WELCOME TO EC FORUM

1-24-13WMELS Section III:

Creativity and Imagination

(a.k.a: Learning with Joy!)

ICEBREAKER:Refer to the WMELS quote. Discuss at your tables what that means to you. • What does “intrinsic

joy of learning” look like? What does this have to do with Play?

• Do your students show JOY, CREATIVITY, & IMAGINATION? What’s the evidence, how do you know?

JUGGLING: EC 101?

SAD… BUT TRUE

WHY IS ART (AND PLAY) IMPORTANT AGAIN? FEEL THAT?

THAT'S WHY.

A LESSON IN CULTURAL VALUES

HOW CAN I BALANCE IT ALL?

CREATIVITY BELOW 32 DEGREES: JUST ADD WATER, FOOD COLORING, AND WINTER.

I'M 3 (OR 4,5,8,10,15,27,85). LET ME PLAY. TRUST ME, I'M

LEARNING.

CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION

Play? Is it really THAT important?

What about all the OTHER stuff I have to do as a care provider, ECSE Teacher, Specialist, 4K teacher, Kindergarten Teacher, 1st Grade Teacher, Director, Administrator…

PLAY- EVOLUTIONARY, UNIVERSAL, ESSENTIAL Stuart L. Brown, MD:What is shared by mass murderers, felony drunk drivers, starving children, head banging laboratory animals and anxious overworked students? They don’t play. What do most Nobel Laureates, historically renowned creative artists, successful multi-career entrepreneurs, and animals of superior intelligence have in common? They are full of play throughout their lives. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHwXlcHcTHc&playnext=1&list=PL-TEgwW_TXbpOsq8aKRC4GIMCLKg591pH&feature=results_video

KEY POINTS: CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION Agreed upon points (…preaching to the

choir!): items #1-3

Focus on #4 & #5: Getting to higher levels of LEARNING through PLAY

Teachers Role and Action Play

PLAY: WHAT IS IT? What is the difference between high-

quality play and just “free play”? What does the research say about play?

(Get out your highlighters) Can I really TEACH during PLAY- what’s

my role?

LET’S PLAY!Activity: Get together by color groups. Take out Yellow sheet and follow

directions; choose players and observers

I’ll time you and tell you when to switch.

http://www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch/3, 5, 10

NOW… GET INTO ROLES Using the articles provided, along with

WMELS “Creativity and Imagination” section, and your own smart brain/experience make an action plan(purple) for how you will foster higher levels of play:

Engage children in learning through imaginative play and inventive thinking through interactions with people, materials, and the environment.

WMELS, COMMON CORE, ETC. Does Imaginative Play and Inventive Thinking have a role in WI DPI Goals?

BARRIERS/THREATS? ???

Here’s where I want to play:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQdAU7Dm9A0