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My center has monthly staff meetings, and I feel opportunities to learn AND have fun are extremely important. Games and team building exercises give my staff a chance to brush up on their skills and knowledge of regulations and policies. I have created a policy Jeopardy, Family Feud, Speed games, even a Newlywed game where instead of a suitor looking for dates, a parent poses questions to three potential teachers to find the right place to bring her child. These have been so much fun! Nothing thrills me more than seeing a reserved staff member whip out their competitive nature...and a little smack talk! :-)

An opening activity breaks the ice socially as well as creating a fun. warm environment for learning to take place. Participants are more willing to take risks and stretch their thinking in an emotionally warm, stress free environment. I have done people searches ( find someone who.....), treasure hunts, think-pair-shares (think about a provocative question and answer it for yourself, then pair up with another person and share your answers to the question). A fun one is to have small groups blow up balloons and then label each balloon with a responsibility they believe teachers have (as many as they can think of) then we have one volunteer stand up in the front of the class and as we talk about each one the "volunteer" is given the balloon. Needless to say they have a difficult time trying to manage all those balloons and then we talk about how we can share the burden of so many responsibilities or might discover that we think we have responsibilities that aren't ours to carry! It makes for a great interactive workshop/training!

In my Classes or training I uses twist initially into learning content which is used as fus as well as example of latter discussion.Some time Games are used as instant. It seems to me Ok. fun for fun I always don't like.

It's indeed that training should almost always be fun. Specially, in ECD sector, it is true for effectiveness. But, FUN shoud be matched with training need and more with content. I have almost posive experience of use of fun effectively in training. Howeve I have also some (few) negative use of fun in training or academic course. For example, some trainer usees fun for fun and getting clap and instant praise. Though s/he missed the content due to lost valuable time. Generally s/he intension to fun not to content. Without matching the content and missing valuable learning things s/he spent time for fun which is sinful tendency toward participants.

It's indeed that training should almost always be fun. Specially, in ECD sector, it is true for effectiveness. But, FUN shoud be matched with training need and more with content. I have almost posive experience of use of fun effectively in training. Howeve I have also some (few) negative use of fun in training or academic course. For example, some trainer usees fun for fun and getting clap and instant praise. Though s/he missed the content due to lost valuable time. Generally s/he intension to fun not to content. Without matching the content and missing valuable learning things s/he spent time for fun which is sinful tendency toward participants.

My husband and I facilitate a Jewish Reggio Emilia Study Group sponsored by Siegal College. There are 8 participants who meet with us each month. We are reading a book together-Designs for Living and Learning by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter. The meeting take place in participants classrooms and schools - 5 in all. The group is diverse - young, old, from all sectors of the Jewish community, as well as a mix of teachers and directors. We started off together at a seminar. The 8 self selected to continue on this journey together. We visited a Catholic Nature school together, and now we are seriously/yet playfully analyzing our own classrooms using Steve Seidels protocol. Finally, we will be teaching other early childhood educators about our experiences in changing our environments and collaboration. Oh, almost forgot. We also blogged. Lots of dialogue,sharing, and fun around the blog!

When I am doing a workshop, I often have to present the same information 3 times in a row. I always have a small token of appreciation for each participant and then an attendance prize I give at the end. As a director, I know how important it is for training and how it is hard to give up a Saturday or anyday to go to training. I think it is important to acknowledge the fact that attendees are adding to their profession. I try to have plenty of opportunities to move around, have small groups, and always answer questions. Keeping focus is hard but if you validate learners along the way I think it helps to keep them going.

I am convinced of the fact that training for adult especially should be done in an relaxed and safe atmosphere. Fun and games help a lot to get that atmosphere. They open the mind to new learning and help people to stay alert. In our consultancy we do a lot of training with all kinds of companies, also with people working in early childhood education and in all training people respond positively to fun an inspirational ways of training. Of course all activities should have a specific learning/experience purpose. One of my favorites is giving a blind folded group of people the instruction to find a piece of rope and make a square with the rope (tied). People generally learn a lot from this exercise; do they trust one another, do they work together, who takes initiative and so on. And they have a lot fun too. Because of the fun, they share their experience more easily, which in turn helps the group become more aware of the way they work together.

