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The Dynamics of Play: Reexamining and Recommitting to the Essential Role of Play in Early Childhood Education in the Aftermath of Covid-19

Sunday, July 2, 2023 @ 7:30 pm - Friday, July 7, 2023 @ 12:30 pm

We’re sorry, but this course has been cancelled due to low enrollment. We hope you will consider instead EC Insights, our online workshop series for early childhood educators coming this fall.

 

An in-person, post-graduate deepening for trained, currently practicing Waldorf early childhood educators and grades 1 and 2 teachers.

Conversations on the value of play in early childhood education have recently resurfaced, along with growing concern over the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on all areas of child development. In this course, presented in-person at Sunbridge, we will be re-examining and recommitting to the essential role of play in early childhood education, helping to inspire you to create therapeutic environments that foster healthy play, while also:

  • Expanding your capacity for facilitating self-directed exploration and risk assessment, 
  • Deepening your awareness of cultural practices while developing respectful family partnerships,
  • Connecting your observations to learning assessments, developmental milestones, and curriculum development, and
  • Guiding you in recognizing the relationship between play, healthy brain development, and the sequential social and cognitive capabilities that form the foundation for higher cognitive functions.

Topics we will cover include:

  • Exploring Myths about Play
  • Connecting to Contemporary Research on Play
  • Exploring the Continuum of Play-Based Learning from Adult-Child Collaborative Play to Self-Directed Free Play
  • The Critical Role of Play in Children’s Learning & Development
  • Exploring a Trauma-Informed Approach to Play-Based Learning
  • Supporting Access, Equity and Inclusion Through Play
  • Lessons from Nature-based Preschools and Kindergartens
  • Exploring the Current State of Play & What the Pandemic Has Taught Us
         and much more!

Opportunities for community learning will include facilitator presentations, small group conversations, individual reflections, and artistic activities.

Facilitators

Lisa Miccio, lead, joined Acorn Waldorf School this past September as the Neighboring Tree Project (NTP) Specialist, overseeing a grant-funded AWS initiative that aims to create community partnerships with local early childhood educators, schools, and centers; at the School, she also provides professional development training and mentoring of teachers new to nature-based early childhood education. A Sunbridge Board trustee, Lisa taught kindergarten at The Waldorf School of Garden City from 2017-2022, where she chaired the DEIJ committee. Prior to joining the WSGC faculty, she was on the faculty of Green Meadow Waldorf School for a dozen years, where she taught kindergarten and parent and child classes, served as a co-chair of the early childhood section, director of early childhood admissions and family programs, and was a member of the Collegium, the Collegium Committee, and the Board of Trustees. Lisa’s teaching experience also includes working at Mountain Laurel Waldorf School, Dayspring Community School, and, during her 2016-17 sabbatical, teaching and mentoring in the Kathmandu (Nepal) Waldorf Kindergarten. She holds a BA in English from the College of Charleston, an MS in Elementary Education from CW Post, Long Island University, and an MS in Waldorf Education from Sunbridge College.

Sondi Eugene is an early childhood teacher at the Waldorf School of Atlanta, where she has been on the faculty since 2000. Raised in rural New Jersey, Sondi moved to Atlanta in 1994 and received her certificate in early childhood education from Sunbridge College 10 years later; she also graduated from the Lifeways Early Childhood and Human Development program and is certified as a Simplicity Parenting Group Leader. The parent of two children who went through Waldorf schools, Sondi enjoys traveling, camping, cooking, crafts, and singing.

Lynn St. Pierre is a certified teacher trainer in the developmental movement for early childhood created by Wilma Ellersiek and Spacial Dynamics¼. She was the founding teacher of Applesong Kindergarten, an innovative parent collective in Lyons, Colorado, and apprenticed and co-taught with Kundry Willwerth for many years. A member of the Stuttgart Hand Gesture Circle who continues to collaborate with colleagues in Hannover, Germany, Lynn presents early childhood developmental gesture, loving touch, movement and music as well as Spacial Dynamics¼ for Waldorf teacher trainings (including at Sunbridge), conferences, and schools around the world.

Prerequisite

Participants must have completed a Waldorf teacher training program.

Schedule

This course takes place July 2-7 at Sunbridge.
Sunday evening: 
6-6:30 check-in; 6:30-7 optional campus tour; first session starts promptly at 7:30 and ends at 9
Monday-Thursday:
Classes begin by 8:30am and end by 5:30pm
Friday morning:
Classes begin by 8:30am and end at 12:30pm

Cost

$945 includes all materials and a $60 non-refundable registration fee. 

Available Discounts

  • Volume: $60 off each registration for schools sending 2 or more participants
  • Alumni/CAD: 25% off for Sunbridge teacher education program graduates OR for payments made in Canadian dollars

Discounts may not be combined. Qualification for discounts will be verified by Sunbridge staff. 

Paid registrations must be received by Thursday, June 22.

Read Summer Series 2023 details here. 

Questions?
Please contact Barbara Vitale, admissions and summer coordinator, at [email protected] or 845-425-0055 x20

Sunbridge reserves the right to make faculty substitutions when necessary. See registration form for refund policy.

Details

Start:
Sunday, July 2, 2023 @ 7:30 pm
End:
Friday, July 7, 2023 @ 12:30 pm
Event Categories:
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Event Tags:
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Venue

Sunbridge Institute
285 Hungry Hollow Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 United States
+ Google Map
Phone
845-425-0055

Details

Start:
Sunday, July 2, 2023 @ 7:30 pm
End:
Friday, July 7, 2023 @ 12:30 pm
Event Categories:
, , , , , ,
Event Tags:
,

Venue

Sunbridge Institute
285 Hungry Hollow Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 United States
+ Google Map
Phone
845-425-0055