ELFS Plan for the Year 2024/25

ELFS' (an SGIS Collaborative Group) first in-person event of 24-25 will be a workshop facilitated by Sean Walker (see biography below). The focus of the day will be on how we can harness the potential of play across the 3 to 6 year old continuum. Including different types of play and how play-based learning evolves and develops throughout the Early Years. 

The event will include time to meet and make connections with Early Years colleagues from across Switzerland as well as tour the Early Years section of the International School of Lausanne. 

Location: ISL - International School of Lausanne, Chem. de la Grangette 2, 1052 Le Mont-sur-Lausanne 

Time: 10.00-16.00 (Coffee, tea and a small breakfast is available from 10.00-10.30 with the event officially starting at 10.30)

Cost per participant: This event is free of charge thanks to the joint support of SGIS (Swiss Group of International Schools), International School of Lausanne and Ecolint, The International School of Geneva.

Please note: A small breakfast and refreshments will be provided with lunch at the participants expense. There will be a lunch option for an approximate cost of 20chf OR participants are welcome to bring their own lunch. Details regarding lunch will follow for those who have registered. 

Sean is an advocate of playful, conceptual and inquiry-based learning. With nearly 30 years of classroom experience, Sean has worked in the UK, USA and now Paris, France. He is currently teaching Early Learners (3 and 4 year olds) at the International School of Paris after teaching Kindergarten for the past three years. 

Sean has collaborated with Anne van Dam, Kath Murdoch, Jo Fahey and PressPlay on a range of webinars, blogs and workshops, and has been a workshop leader for the PYP (Primary Years Programme) for nearly 20 years. 

Sean is passionate about creating learning environments that offer possibilities, invite exploration, nurture curiosity and stimulate thinking. 

Sean’s blog can be viewed at https://seanpypparis.blogspot.com Most posts are from a Kindergarten classroom, but the most recent post ‘Mixed Emotions’ hosts a journal that is updated daily with connections to learning for 3- and 4-year olds). Of course, the big ideas of pedagogy can be applied well beyond the Early Years.

Schedule 

10.00 - 10.30 Coffee/Tea and Snacks as well as an opportunity to have a look around Pregny (Early Years Campus)

10.30 - Official Start to the Day

10.30 - 11.00 Introduction to the day and quick tour of Pregny

11.00-13.00 - Forest School Session 1

13.00-14.00 - Lunch (BYO or Option to order - updated once numbers are in)

14.00-16.00 - Forest School Session 2

Workshops Offered

1. Classroom Based - These two workshops constitute a full session and therefore they are selected as a pair:

Risk and Risky Play in the Forest (60 minutes): This session will examine risk in outdoor settings with a focus on the importance of risky play in the early years. 

How to use the forest to promote Play and Well-being (60minutes). The session will look at the 16 types of play (Hughes) and how you can use the forest to foster their development. We will also practice using the Leuven Well Being scales to track learners progress over your forest school sessions.

2. Practical / Outside - Building Skills, Building Confidence: Tool Use for Early Years in Forest School.

Ready to see your little explorers thrive with real tools? Join us for a hands-on workshop designed to empower early years teachers to safely introduce a multitude of tools in the magical setting of Forest School. We'll dive into practical skills, risk management, and fostering independence, giving you the confidence to ignite their curiosity and build lifelong skills through nature-based learning.

3. Practical / Outside - Forest Play Enrichment

In the workshop we will learn how to create mobile swings, climbing frames and other play equipment using trees, ropes and basic knots. These natural and mobile play structures are additional sensorimotor elements that will enrich the forest school experience for students and teachers.