On the 11th of March 2017, the Nature Play QLD Symposium, ‘Just for the Fun of It!’ was held on the Gold Coast.
The goal was to look at the importance of Unstructured Outdoor Play in Children’s Lives.
The premise was that unstructured outdoor play – nature play – is fundamental to a full and healthy childhood. We explored the degree of fun and freedom in our children’s lives and the importance of developing an intrinsic love for outdoor play in our children, in order to achieve a well-balanced, healthy outdoor childhood.
Nature Play Conference
300 delegates were on site to explore the importance of fun and freedom in facilitating unstructured outdoor play. In relation to their respective professional capacities, the delegates represented over 93,000 children.
It all started with an amazing Welcome to Country facilitated by members of the Yugambeh Yarga community on the beach.
The Keynote Speakers included;
– Dr Michael Carr Gregg – Psychologist, Author and Managing Director of Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre.
– Dr Michael Nagel – Associate Professor, School of Science and Education, University of Sunshine Coast.
– Principal Bruce McLachlan – Swanson Primary School, New Zealand.
There was also a breakout session where delegates could choose 1 of 6 practical workshops. That’s where I came in.
My session was called ‘The Art of Playfulness’ and I was billed as a Master of FUN! I drew from my experience of engaging family activities and Forest School learnings.
If our goal is to create great humans, we need our children to develop a love of learning, passion, vocation and drive. These essential life skills are best experienced and developed through unstructured, joyful play. In this practical workshop, we will explore the Art of creating these environments in both centre, and nature-based environments, addressing the needs of all children, with practical take-home lessons, techniques and games to use in your setting.
Nigel draws upon his variety of front-line service, to share practical insights into the role of the facilitator, striving to find balance between directing learning opportunities and letting children be fully responsible for their own play. We will clarify the successful frameworks that best allow children to feel free to experience playfulness.
I also ran a 10 minute audience warm-up session after the lunch break. It created a personal desire to continue to look for Speaking and Workshop opportunities on the experience I have gained from working with so many children in a wide variety of settings.
This Symposium was designed for:
* Primary school educators and Principals
* Early childhood educators and centre leaders
* Kindergarten educators
* Family day-care professionals
* Environmental educators
* Outside school hours care providers
* Child health professionals
* Community Groups
* Parents
* P&C representatives
* Local and State Government representatives
The general consensus for the day was ‘FUN and FREEDOM are in decline within modern children’s outdoor play’ and as a result there is a growing trend of children not wanting to go outdoor for play.
It was an inspiring day of discussion and learning, which was both heartfelt and enlightening.
There was a strong focus on take-away actions we can all implement for the benefit of the children we serve.
The photos are courtesy of Nature Play QLD.
All of the photos from the day can be viewed here.
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