Bayou City Play is pleased to offer two presentations on play and playwork. Sessions are interactive and adapted to your individual context. Pricing is based on your resources and need. bayoucityplay@gmail.com ​​
Permission to Play focuses on child-directed play and strategies to help you hold space for this powerful path to neurological, social-emotional and physical growth.
This presentation introduces research and benefits of play, including a short play session after which we will reflect, using concepts from playwork, a profession initially developed on adventure playgrounds in the United Kingdom. Today playwork is used in a wide range of contexts - from schools to neighborhood streets, parks to children's hospitals. The professional framework is adaptable and meets children and communities where needed, working collaboratively to identify and mediate barriers to play in individual communities.
Out on a Limb: Risk and Conflict during Play ​Children have a drive towards novelty and will independently take on challenges when the environment is conducive to it. In play this can look like jumping from great heights, moving at a fast speed, getting lost, or doing most anything that is new and a bit scary. When play is child-directed, it will involve risk-taking. When play is child-directed in group settings it will involve conflict.
How do we as adults who work with children strike a balance between inviting risk-taking, both physical and emotional, and maintaining the overall safety of our environments? How do we support children and their caregivers through the bumps and bruises that accompany child-directed play? This talk will provide resources and tools to help you hold space for play that empowers.