, a higher bar. More cooperative formats, station work and individual processing.
Stage 04
First and second grade
Three large themes: feeling good, standing strong, stronger together. With extra attention for self-reflection.

What you get

Physical material and an online platform

In the classroom

The materials box

Everything you need to start, bundled per age group.

Introductory handbook and theme books
6 picture stories in A3, with flip-over and recorded version
Magnetic board with 5 sets of magnets
Versatile play material for station work
Weatherproof posters for the playground

Online platform

One year of access included

Everything you would rather have digitally or print again.

Print-ready lesson and game material
Curriculum goals per lesson card
Audio stories and digital games
Ready-made letters for parents
A presentation for a parents' evening

For the team

Training in modules

Theory and practice, in short pieces you watch whenever it suits.

Several modules per theme
Theoretical background, pleasantly delivered
Practical tips for the classroom
Usable as a whole for a staff development day
Questions during the year? We help you further

Expectations

What it is and what it is not

Jungle Buddies is not a care programme for a handful of children and not a three-week side project. It is a method for the whole class, every year again.

This is what it is not

A folder of loose worksheets
A track only for children with a care need
Something you still have to develop yourself
A project that stops after one theme

This is what it is

A continuous learning line across five school years
For the whole class group, preventively
Ready to use, with minimal preparation
Linked to the curriculum goals of the different networks

Curriculum goals

Not an extra task next to your programme

Every lesson card states the goals you reach with it, for the different school networks. Working on social and emotional skills does not become a task on top, but a concrete way to reach goals your school has to reach anyway.

That makes the conversation with your head teacher and your pedagogical advisers considerably easier.

From the classroom

They already started

Clear activities, written up short and to the point. It is a relief that there is hardly any extra work involved, everything has been prepared. The children took to the characters straight away and keep comparing themselves to them. It comes alive from the very first moment.

EvelineSecond year of nursery school

We bought this method because we were running into a lot of difficulties in one particular class. It is such rewarding material: ready to use and well grounded. The children cannot wait to go to the Jungle class. I can really see the effect, there are far fewer conflicts.

KatrienLearning support teacher

We started this school year in the second and third year of nursery school. The method is very easy to work with. The children welcomed the Jungle Buddies with real enthusiasm. We are looking forward to discovering the rest.

ElienThird year of nursery school

Practical

Questions schools ask us

How much time does it take per week?

Count on one core activity per week per theme, plus short moments you weave into your daily practice. The lesson cards are written so that you can teach them without preparation.

Do all classes have to start at the same time?

They do not, but it does work best. When the whole school speaks the same language, children recognise the characters in the playground and with next year's teacher. Many schools start with the nursery department and expand the year after.

Do we need the training?

The training is included. You can watch it alone, with a few colleagues, or use it as a whole as a staff development day for the entire team.

Does it also work in a class with many home languages?

Yes. The method leans heavily on images: picture stories, magnets, pictograms and step-by-step plans. The material also exists in Dutch, French and English.

What does it cost?

Prices per age group and per school year are listed in the school brochure, together with the options. View them at scholen.opkindermaat.be.

Next step

Start by looking at a lesson card

A sample pack is free and without obligation. You will see how a theme is built up, how a lesson card reads and what is in the box.