For schools · school year 2026-2027

Social and emotional learning method · ages 3 to 8

A child who can name a feeling no longer has to scream it out.

Junglemaatjes is a whole-school method that teaches toddlers, preschoolers and children in the first years of primary school what they feel, how to say it and what to do with it. Five jungle animals give them the words. The school team gets the structure, the materials and the language to work with it every day.

Aap, Krokodil en Olifant uit Junglemaatjes
A day in a preschool class A teacher picks up signals all day long. The three moments in red are the ones that end up in a care meeting: separation, conflict and self-image. Seeing them is not the hard part. Backing them up is.
08:40 saying goodbye at the gate 09:30 restlessness in circle time 10:15 a fight in the playground 11:00 fear of failing a task 13:15 playing together in a small group 14:00 unable to share
  • 08:40Saying goodbye at the gate
  • 09:30Restlessness in circle time
  • 10:15A fight in the playground
  • 11:00Fear of failing a task
  • 13:15Playing together in a small group
  • 14:00Unable to share while building

Where it goes wrong

Teachers do see it. Proving it is the struggle.

Teachers see a great deal. Restless children in circle time, an inability to share a toy, fear of failing an exercise. But backing that up with concrete data in a care meeting or a parent conference is far from easy.

I want to support my teachers so they can act. Their observations and expertise need to be communicated in a substantiated way, so that something actually changes. Primary school head teacher

That is the heart of the problem. Not that teachers see too little, but that it stays subjective. Putting into words how hard it runs week after week is often a struggle for a teacher. Without a shared language every observation remains a personal judgement, and without evidence little changes.

And starting early is what it comes down to. Between the ages of three and eight a child lays the crucial foundation for social and emotional skills. By working on emotional regulation, self-confidence, cooperation and repairing conflict this early, we give children the time and the space to automate those skills, generalise them and truly make them their own. They build a stable base that protects them and prevents them from getting stuck in their teens and ending up in a therapist's office in crisis.

Why now

The new minimum goals are coming either way.

From this school year on, Flemish schools start working with the new minimum goals. By 2027-2028 it has to be fully in place. Social skills are part of it.

That means every school team has work to do regardless. The only question is whether you develop it yourself, class by class, or take a method that already covers it. The Junglemaatjes lesson library is explicitly mapped to those goals. What you introduce therefore counts twice: it helps the children and it fulfils an obligation.

In practice: schools usually decide on remaining budget in September and October, and on next year's budget between January and March. Starting now gives you a whole year to let it grow calmly instead of cramming it in come September.

What Junglemaatjes is

Not a package. A language the whole school speaks.

The five Junglemaatjes become real friends of the class. They help children put words to emotions, conflicts and difficult moments. Lion, Crocodile, Elephant, Monkey and Parrot become recognisable figures a child can use to say what it feels and experiences. At the same time they create a shared language for the carer, the teacher, the learning support teacher, the playground supervisor and parents at home.

A fully developed method is built around these five characters, with five themes for toddlers, six for preschoolers and three for the first years of primary school. Every theme is supported with lesson sheets, picture books, audio stories and playful materials that can be used in class right away.

The method is also mapped to the Flemish minimum goals. That turns work on social and emotional skills into something other than an extra task alongside the existing programme: it becomes a concrete, integrated way of reaching objectives the school has to meet anyway.

Leeuw
Lion
Krokodil
Crocodile
Olifant
Elephant
Aap
Monkey
Papegaai
Parrot
6jaar ontwikkeld met scholen en therapeuten
100+schools in Belgium
1,000+leerkrachten opgeleid
0scholen die er weer mee stopten

The learning path

It grows with the child.

From the first introduction before school starts to the second year of primary. The same animals, the same language, a step further every time.

Leeuw
Phase 01

Starters

A small gift before the first school day, so a toddler already knows the Junglemaatjes before walking into the classroom.

Aap
Phase 02

Toddlers and first year preschool

Gets to know each Junglemaatje in a playful way.

Krokodil met Papegaai
Phase 03

Second and third year preschool

The Junglemaatjes help preschoolers learn social and emotional skills.

Olifant
Phase 04

First and second year primary

Builds on what is already there, with short exercises and games you can use every day.

What it delivers

We strengthen the child, the teacher, the school and the parent.

A method that only serves the child gets left on the shelf. A method that only helps the teacher never reaches the child. Junglemaatjes is built so that all four parties gain something from it, from the very first week.

