PURPOSEFUL PLAY-BASED LEARNING: Increase Students' Academic Progress and Social Emotional Growth (Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten)

Presented by Carolyn McMahon
Outstanding Teacher, Author and National Presenter

Specifically Designed for Educators Working with Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten Children: Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers, Head Start Teachers, Instructional Assistants, Special Education Staff, and Administrators

The best, most-current classroom-proven strategies to increase students’ learning and social-emotional growth with purposeful play
Dozens of practical, timesaving ideas for making best use of play-based learning to enhance your preschool through kindergarten instruction to provide successful learning across the content areas
Outstanding ways to foster a growth mindset and to develop students’ foundational skills, creativity, perseverance, and confidence as learners
Receive an extensive purposeful play resource handbook filled with strategies, tips and activities designed specifically to support your young learners as they catch up through quality play-based learning

Practical Ideas and Strategies

In a decades long attempt to maximize academic gains in many schools, play in early education was pushed out or greatly reduced. However, research increasingly recognizes a balance that includes purposeful play as vital for developing stronger academic and social-emotional skills in young learners.

In this NEW, innovative and engaging seminar by CAROLYN MCMAHON, you will learn proven strategies to make best use of purposeful play-based learning in your preschool through kindergarten classroom. Explore play as a foundation of readiness skills for literacy, success in developing a mathematical mindset, and methods to integrate the science standards through focused questioning, experiments, and exploring. This workshop will encourage activities to build vital language and social skills. The focus will be on practical, age-appropriate strategies, materials and creative opportunities you can easily incorporate in your preschool or kindergarten program. Join Carolyn for this idea-packed seminar, filled with numerous practical strategies and ideas for catching up and increasing students’ academic and social-emotional growth through purposeful play.

Ten Key Benefits of Attending

Increase Learning and Social-Emotional Growth
Researchers and educators increasingly recognize the vital role of purposeful play in strengthening academic and social-emotional skills … Learn practical and successful ways to make best use of purposeful play in your Preschool, Pre-K or Kindergarten classroom
Explore Play as a Foundation for Early Literacy
Facilitate the development of language, vocabulary, storytelling, and early literacy skills in your classroom … Incorporate dozens of innovative ideas to accelerate learning success including literature, early learning games, music and much more!
Develop Your Students’ Communication Skills Through Play
Encourage language development, listening skills, social interaction, and conversation … Help students build social-interaction, conflict-resolution and decision-making skills as you optimize your classroom community
Enhance Creativity and Build Students’ Confidence
Cultivate curiosity and a belief that students can “do it!” through play-based learning … Help students get an early start on becoming creative, independent learners with the confidence to take risks
Design the Ideal Early Learning Purposeful Play Classroom
Explore numerous ideas for incorporating play into your classroom environment … Reimagine your classroom using the space and materials you already have available to facilitate powerful guided and non-structured play-based learning
Incorporate Hands-On Purposeful Play Activities
Integrate meaningful and purposeful play activities designed to build literacy, fine motor and readiness skills … Enhance student learning and understanding of key academic concepts through practical, hands-on, play-based activities and practices that will help catch students up
Develop Readiness and Early Writing Skills
Discover developmentally appropriate readiness ideas perfect for your young writers in the classroom setting … Learn how to incorporate play-based drawing and writing activities that establish a purpose and audience for writing … after all, drawing is their first writing!
Powerfully Connect Play with Math and Science to Help Students Catch Up
Help students explore key concepts through purposeful play and guided inquiry … Capitalize on your students’ natural curiosity and interest in exploring math and science
Foster a Growth Mindset with Your Preschool and Kindergarten Students
Encourage your students to be risk-taking learners who persevere beyond their successes and challenges … Gain strategies to further effort, hard work and practice to help students achieve their potential and beyond as they achieve success
Receive an Extensive Purposeful Play Resource Handbook
You will receive an extensive resource handbook, specifically designed for this seminar and filled with practical ideas and strategies to increase students’ academic learning and social-emotional growth with purposeful play in the classroom

