AN SFC-SA × REGROUNDED COLLABORATION
NATURE NINJAS
Give learners a day of adventure and teachers a day to catch up.
Nature Ninjas is a full day of nature-themed missions for Grades 0–7. Teachers can run it themselves with what the school already has: printouts, a playground, and a few patches of green.
Brought to you by Screen Free Childhood South Africa (SFC-SA), a network of more than 450 schools working towards healthier childhoods with less screen time, together with ReGrounded.
100% FREE • GRADES 0–7 • NO OBLIGATION
A screen-free nature day for the last week of term.
WHY SCHOOLS ARE SIGNING UP
Why run Nature Ninjas at your school?
👩🏫
Teachers get admin time back
When classes rotate through the programme and supervision is shared, teachers can have a day without classroom duties for marking, reports and year-end admin.
📵
It replaces the end-of-term screen options
Learners stay busy and engaged for the whole day, and nobody needs a screen (aka not another classic movie day, or 'device time').
📋
It's low effort to run
You don't need special equipment, an outing or any prep beyond printing. The activities work indoors and outdoors.
🌿
Children get curious about nature
They spend the day noticing, tracking, building and problem-solving.
WHAT'S INSIDE THE PROGRAMME
One full day of activities, all planned out!
Nature Ninjas includes:
A teacher pack with simple, step-by-step guides for each activity
Printable learner worksheets and activity materials
A full-day timetable, plus the suggested rotation and buddy schedules
Junior Nature Ninjas (Grades 0–3): observation, imagination, movement and hands-on discovery
Senior Nature Ninjas (Grades 4–7): missions that test observation, reasoning, teamwork and problem-solving
Activities that adapt to your indoor and outdoor spaces
Linked to the curriculum
The activities support CAPS outcomes in [Life Skills: Beginning Knowledge / Personal and Social Wellbeing] for the Foundation Phase and [Natural Sciences and Technology] for the Intermediate Phase. A short curriculum-links sheet is included for principals and HODs.
See before you sign up
WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING
Feedback from the teacher review group
💬
"[Quote about the admin time / rotation idea.]"
— [Name], Grade [X] teacher, [School], [Town]
💬
"[Quote about the screen-free alternative / learner engagement.]"
— [Name], Grade [X] teacher, [School], [Town]
💬
"[Quote about how easy it looks to run / the sample materials.]"
— [Name], [Role], [School], [Town]
Feedback from teachers who helped review the Nature Ninjas concept.
HOW IT COULD WORK AT YOUR SCHOOL
Three common ways to run it
Every school runs its last week differently, so the programme includes suggested schedules and supervision plans that you can adapt. Here are three common setups:
1. Rotate by grade
Each grade takes a different day of the final week. On its Nature Ninjas day, two teachers supervise the combined classes while the third teacher has the day free for admin. The next day, the roles rotate.
2. Buddy up older and younger learners
Pair a Grade 6 class with a Grade 1 class. The older learners act as "Ninja Mentors" who guide their buddies through the Junior missions. This cuts down how many adults are needed, and older learners usually enjoy taking the lead.
3. Run it as a whole-school day
Every class takes part on the same day. Junior and Senior groups work through the missions on staggered timetables, and supervision is pooled across the staff.
The programme also includes guidance on options for supervision schedules, so you can choose whatever fits your staff numbers and spaces.
WHAT IS NATURE NINJAS?
Animals have extraordinary skills. Now it's the kids' turn.
They hide in plain sight, track down food, build clever shelters and find their way across huge distances.
Nature Ninjas invites children to try these skills themselves. Through a series of missions and challenges they observe, investigate, move, compete and work together, and they pick up fascinating facts about the living world along the way.
It's a day of adventure with some learning folded in.
PRIZE DRAWS (OPTIONAL)
Two optional prize draws
[Prizes include: [prize details / sponsor names].]
🏫
School draw
Run your Nature Ninjas day, share a POPIA-compliant photo on social media and tag SFC-SA.
🏆
Learner draw
Learners take home a worksheet with a hidden challenge:
Grades 0–3: Find the hidden animal.
Grades 4–7: Crack the secret code.
Parents can submit the answer to enter.
Full instructions are included with the programme.
THE PARTNERSHIP
Why SFC-SA and ReGrounded?
Nature Ninjas is a collaboration between Screen Free Childhood South Africa (SFC-SA) and ReGrounded. We share an interest in giving children more chances to engage with the world beyond screens.
SFC-SA advocates for healthier, more balanced relationships with technology, and more than 450 South African schools are part of its network.
ReGrounded helps parents and educators nurture children's curiosity about, care for and connection to the natural world.
Nature Ninjas brings these two aims together in a simple, practical way.
If we want children to spend less time on screens, it helps to give them genuinely good alternatives.
And nature offers plenty of them: things to find, follow, build with, investigate and wonder about, none of which need expensive equipment or special facilities.
"[Principal endorsement, e.g. why the school supports a screen-free end of term.]"
— [Name], Principal, [School] (SFC-SA partner school)
Meet the people behind it
Jess van Jaarsveld | Founder, ReGrounded
I'm a mom of 3 with a PhD in Environmental Ethics, and my work is about helping kids notice the living things everyone else walks past: the weeds, the birds, the small creatures underfoot.
I'll be honest, my own kids would happily spend the whole holiday on a screen, so I work hard to come up with engaging alternatives. Everything in Nature Ninjas has been tested against my kids (who get bored outside in about thirty seconds). If it holds their attention, it'll hold your learners'.
[Photo of Candice]
Candice [Surname] | [Role], SFC-SA
[One line on her background or why she got involved with SFC-SA.]
Through SFC-SA's school network, I hear the same thing again and again: by the last week of term, teachers are exhausted and the easy option is another movie day.
[One line on what she hopes Nature Ninjas gives schools.]
QUESTIONS TEACHERS HAVE ASKED US
Before you register
Why is it free?
Both SFC-SA and ReGrounded exist to get children engaging with the world beyond screens, and a free programme reaches the most schools. [The programme is supported by [Sponsor(s)], which covers the cost of producing it.]
Is there a catch?
No. You won't be asked to pay for anything, now or later. The full programme is yours to use.
Will you spam me?
No. We'll only email you about Nature Ninjas: the programme itself and any important updates. ReGrounded's occasional nature-ideas emails only reach you if you tick the optional box.
What if we register and then decide not to run it?
That's completely fine. Registering only means we send you the resources, and nobody will follow up to check whether you used them.
Do we have to run it on a set date?
No. Run it on any day or days that suit your school, during the last weeks of term or whenever works for you.
What if it rains, or we have limited outdoor space?
Every activity has an indoor version, and the teacher pack explains how to adapt each one to your spaces.
Do learners need to bring anything?
No. Everything needed is in the printable pack, along with things easily found around any school.
Does a teacher need any nature knowledge to run it?
No. The teacher guides include everything you need to know, explained in plain language.
I have more questions!
REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL
Register to receive the programme
Leave your details below and we'll email you the full programme by [date], in time for the last weeks of term.
What happens to your details: We'll only use them to send you the programme and any updates about it. We'll never share or sell them, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
— Jess & Candice
By registering, you agree to receive the Nature Ninjas programme and related updates. See ReGrounded's Privacy Policy.
Free to register. Free to participate. No obligation.
Nature Ninjas | An SFC-SA × ReGrounded collaboration