Additional activities during the conference time
Workshops on the 15th of June 10.00-13.00
You can choose from two workshops:
• Narrative Environments for Play
• What is playwork?
Narrative Environments for Play
Workshop, 15th of June, 10.00-13.00
The workshop will be held by Finnish team of experienced educators. The team has used narrative environments for playful learning in order to diversify and enrich children’s own play. Children and teachers create together a playful world, which includes reading and inventing stories, enriching imagination, being social with others, wondering the basic questions together (moral values) – practising the basic skills of life. We are happy to share our experiences with a lot of examples, pictures, video clips, short lectures and discussion groups.
Imaginary play is a special and meaningful way, through which children acquire and sharpen the skills needed in adult life: Skills like linguistic skills, thinking, taking the other person’s position, essence of good and evil as well as learning to regulate their own behaviour.
Studies around the world show that the amount of imaginary play has diminished. There might be several reasons for the situation: Children are divided into age groups in nurseries, kindergartens, preschools and schools so that younger children do not learn from older ones; Multimedia based plays and virtual experiences do not offer vivid enough material for imaginary play; Screen time takes too many hours from other activities like play.
The team will share experiences of narrative play activities, which encourage children to play and to create their own world through play. This information you can use in your work, you can use it for education of kindergarten, preschool, primary school teachers, parents, to raise the awareness of importance of play, to encourage adults, working with children, to give them tools, that can get the play back to children and childhood. Because play is the best activity for kids to develop, to learn and to stay in good mental health.
Workshop, 15th of June, 10.00-13.00
The workshop will be held by Finnish team of experienced educators. The team has used narrative environments for playful learning in order to diversify and enrich children’s own play. Children and teachers create together a playful world, which includes reading and inventing stories, enriching imagination, being social with others, wondering the basic questions together (moral values) – practising the basic skills of life. We are happy to share our experiences with a lot of examples, pictures, video clips, short lectures and discussion groups.
Imaginary play is a special and meaningful way, through which children acquire and sharpen the skills needed in adult life: Skills like linguistic skills, thinking, taking the other person’s position, essence of good and evil as well as learning to regulate their own behaviour.
Studies around the world show that the amount of imaginary play has diminished. There might be several reasons for the situation: Children are divided into age groups in nurseries, kindergartens, preschools and schools so that younger children do not learn from older ones; Multimedia based plays and virtual experiences do not offer vivid enough material for imaginary play; Screen time takes too many hours from other activities like play.
The team will share experiences of narrative play activities, which encourage children to play and to create their own world through play. This information you can use in your work, you can use it for education of kindergarten, preschool, primary school teachers, parents, to raise the awareness of importance of play, to encourage adults, working with children, to give them tools, that can get the play back to children and childhood. Because play is the best activity for kids to develop, to learn and to stay in good mental health.
Jarmo Lounassalo, kindergarten teacher, Master of Arts (education), ECEC –specialist. He has worked as a kindergarten teacher eight years, thirty years as a director of day-care centre, ten years as a developmental manager (main focus has been on the job training of ECEC personnel); Cooperation with several research teams and universities, international cooperation with City of Windhoek in Namibia and Reggio-Emilia in Italy (both nearly for ten years period). Through the whole working career key issues of interest have been questions of children’s development, pedagogical team as a work unit, ECEC curriculum and the meaning of play; he has written several articles for educational publications and books; Thirty years public work as a lecturer and instructor.
Annukka Pursi, PhD student at Helsinki University, Bachelor's Degree in Rehabilitation (Physiotherapist), kindergarten teacher. She is a doctoral student in educational sciences (early childhood education) at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her research interests are focused on adult-child interaction in natural day care settings. Currently, her special interest is play from institutional, pedagogical and relational perspectives. Before her doctoral studies she worked as a kindergarten teacher for several years. She has participated in different kinds of developmental projects around play, e.g. developed and trained multi-professional teams in Health care organizations for playful learning and rehabilitation methods in children's rehabilitation. She has also experience of volunteer work in Namibia, Windhoek, Department of Community Services, where she trained early childhood education caregivers and worked in parallel with local caregivers in two day-care centres.
Minna Laitinen, Master of Arts (education), kindergarten teacher, Kaivoksela Day-Care Centre. She has also completed preschool and primary studies in research project “Meaningful learning in narrative environments” funded by Academy of Finland 2007-2009. She has worked as a kindergarten teacher for 5 years, developed play, play environments and narrative play in own unit and also different kind of schooling events in city of Vantaa. She has participated in different kind of narrative play projects in the cities of Kajaani, Vantaa and Helsinki. She has lectured of narrative play on several local and national forums in Finland, some of them with National board of education.
Milla Salonen, Bachelor of Education, kindergarten teacher, Kaivoksela Day-Care Centre. She has worked as a kindergarten teacher for thirteen years, all those years in preschool groups (children age 6-7). Developing play activities for almost ten years in own group and daycare unit. Main idea: the best way to children is to learn through play; adults provide that (e.g. presence/being sensitive, enough time, learning environment, enriching imagination).
Developed play activities for three years in a Vantaa city project, also in co-operation with National board of education (publication). Delivered lectures about the play in other daycare units, Vantaa city’s schooling days for preschool teachers, schooling for preschool teachers in co-operation with National board of education. Developing the curriculum plan for preschool in Vantaa in 2011 and 2014-2016. Presented play project on fair of early childhood education.
