Playtrain

Autumn Training

playtrain — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:07:56 +0000

Inclusive Dance and Music

16 and 23 October 2008 6-9pm at Friends Institute, Birmingham

Over two sessions this training aims to develop participants’ use of inclusive dance and movement as a tool for encouraging children and young people’s creativity and individual expression.

Participants will learn a range of practical dance and movement techniques and styles to equip them with ideas and confidence to facilitate inclusive creative sessions within their own setting. This course is suitable for those with no previous dance experience but would also be useful for dance workers who want to gain understanding of how to work with children and young people of all ages and abilities.

Inclusive Music

27 October and 4 November 6-9pm at Friends Institute, Birmingham

Music is a source of great enjoyment for people of all ages and abilities. It is a playful and meaningful avenue for sensory, physical, emotional and intellectual development. This course will provide participants with inspiring ideas for delivering inclusive creative sessions that explore sound, music, percussion and song with children and young people of all ages and abilities . There will be opportunities for trainees to try out:

· Imaginative ways of introducing instruments

· Activities that encourage exploration of pitch, rhythm and pace

· A range of sound games and songs to sharing and co-operation

· Performing simple pieces within a mutually supportive

Trash to Trimmings

6 and 20 November 2008 6 - 9pm at Friends Institute, Birmingham

Celebrate the festive season and promote sustainability at the same time with this creative recycling medley. Playtrain will inspire you with techniques and fun ideas to make decorations and novelties from a range of scrap materials that will make your setting shine. This course is ideal for settings that work with 5-11 year olds.

No experience necessary, come and ‘play’ with a range of waste materials… and be environmentally inspired!

Wild at Art – Autumn Special

16 October 2008 10-4pm at Martineau Gardens, Birmingham

Get in touch with your wild side and explore the terrain and abundance of natural materials provided by autumn through the creative arts. This course will explore the ample opportunities for creative play in the outdoors. Activities will include the making of land art, constructing with natural materials, team building and lots of hands-on mucky fun!

The course is aimed at anyone who wants to work creatively with nature with children and young people, connecting creativity, well being and investigative play in the natural environment. Participants will acquire skills and ideas on how to use those materials provided by the immediate natural landscape using very basic but effective construction techniques; modelling; assembling and arranging natural materials; exploring colour, textures.

Digital Play

9 and 23 October 2008 10 - 4pm at Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Make the most of your digital equipment and learn some very simple yet effective ways to unlock the creative potential of new media with children and young people. This training session will give new ideas, techniques and hot tips on how to use, even the most basic equipment such as computer technology and digital cameras.

This is a hands-on practical course that will provide lots of fun and stimulating ways to play with technology. There will be two training sessions for those that want to delve into the digital world in more depth. The first session will explore digital photography and digital video, the second session will look at ways to develop ideas further by using sound effects, editing tools and animation.

Please call 0121 449 6665 for more information or to book your place or email ^{team@playtrain.org.uk HYPERLINK “mailto:team@playtrain.org.ukHYPERLINKmailto:team@playtrain.org.uk”HYPERLINK “mailto:team@playtrain.org.ukHYPERLINKmailto:team@playtrain.org.uk”HYPERLINK “mailto:team@playtrain.org.ukHYPERLINKmailto:team@playtrain.org.uk”HYPERLINK “mailto:team@playtrain.org.ukHYPERLINKmailto:team@playtrain.org.uk”}

Autumn Training 2008

playtrain — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:06:13 +0000

Inclusive Dance and Music

16 and 23 October 2008 6-9pm at Friends Institute, Birmingham

Over two sessions this training aims to develop participants’ use of inclusive dance and movement as a tool for encouraging children and young people’s creativity and individual expression.

Inclusive Music

27 October and 4 November 6-9pm at Friends Institute, Birmingham

· Imaginative ways of introducing instruments

· Activities that encourage exploration of pitch, rhythm and pace

· A range of sound games and songs to sharing and co-operation

· Performing simple pieces within a mutually supportive

Trash to Trimmings

6 and 20 November 2008 6 - 9pm at Friends Institute, Birmingham

No experience necessary, come and ‘play’ with a range of waste materials… and be environmentally inspired!