For the child

Words instead of outbursts

  • Learns to feel what it feels, and to name it
  • Learns to handle conflict and to repair it in an authentic way
  • Builds self-image and confidence in the years when that grows fastest
  • Gets help at the crucial stage, not years later when a problem has taken hold
For the teacher

Less figuring out, more teaching

  • Ready-to-use lesson sheets per theme, nothing to develop or assemble yourself
  • The same language in class, in the playground and in communication with parents
  • Webinars you watch when it suits, and again in September
  • A conflict becomes a moment of growth instead of an interruption
For the school

A policy you can show

  • One whole-school approach instead of five separate initiatives per class
  • Directly mapped to the Flemish minimum goals for social skills
  • New teachers and student teachers are up to speed without organising extra training
  • Visible to parents, from the school gate to the notes that go home
For the parent

The information about your child you actually want

  • Transfer of the skills learned in class to the home context
  • Accessible relaxation and release exercises for at home
  • A clear, substantiated view of your child's wellbeing and behaviour

Honest about workload

The biggest objection is not the price. It is here comes another thing.

That objection is often fair. So it is more honest to first say what Junglemaatjes is not.

What it is not

  • Not an extra subject you have to fit into the timetable
  • No forms to fill in, no extra admin for the teacher
  • Not a method you have to work through from front to back
  • Not a one-off training that has faded away two months later

What it is

  • A language you use at the moments that are already there: circle time, the playground, the conflict
  • Ready-to-use materials, so preparation disappears instead of piling up
  • Within every theme you choose from a wide range of exercises what fits your class
  • Webinars that stay online, so they still work for whoever starts next year

What you get

Ready to use. Literally.

Not a framework you have to fill in yourself, but worked-out activities a teacher can use straight away. Everything is ready online, and whatever belongs in the classroom is in the box.

275+lesfiches op het online platform

From the toddler class to the second year of primary. Every activity has its own lesson sheet with the instructions, the theme, the materials needed and the learning goals. The core goals are written out in plain language, and the official curriculum goals are listed online per lesson sheet.

Everything is available through the platform. If something needs printing, it says so right there.

  • This lesson sheet includes transfer to the home context.
  • Online material is available for this lesson sheet.
  • This activity belongs in the quiet corner, after practising as a class.
Theme: group building Similarities and differences · What do you like to eat?
Format
Corner work, sensory play
Number of children
4 tot 6 kleuters
Level of independence
Independent, after instruction
Materials needed
Modelling clay cards for cake, ice cream, pizza and a plate. Plus clay.
Goal of the game
Awareness and acceptance of similarities and differences. Everyone is different and that is okay.
Junglemaatjes · Theme 1 Group building

This is what a lesson sheet looks like. Every theme has its own colour, all the practical information sits in the margin.

And this is what arrives in the classroom.

The materials box
Junglemaatjes lesmateriaalJunglemaatjes lesmateriaalJunglemaatjes lesmateriaalJunglemaatjes lesmateriaalJunglemaatjes lesmateriaalJunglemaatjes lesmateriaalJunglemaatjes lesmateriaalJunglemaatjes lesmateriaal

From practice

Ask Basisschool Klimmop.

Basisschool Klimmop in Zandbergen has been working with it for years and explains what changed. Not only in class, at home too. A few minutes that say more than this entire brochure.

Watch the conversation with Basisschool Klimmop in the online version of this brochure.

How you start

Starting small is fine.

Many schools start with the preschool section or with the first years of primary, and expand a year later. That works, because the language stays the same.

Choose where you begin

Preschool, the first years of primary, or both. Each section has its own starter package with the materials that suit that age. If you expand later, you only add the starter package for the new section.

Your team is trained without scheduling an in-service day

The starter package includes the training of your team. Every school gets a starter webinar for new Junglemaatjes schools. For the preschool programme there is an additional webinar per theme: more than five hours of video in total, roughly the content of an in-service training day. Everything is recorded and ready, so your team watches at its own pace, including anyone starting in February.

You bring the first themes into the classroom

The materials box arrives in class, the lesson sheets are ready online and the characters get a place at the school gate. Most schools notice within a few weeks that children start using the Junglemaatjes on their own.

From 2027: the Junglemaatjes app

The app is in development and will roll out in phases from early 2027. It does two things. Everything you need sits in one place your whole team can consult. And you log children's emotions with a single tap, no form. That makes visible what today remains an impression: how often, when and where a child gets stuck, in a form you can take into a care meeting or a parent conference. The app is included in the subscription.

School year 2026-2027

What it costs.

You choose two things. You pay for the starter package once, at the start, per section. The subscription is paid per school year. Separate packages and hand puppets are optional.

Already a Junglemaatjes school

Already working with Junglemaatjes today? Then your school qualifies for a one-off discount on the subscription for 2026-2027. Ask for your rate at info@opkindermaat.be.

