A Place to Play - Presenter: Brittany Atkinson - 2.45 - 4.15pm

It is understood that children learn through their play. Through play, children build relationships, make meaning, and shape their identities. Educators create spaces for children to play. What does it mean for children’s play, children’s sense of citizenship, and their social learning when they create their own places for their play? Brittany will share her experiences of supporting and expanding children’s play as they shape their own play spaces – their own invented worlds where they imagine, create, solve problems, and invite and participate with ideas and others.

This workshop was an inspiring story about how a teacher grappled with her own bias related to rural vs urban living. Three scenarios were shared how with her 'partners' (aka colleagues/ teachers/ educators) she carefully observed children through play. The workshop started with Brittany reading this book to us about childhood memories - this is significant for the theme of the workshop.

A critical feature of her reflections included being involved in children's play rather than distancing from the activity. Some careful decisions were made with children as the environment was adapted to support their play priorities. One scenario tracked how the winter olympics was MEANINGFULLY included in the programme to inspire children's learning and parents engagement. Great examples were shared of children making a curling rink at the centre....one parent commented on how proud his grandfather would be to know he was learning to curl a stone (made from freezing ice in a milk bottle so the children could hold it and send it across the ice). The photos showed children using brooms to sweep the way clear for the 'stone'. I thought this was very cool!!!

 Meet some of the amazing teachers at the early childhood centre and faculty staff I am meeting. From left to right - Brittany (workshop presenter), Mary Lynne (the person looking after me and faculty member), Jennifer (educator - also worked at Puddleducks for 3 months in NZ), Lee (faculty and curriculum developer), Rebecca (teaching for 3 weeks) and Erica (teaching for 1 week).

MacEwan University Childcare Conference 3 May 2014

Keynote Speaker:

Robbin L Gibb, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience
University of Lethbridge

Dr. Robbin Gibb is based at the University of Lethbridge’s Department of Neuroscience. She is an associate professor and the first PhD graduate from the university’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. The focus of Dr. Gibb’s research is to determine how early experience influences brain development and overall physical and behavioural outcomes, and what effects those changes have on subsequent experience. Dr. Gibb has made several presentations to parent education groups, judicial organizations, and international audiences.

You might be interested in this video she played for us....

This key note was really interesting and made some strong points about the developing brain and how there are many things that impact from both mother and father, preconception, gestation and postnatal. I will share some of the main points over the next day or two when I have listened to the recording and have some main points to share. I wish she would come to New Zealand....

And then there was me...workshop with 80 teachers and leaders in the sector. Alberta is developing a new curriculum and have made a decision to include Learning Stories as an assessment tool. I shared the success we are having in New Zealand as well as some of the things we have learnt along the way. I was really excited to share some our stories and our thinking at Massey University about learning stories as being more than about a moment that happened and the critical importance of interpretation. The teachers here are at the very beginning stages of thinking about learning stories and I hope I have contributed something to their ongoing thinking. I shared our tool for bringing elements of a narrative assessment together to support the writing - the participants really liked it