6 characters · 6 themes

Six characters, six themes, five school years

Jungle Buddies is not a collection of exercises. It is a learning line that grows with a child, and that looks the same in the classroom, in therapy and at home.

The idea

A feeling gets a name first, a solution second

Young children feel far more than they can say. As long as the words are missing, tension comes out as behaviour. Starting by unlearning behaviour therefore rarely works. Starting by naming does.

Each Junglemaatje stands for one part of that process. The characters have talents and pitfalls, just like the children themselves. That keeps the threshold low: it is about Crocodile getting angry, not about you getting angry.

The children took to the characters straight away and keep comparing themselves to them. It comes alive from the very first moment.Eveline, second year of nursery school

The characters

Who are the Jungle Buddies?

Five characters in the classroom. The therapy box adds Snake.

Self-image and confidence

Lion

Lion wants to be brave and dares a lot. But even a brave lion gets scared sometimes. He teaches children that you may show your talents and may also say what you cannot do yet.

Big emotions

Crocodile

Crocodile feels everything very hard and very fast. He stands for the moments when a feeling becomes bigger than the child itself, and for the ways back to calm.

Calm and relaxation

Elephant

Elephant is slow, warm and calm. He brings the breathing exercises, the massages and the quiet moments that carry a busy day.

Playing together

Monkey

Monkey wants to play, always and with everyone. Through him children learn rules, turn-taking and tuning in to what someone else needs.

Communication

Parrot

Parrot loves to talk, sometimes too much and sometimes not clearly enough. He stands for listening, waiting your turn and saying what you really mean.

Belonging · therapy box only

Snake

Snake wants to belong but tends to go about it the wrong way. He teases and overdoes it. Every child recognises itself in Snake now and then, which makes talking about difficult behaviour safer.

The themes

Six themes that return every year

The same themes, with a higher bar each year. Repetition is not a weakness of the method, it is the working principle.

Theme 01
Belonging to a group
What is my place in the group? Children learn that they belong, and what they themselves do to make a group work.
Theme 02
Communication
How do I say what I mean? From non-verbal signals to listening and waiting your turn.
Theme 03
Emotions
From the four basic emotions to degrees and mixtures. Naming comes first, regulating follows.
Theme 04
Playing together
Rules, roles and tuning in to what someone else needs. Play is practice in miniature.
Theme 05
Conflict and repair
Taking another perspective during a conflict, and concrete repair strategies children can use themselves.
Theme 06
Self-image
Knowing your own talents and your own limits, and daring to try what does not work yet.

The build-up

From toddler to second grade

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.

Grounding

Theoretically grounded, practically usable

The toddler and nursery years are a crucial phase for the foundations of social and emotional development. Developing a sense of self, building enough confidence and learning to handle emotions is a step-by-step learning process.

That is why Jungle Buddies combines material for the child with training for the adult. A theoretical frame about the development of the young child makes clear what is age-appropriate, and therefore what you may expect. And above all what you may not. With that anchor you look at behaviour differently, and support becomes targeted instead of merely well meant.

In pictures