Nature Play WA's innovative and engaging courses for educators are now available online!
This fully supported eLearning course:
- makes early childhood teaching more playful and more active, in support of the health, happiness and wellbeing of the children in your care
- is designed for an educator at your setting to easily lead the whole team through a series of bite-sized, hands-on experiences and activities at your own pace
- will help you bring the joy of providing an engaging nature and play-based approach to your outdoor setting
Access a free preview of course overview and facilitator notes for each module to learn more about the lessons before you begin, allowing you to plan the timing of the course, and who in your team should attend.
Module 1 Part 1: Attitudes towards outdoor play and learning and physical activity
Part 1 of 4 - By the end of this part of Module 1, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about the PLAYCE study and the benefits and importance of physical activity
- engage with the Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines
- participate in activities and discussions about why children are not having the opportunity for sufficient physical activity and how to overcome any barriers
- explore and reflect on ideas relating to their specific setting so they can be playful educators who support children’s daily physical activity.
Time: The total recommended time for this part is 1 hour completed in one session.
Cost: $49
Access Module 1 Part 1
Module 1 Part 2: Children’s intrinsic motivation to play and be physical
Part 2 of 4 - By the end of this part of Module 1, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about the SWOT strategy as a means of questioning current practices
- engage with thinking about children’s current levels of physical activity and ideas to boost opportunities for movement
- participate in activities and discussions to build upon strengths in the program and practices and consider weaknesses
- explore and reflect on ideas relating to their specific setting so they can be playful educators who support children’s daily physical activity
Time: The total recommended time for this part is 1 hour completed in one session.
Cost: $49
Access Module 1 Part 2
Module 1 Part 3: Being playful as an educator
Part 3 of 4 - By the end of this part of Module 1, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about playfulness in connection to the Early Years Learning Framework and research
- engage with a variety of playful strategies to explore the idea of playfulness
- participate in activities and discussions as a team to support one another
- explore and reflect on their own levels of playfulness
Time: The total recommended time for this part is 1 hour completed in one session.
Cost: $49
Access Module 1 Part 3
Module 1 Part 4: Enhancing educators’ skills for supporting children’s physical play
Part 4 of 4 - By the end of this part of Module 1, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about the concept of a growth mindset
- engage with multimedia to develop understanding about the importance of scaffolding and observational skills to support the development of physical skills
- participate in activities and discussions to strengthen the role of the educator in supporting children as they grow and progress in their lives
- explore and reflect on how a growth mindset is important for the wellbeing, learning and development of children and their playful educators
Time: The total recommended time for this part is 20-25 minutes completed in one session.
Cost: $49
Access Module 1 Part 4
Module 2 Part 1: Active and Playful Outdoor Learning Environments - Space
Part 1 of 3 - By the end of this part of Module 2, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about how to use your outdoor area to create an ongoing and healthy lifestyle for all the children by including natural elements and risky play
- engage with your outdoor environment from the children’s point of view and a Risky Play parent newsletter
- participate in activities and discussions about how the outdoor area is designed and used by the children of your setting
- explore and reflect on what spaces are available to the children and ideas about the best features, what works well, what is missing and what may need to be modified to support more physical activity opportunities.
Time: The total recommended time for this part is 2 hours (completed in one or two sessions).
Cost: $49
Access Module 2 Part 1
Module 2 Part 2: Active and Playful Outdoor Learning Environments - Resources
Part 2 of 3 - By the end of this part of Module 2, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about the effectiveness of the Theory of Loose Parts for encouraging movement in play
- engage with a quiz to review your resource collection and a creative play experience to think about how resources can be used
- participate in activities and discussions about how to utilise a variety of large and small loose parts to meet physical activity goals for the children
- explore and reflect on how to plan for loose parts play
Time: The total recommended time for this part is 3.5 hours (completed in one, two or three sessions).