Training can almost always be fun, not just from “time to time”. Unless it is a heavy topic, like abuse and neglect, with a little extra time, energy and effort ( and a little sense of humor) almost any training can be made fun and research tells us adults will learn more and retain it longer if they have fun! Laughter is the best medicine, you know! I use this technique with my adult Apprenticeship for Child Development Specialist (ACDS) students and with other adults and teach. It keeps them engaged, energized and they learn more than I think they often realize.

I facilitate training for early childhood professionals and often times I have stations so that participants have hands on experiences and discuss possible extensions or ways that they could use this in their setting. After they grooved to the music, moving them from one station to the other, they were asked to put the names of the stations randomly on a 4x4 bingo grid. As we came back together, we played bingo. It was a great way to reflect and discuss their extension ideas and how they affect the development of the child! We had lots of bingo winners, reflection, and review.

I fully support making education fun! A while back, I was trying to find a way to get our preschool team to learn our provinces Licensing Requirements and Best Practices. To make it more enjoyable for all, I created a large "Jeopardy" board, and split the staff into two teams. When staff got the answers right, their team got a mini chocolate bar. We kept score, and then at the end of the game the winning team all got little prizes. The staff commented that it was a lot of fun, and they retained the knowledge they learned that night!

One of the trainings that I did for Head Start included the staff making a vision board. We communicated ahead of time the objectives and a list of things that they should consider bringing (magazines, photos, children's art work etc.) We spent the bulk of the training considering what was important to us, sharing with co-workers and considering how who we are and our personal visions fit in our classroom. It was such a fun and relaxing day, and much to my surprise one of the most effective trainings that I have ever done for child care staff. During this reflective process, the staff decided, on thier own to change many of the ineffective practices that they were engaging in that in the end did not fit with thier personal vision.

I recently attended a director's workshop where we discussed that Mission & Vision statements should be used as a benchmark for teacher performance. At my last staff meeting the staff I discussed this and we looked at our statements. We realized that the mission & vision statements no longer identified who we are. I was pleasantly surprised at the insight and creativity that the staff showed as we rewrote our mission and vision staements. At the next staff meeting we plan to discuss our center's philosophy and descriptions of the programs that we offer.

Part of my job as the Early Childhood Consultant is to conduct training with licensed programs such as with family day homes and child care centres.

I wanted to "teach" the workers the importance of "Block Play" and what children learn from playing with blocks. I purchased a set of blocks and asked the workers to "use what they want" to create their home. After some time, we observed each other's "home" and marveled at what and how the imagination works (even for adults!) As adults, they discovered they used many skills and concepts without realizing it through play (examples: used fine /large motor skills, spacial awareness, cognitive skills, language, math, language, seriation, social, emotional, etc.).

To end the workshop, I had the workers work "together" to create their home community. This exercise taught them the importance of communication, stratigizing, leadership, working together and how much fun it was.

No one wanted this session to end. Playing with blocks is a lot of fun including the clean up time! Give it a try!

We always have a "theme" for our annual staff pre-service training. One year it was "Imagine", and we asked the staff to describe themselves in terms of fairy tale heroes or other characters/icons from kids' popular culture. Another year it was "Everything I Know I Learned from Dr. Seuss." We taught the idea of not letting little girls hang on our teenage male staff with the phrase "Don't Hop On Pop", we related the idea of respecting the little ones in our care to "Horton Hears A Who", etc. Relating concepts to visuals everyone knows and can remember helps to reinforce the ideas we want them to retain. Plus we use the theme throughout the day on paper products, signs, folders, small giveaways and prizes, etc. to make it fun and interesting.