Wild at Art – Autumn Special

16 October 2008 10-4pm at Martineau Gardens, Birmingham

Digital Play

9 and 23 October 2008 10 - 4pm at Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Successful Summer Training

playtrain — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:15:05 +0000

Playtrain has recently completed a successful summer of training for adults working with children 0-19 yrs. Training days included learning simple techniques to unlock the creative potential of new media with children and young people in our Digital Play Day at Symphony Hall. An Introduction to the Reggio Approach, training for emerging artists and creative practitioners that wished to develop their workshop skills in Planning and Delivering Creative Workshops and a session to look at effective methods for Promoting Positive Behaviour and Self Esteem.

Playtrain’s Great Outdoors training was designed to support artists and play practitioners in the provision of fun and engaging outdoor activities with 4 to 19 yr olds. Wild Tales and Nature Trails and Wild at Art encouraged exploration of the natural world through storytelling, nature trails, imaginative play, team building and constructing with natural materials.

Wild at Art was a special treat for those interested in exploring creativity in the natural world and a unique opportunity to work alongside environmental sculptor Ian Randall in the mini-oasis of Martineau Gardens.

Ian creates work for sculpture trails and sculptures for urban landscapes. He is also renown for the Big Wood Sculpture workshop which takes place annually with students attending the Derby University therapeutic arts course.

Ian responds to, works with and alongside nature to create intriguing and often mysterious artworks that appear to grow out of the natural environment. His work is very much about process and acknowledges the transient nature of creating art in the outdoors. Some pieces may change in minutes after being made; others can remain for much longer changing subtly with the weather, the interaction of wildlife and the elements.

Participants worked together and acquired skills and ideas on how to use those materials provided by the immediate natural landscape. Using very basic but effective construction techniques; modelling with clay mud; assembling and arranging natural materials; exploring colour, textures and the abundance of materials; the course worked towards the creation of a fantastic sculpture which was left in Martineau Gardens.

Playtrain will be running an Autumn training session on 17 October at Martineau Gardens for more information please call the team.

Other training dates coming soon…

Inclusive Dance and Movement

16 and 23 October 2008 6-9pm at Friends Institute, Birmingham

Over two sessions this training course aims to develop participant’s use of inclusive dance and movement as a tool for encouraging children’s creativity and individual expression.

Trash to Trimmings

6 and 20 November 2008 6-9pm at Friends Institute, Birmingham

This course is ideal for settings that work with 5-11 year olds.

No experience necessary, come and ‘play’ with a range of waste materials… and be environmentally inspired!

Please call for more information or to book your place.

…and it never did me any harm!

playtrain — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:01:55 +0000

A phrase we hear increasingly as adults reminisce about the play opportunities and risks that they encountered in their own childhoods!

But do today’s children have the same opportunities for free play and risk taking, and do they need them?

playtrain were honoured to welcome respected author, and experienced playworker, Bob Hughes who delivered a thought provoking & inspiring event that explored the value of play for play’s sake. Increasingly, people involved in childhood development are required to ‘prove’ the benefits of play and measure outcomes, as new government initiatives are launched.

“It is so useful to put into context what I am seeing and feeling about children’s play, with the research that backs this up. I feel validated!”

(Participant)

Over thirty play development workers, funders, arts workers, family workers, play rangers, toy librarians and youth workers came together to share ideas and reflect on the incredible changes that have been taking place in children’s play over the last 50 years.

Human evolution, awakening consciousness, connecting to gut feelings, links between play and brain growth, and play deprivation and the extreme consequences were just a few of the theories and research studies explored during the event.

Bob helped to supportively challenge participants thinking and encourage a new mindset around play that is open to possibility and playful about finding our way around challenges.

Do we leave children’s play to government or do we express our own agendas, and the experiences of children to make changes occur?

“We have to be prepared to do what we’re denying our children - take risks.”

(Bob Hughes)

Full notes from the event are available from playtrain.