Outstanding Strategies You Can Use Immediately

Practical strategies for making best use of purposeful play to increase students’ academic learning and social-emotional growth
Creative play-based ways to strengthen critical thinking, questioning and academic vocabulary in your early learners
Outstanding examples and ways to connect purposeful play with your existing instruction and learning goals, including math and science explorations in the classroom
Effective strategies to strengthen a growth mindset and help your students be quality learners through quality play
Proven ways to create a developmentally appropriate, child-centered learning environment for preschool through kindergarten students
Readiness activities including drawing and writing to establish a purpose and audience for writing through play-based learning activities
Doable purposeful play approaches to easily differentiate your reading, writing, listening, math and science instruction
A wealth of low-cost materials list and ready-to-use tools for enhancing play in your classroom … Watch as your classroom comes alive as children catch up through their learning experiences!
Ways to strengthen students’ social-interaction, conflict-resolution and decision-making skills
Practical, classroom-proven activities for integrating play to allow students to catch up and accelerate successful learning through play-based instruction and experiences
Unique ideas and ways to help your students collaborate, explore, create and revise their thinking through play-based learning
Dozens of innovative purposeful play ideas including literature, puppets, early learning games, music and much more!

A Message From Your Seminar Leader

Dear Colleague:

I am very excited to have the opportunity to share PURPOSEFUL PLAY-BASED LEARNING: Increase Students’ Academic Progress and Social Emotional Growth with you in this brand new seminar for Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten teachers. Play-Based Learning has become one of my passions as I work with children. One of my beliefs that I repeatedly share with colleagues is, “Quality Play for Quality Children” will make the difference in a young child’s learning experiences in the classroom. Literacy, Reading, Language Development, Writing, Math, and Science are the starting points for success through play-based strategies and activities that will catch children up and provide more successful accelerated learning.

Many of us have experienced the “I Can’t” syndrome with our students. For the past 30 years I have reminded students, “There are no I can’ts… only I can’t yets.” Let me suggest and model multiple ways to optimize your classroom culture so students are ready to work and play together. Learn practical self-regulation methods that are workable solutions to help students catch up both emotionally and academically. Through quality and strategic questioning I will model and use play-based activities to their full potential so that your classroom will be a place of encouragement through communication and problem-solving in literacy, math and science.

Please join me for this full day of hands-on, “hear-it-today-use-it-tomorrow” activities I have designed that will encourage active, developmentally appropriate play-based learning for our early learners. The information I will share is research-based. The emphasis will be on practical strategies, ideas, and activities.

Throughout our day I will encourage you to embrace my favorite quote: “There are no I can’ts… only I can’t YETs!” with your students in this upcoming year.

Sincerely,
Carolyn McMahon

P.S. YOU are the Play-Based Learning Experts … you know how to make learning a success through play, encouraging creativity, developing self-regulation, and observing social emotional growth as we catch our youngest learners up through quality play! Your handbook will include ideas, strategies and lessons that you can use immediately.

Who Should Attend

Educators Working with Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Children: Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers, Head Start Teachers, Instructional Assistants, Special Education Staff, and Administrators

Special Benefits of Attending

Extensive Resource Handbook
Each participant will receive an extensive digital resource handbook specifically designed for this seminar. The handbook includes:

Timesaving, practical strategies for making best use of play-based learning in your existing Preschool, Pre-K, or Kindergarten program
Highly effective ways to enhance your instruction with purposeful play
Dozens of purposeful play ideas including literature, puppets, sensory tubs, early learning games, and much more!
Tips and tricks every Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten educator should have for saving time, avoiding headaches and setting the stage for helping students catch up

For in-person seminars, registrants will also receive a printed copy of the resource handbook as long as their registration is received in the BER office at least 15 calendar days before the event.

Share Ideas with Other Educators
This seminar provides a wonderful opportunity for participants to meet and share ideas with other educators interested in increasing Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten students’ academic progress through purposeful play-based learning.

Consultation Available
Carolyn McMahon will be available at the seminar for consultation regarding your questions and the unique needs of your own program.

Semester Credit Option
UMASS Logo Up to four graduate level professional development credits are available with an additional fee and completion of follow-up practicum activities. Details for direct enrollment with University of Massachusetts Global, a nonprofit affiliate, will be available at this program.

Meet Inservice Requirements
At the end of the program, each attendee will receive a certificate of participation that may be used to verify hours of participation in meeting continuing education requirements.

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