A fun thing I like to do when I do a training for staff or other providers is to read a childrens book. When I am doing a training on developing relationships with infants and toddlers I might read the book "What Baby Wants", a story about a new baby who only wants someone to hold him and rock him. Trainees usually enjoy the books, especially if they relate to the topic being trained.

Just as children like to learn through fun and interactive experiences, this is the way the adult brain learns best as well!
Thank you for beginning a valuable (and fun) discussion.

Just as children love to learn through fun interactive experiences the adult brain learns this way best as well! Thanks for beginning a valuable (and fun) discussion.

To open minds and get thinking baout curriculum "out of the box" we used a staff meeting to go to a grocery store. Each team had a set $ amount and were challenged to find grocery store items to fulfill a theme they created. An example of this was a collection of things to measure volume as well as sinking and floating items for a sensory table unit. Some of the items were also used for categorization into food groups prior to sinking/floating. This is quite an extendable activity.

Something that most learners seem to enjoy is the way I form partners or groups in preparation for activities. Groups are formed in the following ways: finding someone whos shoes are most similar to yours, is the closest to your height, has the same colors on as you, same length of hair etc...

The learners seem to enjoy connecting in this way because it is simple and results in various, unpredictable combinations. It seems to relax the barriers that sometimes keep people from choosing to interact with someone who is unfamiliar.

Most of our trainings are designed to be hands on and fun anyway at HighScope, but sometimes we are challenged to make fun out of material that just has to be memorized. So we make use of game shows where the participants act as contestants and work in teams. Game Shows we've used and have had much favorable responses from were: Jeopardy, Who wants to be a millionare, Family Fued, and Win, Lose and Draw.

Working with adults is something few us are ever prepared for!

I challenge myself to helping adults think "out of the box" and in new ways by using "tools" (think clean out your junk drawer...a sieve, funnel, paint brush, egg beater, can opener, scrub brush, toilet plunger) and pose questions that relate to the "training". First, use the tool as an icebreaker...Which one represents you personnally? Why? Which tool represents your role as the director, teacher? Why? Which tool represents your philosophy of working with families? Why? Working with Children? Your philosophy of early childhood education? Discipline? How children learn? The possibilities are limitless.

Duct tape has been my latest discovery! Check out Tom Heck as a resource for 50 Duct Tape teambuilding ideas. Ace Hardware was my resource for providing each participant with a roll of duct tape that was reasonably priced at $1.99 for a 10 yard roll, enough for many of the activities.

I was leading a staff meeting for a group in NAEYC self study, working through the Curriculum criteria. To help them internalize the criteria and see concrete examples of how to meet the criteria, we went on a scavenger hunt. The group broke into four teams, each had six cards with curriculum criteria on them. (I made cards in advance and placed a colored bottle of bubbles at each seat to separate the group) Their task was to bring back items from their classrooms that supported the criteria. When the teams arrive back with their scavenger hunt goodies, each team is given time to read four or five criteria and share what they found. Most of the time, I would share something that extended their learning on the topic. Some criteria they would have to share what this looks like in their classroom or on their playground rather than showing something concrete. The catch is that in self study, it is possible that they may not always be able to find something that supports the criteria in every classroom which leads to a great conversation about improvements to be made. Since the groups are made up of teachers from various classrooms, it really makes them think about the criteria and how it relates in all of the classrooms.

In the process of instructing classes on state regulations students are often bored. To build interest in this activity, I've twisted the game of “Two Truths and a Lie” into a learning activity. Using powerpoint, I show some regulations that are closely related. Two are the truth and one is a lie. Students are challenged to identify the lie and tell what the actual truth is. Depending on the class size, we play as individuals or as teams. This allows a much more enjoyable way to explore the regulations. In another class, students are divided into teams and are given a copy of the regulations. They are then asked to quickly find the answers to questions in the regulations competing against the other teams. The winning team receives some college or state agency publicity item such as ink pens, packages of sticky notes, or helpful posters. This activity also helps students learn about each other and develop problem solving skills.