Cost: $49
Access Module 2 Part 2
Module 2 Part 3: Active and Playful Outdoor Learning Environments - Time
Part 3 of 3 - By the end of this part of Module 2, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about time is as an important environmental element alongside the physical, intellectual, social and emotional elements
- engage with the idea of a free flowing indoor and outdoor program
- participate in activities and discussions about how to incorporate physical activity throughout the day, including using routines and transitions
- explore and reflect on attitudes and practices which affect the daily use of time
Time: The total recommended time for this part is 1 hour (completed in one session).
Cost: $49
Access Module 2 Part 3
Module 3 Part 1: Exploring how play provides unlimited opportunities for children to improve their physical activity.
Part 1 of 4 - By the end of this first part of Module 3, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about the definition and benefits of physical activity
- engage with the idea of play and why it is important
- participate in activities and discussions which focus on observing various types of intrinsic play
- explore and reflect on what the skills children develop through physical play and how to provide the conditions for enhancing this play
Time: The total recommended time for this part is 1 hour (completed in one session).
Cost: $49
Access Module 3 Part 1
Module 3 Part 2: Discovering frameworks to guide thinking about play
Part 2 of 4 - By the end of this second part of Module 3, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about international research findings and ways to look at what the environment offers
- engage with your children to find out what they want from the outdoor spaces
- participate in activities and discussions to generate ideas which will enhance the play themes which are important to children
- explore and reflect on how your outdoor environment and planning incorporates play themes
Time: The total recommended time is 1.5 hours (including a session conducted with the children).
Cost: $49
Access Module 3 Part 2
Module 3 Part 3: Child-led and play-based, open-ended physical activity
Part 3 of 4 - By the end of this third part of Module 3, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about how child-led and play-based, open-ended physical activity
- engage with the strategy of a Concept Map to guide thinking
- participate in activities and discussions to develop a play-based environment
- explore and reflect on your own outdoor environment
Time: The total recommended time is 1 hours (completed in one session).
Cost: $49
Access Module 3 Part 3
Module 3 Part 4: Intentional experiences using the Arts as a stimulus
Part 4 of 4 - By the end of this final part of Module 3, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn how to use the arts to motivate and engage children in physical activity
- engage with your families to contribute to the program
- participate in activities and discussions about how to incorporate music, songs, rhymes, dance, games, movement, drama, books and stories into daily activities to get children moving
- explore and reflect on the potential to make and build resource and strategy collections, and to personally take responsibility for developing a repertoire of experiences
Time: The total recommended time is 2.5 hours (completed in one, two or three sessions).
Cost: $49
Access Module 3 Part 4
Module 4 Part 1: Planning cycles and documentation for active outdoor play - observe then analyse
Part 1 of 3 - By the end of this first part of Module 4, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn why, how, and what to observe and analyse
- engage with some international ideas about what is important to observe
- participate in activities and discussions about Schema and practising observational skills
- explore and reflect on the using Learning Stories as a way to observe and listen to child
Time: The total recommended time is 1 hour (completed in one session).
Cost: $49
Module 4 Part 1
Module 4 Part 2: Planning cycles and documentation for active outdoor play - make and implement a plan
Part 2 of 3 - By the end of this second part of Module 4, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about using observations to inform planning, and implementing a child-led inquiry • engage with a variety of strategies for learning
- participate in activities and discussions about practical aspects of planning as a working document
- explore and reflect on using an inquiry question as one way to engage children in driving their own learning
Time: The total recommended time is 1 hour (completed in one session).
Cost: $49
Access Module 4 Part 2
Module 4 Part 3: Planning cycles and documentation for active outdoor play - evaluate and review
Part 3 of 3 - By the end of this second part of Module 4, participants will have had an opportunity to:
- learn about Floor books, Wonder walls, KWL charts and Learning stories
- engage with a process of acknowledging positives in the planning cycle, recognising areas to develop and generating ideas for growth
- participate in activities and discussions about children’s ownership and accessibility of documentation
- explore and reflect on key aspects of documentation and the Planning cycle