The Amazing Benefits of Play
A workshop for teachers, childcare professionals, parents and anyone with a stake in exploring the value of play in the development of children.
Led by Pop-Up Adventure Play and hosted by Bernheim’s Children at Play Initiative and West End School
Wednesday, February 26th from 6:00-8:30 p.m.
At the West End School – 3628 Virginia Ave., Louisville Kentucky
Registration required. Contact Claude Stephens at cstephens@bernheim.org
Cost: Sliding scale. $0 – $25 Pay what you can afford.
Workshop Leader – Morgan Leichter-Saxby, M.A.
Drawing on her experiences supporting play and delivering playwork training in a range of settings around the world, Morgan will help guide participants in discovering the value behind free-play and self-directed play. Morgan has presented at more than a dozen international conferences and served as Keynote Speaker at the 2013 International Children’s Development Forum in Bogota. She blogs at www.playeverything.wordpress.com and was the 2012 Playwork Writer of the Year. In October of 2013 Morgan was a keynote speaker at Bernheim’s Children at Play Conference.
Workshop Summary:
The Amazing Benefits of Play
This workshop focuses on providing a solid foundation to discuss play’s distinct qualities and benefits, emphasizing those related to wholechild learning, health and development. By clearly distinguishing children’s self-directed play from adult led activities, we will outline ways to support children’s processes without intervening, and explain simple and immediate ways to improve any environment for play. Working from a strong foundation in the adventure play movement and playwork, we offer a uniquely engaging and informative approach to the subject and we include time for participants to play! This workshop is intended for a broad audience, including those whose only experience of play is limited.
This workshop includes:
● What we mean when we say ‘play’ – essential terms and definitions
● An invitation to play followed by group reflection
● Children’s need to play, and the landscape of children’s lives today
● Not ‘unstructured’, but ‘self structured’ – what makes children’s free play so special?
● The power of ‘yes’ risk/benefit assessments made simple
● Taking play home – the basics of a playwork approach made applicable in any setting
We will send some of our time discussing next steps toward a stronger network of play advocates in our community.