The Co-Play Planning Pack
Embedded in the pedagogy of co-play found in both of Greg's books 'Can I Go And Play Now?' and 'School and the Magic of Children' comes the Co-Play Planning Pack. Within this download you'll discover the documents that will support you and your team as you head onwards into your adventure into play. The whole pack is based around the principle that when we create a 'playkultur', we plan for what we as adults are going to do and not necessarily what the children are going to do, because when children play we don't know exactly what will unfold - that's the beauty of play and also arguably it's potential Achilles Heel since the Adult World looks for immediate understanding and evidence.
The Co-Play Planning Pack is designed to give you confidence in play, enabling you to work at the cusp of the children's confidence and yours, as well as enabling you to show understanding and evidence to the Adult World.
It includes:
- The Doughnut Planning tool - a really simple way to get dialogue started about children and usable in multiple ways to think about the minutiae of skills as well as the bigger picture stuff like imagination, social skills, independence - you name it, Doughnut Planning can help you hugely.
- The Next Steps Planning tool for Reading, Writing and Mathematics as well as for holistic skills so that when you are co-playing as well as Not-Playing, you are working at the cusp of confidence and beyond. This can have a significant impact on progress, as not a moment is wasted with children when you are with them. You confidently co-play because you know the children as learners as well as people.
- The Magic Mirror from 'School and the Magic of Children' - a telling way to see whether you have added to or eroded childhood. It can be a fantastic way to show that childhood is being honoured and valued across your day.
- The Journal of Joy for 3-4 Year Olds - a great way to move away from tickboxing and more towards co-researching play and looking for the joy in children. It looks at the big picture stuff in the same way as the Doughnut Planning, but brings it all together and is a really effective pre-cursor to the Next Steps Planning tool since it's a way to discover the joy in young children and what sparks them
- The Dinner Party Provision approach is a way of deciding on what should be in your continuous provision and why - you can apply it to inside and outside environments. Nothing escapes Dinner Party Provision and it is a great way to immerse your team into the purpose of what they are making available and how co-play can work so brilliantly if the environment has brought the right 'gifts' to the party!
- A 25 minute video training tutorial on the Magic Mirror - the perfect length tutorial for whole staff training as well as self-reflection with a cup of tea. How are you adding to childhood or are you culpable in eroding it? The Magic Mirror can make you sit up straight when you begin to see that the building blocks of identity are integral to our practice - play isn't just 'fun'. It is a vital part of who we are...
- An hour long audio file, A Pocketful of Play exploring six areas of Early Childhood Education perfect to listen to with a cup of tea or two
- 100 Steps to Joy, a collection of 100 nonsense things to do in the companionship of children
The Co-Play Planning Pack has been pieced together to put the magic of children and the art of co-play at the very heart of your day. Co-play is the key to adventuring with children into play, where you are as much as part of it as they are and the environment around you...
This download features a PDF of the Co-Play Planning Pack and a separate Word document that has the link to the Magic Mirror video tutorial. It also includes the Dinky Book of Early Years giving you plenty to think about when it comes to continuous provision! Please remember that in purchasing, you are agreeing to a licence to use the downloads for your school or setting only :)
Let the adventures begin, and begin with confidence... Greg