KOOP Adventure Play
with Pop-Up Adventure Play &
The Playwork Collective present:
Prioritizing Play Conference:
"Relating to Play..."
Play may be one of the most universally relatable experiences while simultaneously being deeply personal to the player. As humans approaching play for the younger people in our care, it's imperative that we broaden our relationship to play... meaning that we make it personal to ourselves, that we listen and seek to understand other professions and that we gather all these truths in our hearts and mind before bringing these newfound understandings back to our work.
Whether you're a librarian, play therapist, park district official, teacher, playworker, occupational therapist or anything relating to sharing space with children, there is content here for you. There are tools and applicable knowledge waiting for you here to transform your practice.
In this now fully online gathering, we'll explore varying perspectives on play and examine our own. We'll build a community of thoughtful practitioners ready to create "more play" in their settings. We'll grow together and by the end, we'll better relate to play.
A transformative 7-week experience that invites practitioners to investigate ways they can better relate to play for themselves and for children in their care.
Prioritizing Play Conference:
"Relating to Play..."
Sept. 19- Oct. 31
Week 1: ...as Radical Self-Expression
Week 2: ...as a Spatial Justice Issue
Week 3: ...as a Natural Healer
Week 4: ...as it Happens In The Body
Week 5: ...as the Truest Form of Education
Week 6: ...as Anti-Racist Provision
Week 7: ...as Deeply Personal to the Practioner
Weekly Content
You'll get 7 weeks of content, each available for 1 week
Community
You'll get access to our private community to network and learn together
Live Q&A's
Each week we'll gather for a live Q&A with varying speakers
Invitation to Reflective Practice
You'll receive a conference guidebook in the mail
A bit of background on the:
Prioritizing Play Conference:
"Relating to Play..."
When we held our first Prioritizing Play Conference in 2018, one thing we believed to be true was confirmed: there are an ever-growing number of folks all around the US (+beyond) who are hungry for resources on how to prioritize play in their settings.
Teachers, Landscape Architects, Mayors, Early Childhood care providers and people from park districts, nature programs, libraries and museums attended in 2018... all with a vision-- that play is important and worthy of intentional and thoughtful provision-- and they left with inspiration to bring play to their setting or with ideas and connections on improving what they already offer. Some folks even started their own adventure play projects after the conference!
KOOP Adventure Play, Pop-Up Adventure Play and the newly formed Playwork Collective are 3 organizations grounded in playwork: a unique and long-established field of study and approach to working with children in which the child is in charge of their play and the adult supports the child's pursuits with a light touch and no judgement. Put very simply: playworkers prioritize play while they support and trust children. Playwork is growing in the United States and an answer to what so many professionals and parents feel to be true for children today: that their play is undervalued, inadequately provided for and generally an after-thought.
Gatherings like ours are bringing resources, opportunities for connection with play-minded professionals and support to folks working on better provision in their settings. This is the spot for you to recharge, network and prepare to move forward playfully in 2020! This is where you can learn more about playwork principles and gain real tools to apply to your work. This is the place for play!
We're choosing to see the limitations on in-person gatherings due to Covid-19 as a positive opportunity for this gathering... one that means even more people can access the amazing content we've created and even more presenters will be able to take part! We're absolutely thrilled with the vision we've cast for this conference on "Relating to Play..." and can't wait to begin this journey with you-- online!
The cost is $160 and the content will be released each Saturday morning (CST) between September 19 and October 31 and available for you for the whole week. We're also building in opportunities to network and discuss your setting via live Q&A's with presenters and a private group to help us all better relate to one another and to play.
More info on Speakers and weekly focuses coming soon!
We can't wait to spend these 7 weeks with you! Click here to register!