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Summer Training 2008

Summer Training Programmes 2008

Cost £30.00 full day (incl lunch)
£15.00 twighlight session (incl refreshments)

Digital Play
Friday 16 May, 10-4pm, 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 to explore photography, film, editing, animation and graphic art.

Creative Group Work
Wednesday 21 May, 10-4pm, playtrain office
A fun, practical course all about working creatively within a group. This training will explore a range of activities in visual arts, drama and games that encourage and develop group cohesion.  The aim is to promote the benefits of team work and look at ways of helping children and young people to develop social skills; exchange ideas and opinions; engender notions of respect and sharing and reap the benefits and fun that can be had by being an active member of a group.

Build Your Confidence
Friday 23rd May, 10-4pm, playtrain office
This training will help you to build your confidence in directing, leading and supporting creative play sessions. The course will provide a safe environment to explore a range of techniques to boost, foster and instil confidence in your own abilities to work with groups of children and young people.

Putting Words Into Play
Monday 2nd June, 10-4pm, playtrain office
Yes, literacy can be fun! This practical training session will leave you bursting with ideas on how to get words into your play setting via: poetry, storytelling, word games, visual arts, and the written and spoken word.

As if by Magic!
Wednesday 18th June, 10-4pm, playtrain office
The idea of giving life to an inanimate object is one of the most primitive forms of play. This instinctive urge gives a voice to a doll, sees faces in clouds and makes a cuddly toy walk across a landscape of furniture. While modern toys can be very sophisticated and technologically savy, they often leave little to the imagination and imbue prescriptive play ideas. This training will take you back to the basics of playing with everyday objects and materials, revive your natural instincts to play and help you to encourage and stimulate imaginative play in your setting. There will be lots of ideas for games, storytelling activities and puppetry.

Planning and Delivering Creative Workshops
Friday 13th June, 10-4pm, playtrain office
This training will look at best practice in creative workshop delivery. The Playtrain ethos will be at the core of the training and there will be opportunities to explore a range of practical and theoretical approaches including: planning and structuring activities, encouraging creativity, participation and reflective practice.
This training is for emerging artists and creative practitioners who want to develop their workshop skills.

Introduction to Reggio Approach
Monday 9th June, 7-9pm, playtrain office
This course will give participants an insight into the Reggio Emilia pre school philosophies by looking at Reggio learning techniques; participating in creative activities; exploring the art of documentation and identifying how Reggio styles can be implemented into your own setting or practice.

Fun and Games
Tuesday 3rd June, 7-9pm, playtrain office
Games are an essential part of team building, they can help to liven a quiet group and calm down a lively group; they help people to feel at ease and to get to know each other; they can get the blood flowing and the brain cells ticking. This training will be packed with games for every occasion and setting
including: concentration games, quizzical games, energetic games, word games, singing games, name games, storytelling games, drama games and more…

Promoting Positive Behaviour and Self-esteem
Monday 16th June, 7-9pm, playtrain office
This session will look at effective methods for promoting and supporting positive behaviour.  There will be opportunities to explore some of the causes of challenging behaviour as well as look at strategies for dealing with it. The course will then share creative tools and practical ideas for activities that encourage and develop self-esteem and confidence in children and young people.
The Great Outdoors

The Great Outdoors training is designed to support play practitioners in the provision of fun and engaging outdoor activities with 4 to 16 yr olds.

The natural world will be the inspiration and the setting for this exciting new programme of work that is designed to promote healthy outdoor activity, imaginative play, environmental awareness and enjoyment of nature. In keeping with the spirit of the training theme, we will only cancel in the event of adverse weather conditions! For this reason please come prepared with warm and/or waterproof clothing, sensible footwear and an open mind in getting up close to nature and the elements.
Wild Tales and Nature Trails
Friday 20th June, 10-4pm, Martineau Gardens, Edgbaston
Across the world, tales of adventure, myth and legend are often rooted in the natural world. These stories are an important aspect of learning. They spark our imagination, share values and meanings and help shape our understanding of the world. With this in mind, playtrain will take you on a journey of discovery giving ideas on how to explore the wonders of the natural world through storytelling, nature trails and imaginative play in the outdoors.
 
Wild at Art
Friday 27th June, 10-4pm, Martineau Gardens, Edgbaston
Get in touch with your wild side and explore the terrain and materials of the natural world 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!