Play Symposiums
“In 2008, Iowa AEYC embarked on a new adventure, focusing on the importance
of play in the lives of young children. As NAEYC rolled out the new
Developmentally Appropriate Practices materials, they simultaneously offered a benefit to their affiliates, to apply to host a
Play Symposium in
their state…
On May 15-16 we hosted nearly two hundred Iowans in two days of special events
focused on play. Dr. Walter F. Drew from the Institute for Self Active Education,
Florida, and Dr. Baji Rankin from New Mexico AEYC joined us as facilitators.
Walter and Baji have been invaluable resources in this process and are now
special friends of Iowa’s early childhood community! Teachers, directors, home providers,
college faculty, Head Start personnel, AEA and CCR&R consultants, parent
educators, state policy makers, AEYC Board members, and many others joined
us for one or both days.“
— Barb Merrill, Executive Director,
Iowa AEYC,
Iowa Summer newsletter 2009
The Institute for Self Active Education played an integral role in helping
state affiliates focus on the importance of play (
Florida Play Symposium).
One key component of sponsoring a Play Symposium is
its approach to bring together interdisciplinary community wide play advocacy.
Outcome of Play Symposiums
- Governing Boards are establishing Play Interest Forums within the infrastructure of state affiliates
- Opening dialogue, establishing relationships, and building collaborative teams for play advocacy
- States are developing teams of Play Coaches
- Establishing Play Workshop Track at state conferences
- Communities are developing Reusable Resource Centers with businesses to distribute play materials
ISAE Play Leadership Training Program
Level 1 of the Play Leadership Training Program provides an experiential approach to developing leadership skills for play advocacy. The program incorporates ISAE’s mission which stresses the importance of experiential learning in order to construct self knowledge. The participants learn how these play experiences influence teaching practice, the role of the teacher, and the pursuit of self-knowledge. These experiences provided in Level 1 Training are the foundation for further study in Level 2 and Level 3 Play Leadership.