01

Starter package

One-off · per section · not recurring
Paid once

Preschool

€995One-off purchase, excl. VAT
  • The methodThe full whole-school approach for the entire preschool section, built up step by step around six themes: group building, communication, emotions, playing together, conflict and repair, self-image and confidence. Underneath sit five themes for the toddler class that lay the groundwork, such as group building, emotions, initiating play and self-reliance.
  • Training for your teamA starter webinar for new Junglemaatjes schools plus a webinar per theme. More than five hours of video in total, roughly the content of an in-service training day. Recorded, so your team watches at its own pace and as often as it likes.
  • Materials boxIntroduction book, A3 picture book with six stories, A3 magnetic story board, five magnet sets, four reusable water paintings, spinner with templates, emotion quartet, emotion memory game and school gate label. The playground posters come digitally for you to print, or printed as an option.

You pay this once, not every year. The materials stay with the school and last for years.

Paid once

Primary school, first years

€895One-off purchase, excl. VAT
  • The methodThe approach for the first and second year of primary, built around three themes: feeling good, standing strong, stronger together.
  • Training for your teamA starter webinar for new Junglemaatjes schools in which your team goes through the method and the three themes. Recorded, so it can be watched at your own pace and as often as you like.
  • Materials boxIntroduction book, class newspaper, red filter, number lock, champion badge and school gate label.

You pay this once, not every year. Preschool and primary together? Ask for the combined price at info@opkindermaat.be.

02

Subscription

Recurring · per school year · whole-school licence

Get started

€895Per school year, excl. VAT
  • Digital materialsLesson sheet library, digital picture books, digital audio stories and digital tablet games. Mapped to the Flemish minimum goals.
  • Continuous accessThe full digital environment and all webinars stay available all year, including for teachers who join later or start fresh next year.
  • Junglemaatjes schoolThe label for your school, recognisable at the gate and in your communication to parents.
  • The Junglemaatjes app From early 2027Everything in one place for your whole team to consult, and a way to log children's emotions with a single tap. Included in your licence as soon as it rolls out.

The formula most schools start with.

With on-site guidance

Grow

€1,495Per school year, excl. VAT
  • Everything in Get startedDigital materials, lesson sheet library, continuous access and the app as soon as it rolls out.
  • In-service training dayHalf a day at school. No extra content, but guidance on site while your team puts it into practice in your own context.
  • In-depth materialsExtra material for the learning support teacher and the care team, for children who need more than the classroom programme. New material is added during the school year.

For schools that want to anchor Junglemaatjes firmly across the whole organisation from the start.

€4.48Per child, from year two

A school with two hundred children starting with both the preschool section and the first years of primary pays €2,785 in the first year for both starter packages and the school licence together. That is €13.93 per child, with the full training of your team included. From the second year the starter packages fall away and only the annual licence remains: €4.48 per child, for a whole-school approach to social and emotional learning.

03

Optional additions

Separate packages and hand puppets
Toddler · class packA3 magnetic story board, 5x5 magnet sets, four magic water paintings €155
Toddler · instruction booksIntroduction, Lion, Crocodile, Elephant, Monkey, Parrot €110
Preschool · class packA3 picture book, spinner with templates, emotion quartet, emotion memory game €183
Preschool · instruction booksIntroduction and the six themes of the preschool programme €395
First years primary · class packClass newspaper, red filter, number lock, champion badge €83
First years primary · instruction booksThree themes plus the digital kick-off books for September and January €145
Set of five hand puppetsLion, Crocodile, Elephant, Monkey and Parrot to tell stories with in circle time €169
Playground posters, printedIncluded digitally in every starter package for you to print. Prefer them printed and delivered? On request

All prices exclude 21% VAT and shipping. Errors and changes excepted. Invoicing is per school year.

What teachers say

The people who have to work with it.

A head teacher decides, but the team has to carry it. This is what teachers already using it in class have to say.

“

Clear activities, written up short and to the point. Nice that it does not bring much extra work with it, everything is already worked out. The preschoolers were immediately enthusiastic about the different characters and keep comparing themselves to them. It comes alive from the very first moment.

Juf EvelineEvelineSecond year preschool
“

We bought this method because we were having a lot of difficulty in one particular class. It is very rewarding material: ready to use and well founded. It really appeals to the preschoolers too, they are eager to come along to the Jungle class. I genuinely notice the effect: there are far fewer conflicts already.

Juf KatrienKatrienLearning support teacher
“

We started this school year in the second and third year of preschool with the Junglemaatjes. The method is very easy to use. The preschoolers welcomed the Junglemaatjes with great enthusiasm. We are looking forward to discovering the rest of the method.

Juf ElienElienThird year preschool

Next step

Would you like to see the materials for yourself?

A conversation is the fastest way to find out whether Junglemaatjes fits your school. We go through the materials and the digital environment with you, and work out together what it would mean for your sections. No obligation.

Book a conversation

Or email directly at info@opkindermaat.be