We have @sharrismackay and @matt_karlsen of @Playfulinquiry kicking off our session on Playing with Word and World, with people streaming in from Canada, Colombia, the Netherlands, Trinidad, Oman....phew! Let's keep this #EYPlayParty going!

Kicking off with an introduction to the story workshop and a beautiful video, it was found that materials provided a fantastic medium of expression for children. Who found it, you ask? The children themselves! Take a look at their feedback! @Playfulinquiry #EYPlayParty

Susan created an incredible collage in real time for us, to share a story that reminded her of her childhood. It's lovely to see people sharing memories of their childhood (we're seeing lots of first bicycle rides🚲)
@matt_karlsen
encourages us to lean into our own experiences.

By experimenting with different materials themselves, teachers feel more comfortable supporting children with their exploration of materials like loose parts, torn paper, and clay. This unlocks a new medium of communication and expression for children @Playfulinquiry #ToddlePlay

Children can use materials such as clay, wire, gravel, blocks, & torn paper. Rather than sticking to conventional literacy (meaning making) and communication, these materials enable children to tell stories about their world the way they want. @Playfulinquiry #ToddlePlay

We've seen some wonderful examples of how adults can support and extend children's exploration of material to make their stories. While the stories can be made by children independently, they can also be made in collaboration with the adults or their support @Playfulinquiry

Miniature objects, empty cardboard, clay, wire, tiles, small branches, jelly pads, pipe cleaners, shadow play, acorns, magazine cutouts, chia seeds, sponges, rainbow stones, pasta, pens that don't work, wooden planks - some of the crowdsourced responses to this prompt.

#EYLiteracy is about telling your story and becoming aware that you have something that you want to write down.
You need to think about when you want to nudge someone to pick up a pencil to write their story & when to nudge them to pick up some clay & communicate their story.