Thursday, January 21, 2010

Play is the Way!

Today, I attended an inservice training and development session as a part of our preparations for the new school year here in Australia. Unlike Bill Chamberlain's experiences (see post), This session was inspiring.

Run by Wilson McCaskill, founder of 'The Game Factory', this session focussed on giving the kids the social and emotional skills they need to be successful both at school and in life. These skills are developed through games and conversation. Wilson kept us thoroughly entertained for the entire day, running us through the games and the language required to make them successful. This is a program we are implementing school wide this year. The video below was created by another Australian school that has been running the 'Play is the Way' program.




'I am not afraid of those who challenge, but those who accept too easily'
Wilson McCaskill

One of the first things that Wilson asked us to do was to question him. He asked us not to hold on to our doubts, and that challenging him was what he wanted. This was a great early sign that we were in for a good day.

The videos below are good examples of the games in the program. I look forward to seeing where this goes at our school, and sharing what happens along the way.








Jarrod Lamshed
http://mrlamshedsclass.org

1 comment:

John Hadley Strange said...

Looks like a lot of fun. I couldn't sit like that, but maybe I could get left and right correct. And elbow I guess. Oh yes, the click!

I will pass this along to my students. It's a good way to get them to visit Australia also.

Thanks.