The questions we are going to answer:
Finnish pedagogues have participated for several years in activities facilitating children’s play, they also take part in the international Erasmus+ play project Narrative Environments for Playful Learning with Lithuanian, Polish and British colleagues and researchers. The insights and experiences of Erasmus+ project will also be shared with you.
Register for the workshop by email: [email protected]
The workshop will be held on the 15th of June, for three hours in the morning (10-13). The price for the workshop is 30 euros. Very motivated and not so able to pay the full fee can apply for discount.
Developed play activities for three years in a Vantaa city project, also in co-operation with National board of education (publication). Delivered lectures about the play in other daycare units, Vantaa city’s schooling days for preschool teachers, schooling for preschool teachers in co-operation with National board of education. Developing the curriculum plan for preschool in Vantaa in 2011 and 2014-2016. Presented play project on fair of early childhood education.
The questions we are going to answer:
- Why play is vitally so important for children?
- What is narrative play and how it differs from other kinds of play?
- What is adult’s role in child’s play? How adults can facilitate children’s play?
- Can children and teachers share their play experiences?
- How to start using narrative play as a method to enrich children’s play activities? Where it can be used?
Finnish pedagogues have participated for several years in activities facilitating children’s play, they also take part in the international Erasmus+ play project Narrative Environments for Playful Learning with Lithuanian, Polish and British colleagues and researchers. The insights and experiences of Erasmus+ project will also be shared with you.
Register for the workshop by email: [email protected]
The workshop will be held on the 15th of June, for three hours in the morning (10-13). The price for the workshop is 30 euros. Very motivated and not so able to pay the full fee can apply for discount.
What is playwork? Is it play, work, or a new perspective for working with children?
Workshop, 15th of June, 10.00-13.00
This three hour interactive workshop explores what playwork is and how it differs to other approaches to working with children (such as early years, youthwork and play therapy). Participants will learn about the philosophy and theory of playwork practice, and also be able to try out some playwork techniques!
Playwork is an internationally recognised profession which began in the adventure playgrounds set up just after the Second World War (Allen, 1946; IPA, 1975). Currently in the UK over 50,000 playworkers work with school-aged children in settings such as afterschool clubs, parks, prisons and holiday playschemes (SkillsActive, 2010; ONS, 2011). Playwork is also used in similar settings in many countries around the world, including China, Australia and America (Milne, 2014; Wong, 2015).
This three hour interactive workshop explores what playwork is and how it differs to other approaches to working with children (such as early years, youthwork and play therapy). Participants will learn about the philosophy and theory of playwork practice, and also be able to try out some playwork techniques!
Playwork is an internationally recognised profession which began in the adventure playgrounds set up just after the Second World War (Allen, 1946; IPA, 1975). Currently in the UK over 50,000 playworkers work with school-aged children in settings such as afterschool clubs, parks, prisons and holiday playschemes (SkillsActive, 2010; ONS, 2011). Playwork is also used in similar settings in many countries around the world, including China, Australia and America (Milne, 2014; Wong, 2015).
The workshop will be held by Shelly Newstead, who is very experienced in playwork area. Shelly Newstead has worked in the playwork field for over 25 years as a practitioner, trainer, author, editor and publisher (see www.commonthreads.org.uk). Shelly is the founding editor of Journal of Playwork Practice and the Vice-President of ICCP (International Council for Children’s Play). She has delivered presentations and training about playwork all over the world, including Hong Kong, The Philippines, Australia and America. Shelly is in the final stages of completing her doctorate on playwork at UCL Institute of Education, London.
Allen, Lady Allen of Hurtwood. (1946). 'Why Not Use Our Bomb Sites Like This?'. Picture Post, 16th November 1946, 26-27.
IPA[a] International Playgrounds Association. (1975). Adventure Playgrounds and Children's Creativity. International Playground Association 6th International Conference. University Bucconi, Milan, Italy. 31st August to 6th September 1975.
Milne, J. (2014). 'An Adventure Playground for Halabja'. Journal of Playwork Practice, 1 (2), 229-231.
ONS Office for National Statistics (2011). Statistical data from 2011 UK national census - playworkers (Government document). London: Office for National Statistics.
SkillsActive (2010). Playwork people 4. London: SkillsActive.
Wong, A. (2015). 'Key themes from playwork training in Hong Kong'. Journal of Playwork Practice, 2 (1), 85-87.
Register for the workshop by email: [email protected]
The workshop will be held on the 15th of June, for three hours in the morning (10-13). The price for the workshop is 30 euros. Very motivated and not so able to pay the full fee can apply for discount.
Allen, Lady Allen of Hurtwood. (1946). 'Why Not Use Our Bomb Sites Like This?'. Picture Post, 16th November 1946, 26-27.
IPA[a] International Playgrounds Association. (1975). Adventure Playgrounds and Children's Creativity. International Playground Association 6th International Conference. University Bucconi, Milan, Italy. 31st August to 6th September 1975.
Milne, J. (2014). 'An Adventure Playground for Halabja'. Journal of Playwork Practice, 1 (2), 229-231.
ONS Office for National Statistics (2011). Statistical data from 2011 UK national census - playworkers (Government document). London: Office for National Statistics.
SkillsActive (2010). Playwork people 4. London: SkillsActive.
Wong, A. (2015). 'Key themes from playwork training in Hong Kong'. Journal of Playwork Practice, 2 (1), 85-87.
Register for the workshop by email: [email protected]
The workshop will be held on the 15th of June, for three hours in the morning (10-13). The price for the workshop is 30 euros. Very motivated and not so able to pay the full fee can apply for discount.