Fill your days with
love and laughter
Help at the kindergarten & be welcomed with open arms
-
Duration
1-24 Weeks -
Accompanied age
5+ -
Minimum age
17+ -
Start dates
1st & 3rd Sunday -
From
$370
-
Duration
1-24 Weeks -
Accompanied age
5+ -
Minimum age
17+ -
Start dates
1st & 3rd Sunday -
From
$370
Bali Childcare Volunteers
Quicklinks
Want to do something amazing on your next trip abroad? Come and help at our kindergarten, where you will be welcomed with open arms by the children and community who will be sure to fill your life with laughter and unconditional love!
You will play a crucial role in interacting with the children, keeping them entertained and happy, while building their confidence. This hugely rewarding experience will fully immerse you into the local Balinese culture, where you will interact with the locals and get to know their traditions and lifestyle.
Working alongside the local staff and other volunteers, you will assist with basic education, play lots of games and encourage a positive lifestyle to children aged between 4 and 6 years old. You can leave knowing that you have made a real difference to the lives of the children that attend each day.
Background to the childcare programme
Outside of the fast developing and touristy areas along the southern coastline, Bali is still a very undeveloped island with many poorer communities. Our childcare programme is based in the northern coastal village of Tianyar. The main source of income for families here is from fishing and farming - with many struggling financially.
The vast majority of kindergartens and day care centres around Bali charge for their services. The ability to be able to afford to send their children to a kindergarten, let alone one that provides a good standard of care, is very difficult in Tianyar and more often than not simply not possible. Not only does this harm the children's early years education, it also prevents parents from working as they have to stay at home and look after them.
As most people know, Bali has become a global tourist destination, attracting over 5 million foreigners from around the world each and every year. Although this has transformed the island and substantially increased many of the local population's income, it is heavily reliant on people being able to talk fluent English.
Many of the more remote and rural villages and towns (including Tianyar) are not able to converse in English at all. This greatly hinders their chances of being able to take advantage of this new found income potential. It is widely considered that pre-school years are the most important years of a child's life and the best time to start learning a foreign language.
With the above in mind, our local team built their very own community kindergarten that offers free childcare to everyone in the village and surrounding areas. By complementing and assisting the work of the local staff members, you will ensure the children receive all of the attention and support that they deserve. On top of this, the children will spend lots of time socialising with you and other volunteers, which will boost their confidence and also dramatically improve their conversational English.
Where will I be volunteering?
Community Kindergarten - The kindergarten was built in 2008 by our local team in order to provide vital free childcare services to the local community. The aim was to allow parents to work and earn an income for their family as well as to start teaching English and other core subjects to build the foundations for the children to go onto further education and thrive in later life.
There are currently around 75 children that attend each and every day, aged between 4 and 6 years old. The children are split across 4 classrooms where you can provide invaluable assistance and support.
The kindergarten is fully funded by the fees that you and other volunteers pay, so without you it simply would not exist! You can leave Bali knowing that you have made a real difference to the many lives of this underprivileged community.
What is my role?
Your main role will be interacting with the children as you encourage and care for everyone that comes each day. You will be sure to keep everyone entertained and happy, by sharing your time, enthusiasm and skills to help the local staff at the kindergarten.
By interacting with the children through creative and energetic ways and providing them with a basic education, you will not only be boosting their confidence but also their abilities. Volunteering with younger children means that the day is not as structured as compared to working in a school environment. The children's language can be greatly improved simply through play and interaction. Helping them learn just a few key words or phrases throughout your time in Bali will put them in good stead for the future.
This hugely rewarding and enjoyable experience is not only about teaching though. You are actively encouraged to get involved in as many other areas as possible, such as arts & crafts, singing & dancing, sports and helping the local staff with their day-to-day duties.
We find that volunteers who dedicate time to planning and coming up with creative ideas to use at the kindergarten, generally get the most from the experience. You will have plenty of time each day to spend an hour or two creating engaging lessons to help keep the children happy and ensure they get the most from their day at the kindergarten.
The children are an absolute joy to be around, where their enthusiasm for learning and getting to know you is guaranteed to make you smile.
What will a typical day look like?
You will be volunteering every morning from Monday to Thursday for between 2 and 3 hours, generally between 8:30am and 10:30am. The actual amount of time you volunteer each day can vary throughout the year. The kindergarten is just a two minute walk from the volunteer accommodation. Everyone will walk down the off-road track together, where you will be greeted by all of the happy children who are eager to play and learn. Depending on your plans for the weekend, the kindergarten also opens on Friday and Saturday mornings, where your help would be even more greatly appreciated!
Before the kindergarten officially starts, you may have 5 to 10 minutes to play with the children in the large park within the kindergarten grounds. After gathering everyone together, you will sing the national anthem as the children all line up in the middle.
All of the children will then make their way to their classroom, ready to start learning. You will go through today's day and date and then start teaching some basic English. You will assist the teachers, lead your own classes and also get involved in play time.
During the afternoons you are more than welcome to help on our teaching programme (if there is space), explore the nearby area or enjoy the beautiful setting of the volunteer accommodation.
When the childcare project is closed for holidays, volunteers will be able to assist within the local school helping to teach basic English to the younger students. If you would like to know when the holiday periods are, please contact us.
Where will I be staying?
During your time with us in Bali, you will be staying in traditional and beautiful bamboo-built cottages right on the beach - offering some of the best views ever. Every morning you can wake up to the swaying palm trees that reveal the clear blue sea and the noise of the crashing waves – paradise! As the sea is literally on your doorstep, you can join all of the other volunteers and go snorkelling every day before breakfast. Full of amazing marine life, this is your chance to explore its depths that are always full of surprises, where you may come across sea turtles, manta rays, dolphins and so much more!
Although this region of Bali is quieter, you can head to the nearby and famous dive town of Tulamben (20 minutes drive), wake up early to climb Mount Batur to see the sunrise (30 minutes drive) or hop on a boat to the Gili Islands from Amed harbour (40 minutes away). You can also easily head further south to the many tourist attractions, with many drivers on hand to cheaply take you to the rest of the island whenever you need. So if you are looking to head to the rice terraces in Ubud, learn to surf in Kuta or party at Finns Beach Club, everything is easily accessible.
Other things to consider
Helping on multiple projects - Whilst in Bali, you may also have the opportunity to get involved with our teaching and marine conservation programmes. Please note, this will be down to availability at the time and is at the sole discretion of our local team. There would be a small additional fee for the marine conservation programme.
Resources and donations - Resources can be very limited on our programmes in Bali and we would really appreciate any additional support that can be provided. It would be amazing if you could bring any materials associated with your project, including pens, paper, toys, games and anything else you think will aid your time on the programme.
Weekends and free time - You will have every weekend off from volunteering and this is the perfect time to explore everything this beautiful island has to offer. You are more than welcome to simply relax around the accommodation and enjoy the beach, but most volunteers will use this time to travel and see the country. Further down this page you will come across many suggestions and ideas on where you could go. Alternatively, if you are looking to see as much of the country as possible during this time, travel with other volunteers and be accompanied by one of our local team members, then you may be interested in one or more of the organised weekend trips we run.