pd vege


First Door offers five workshops relating to early childhood environments and experiences.
These are:

  • Create active learning environments: invite challenge and learning through play
  • Promote children's agency
  • Nurture children's creativity: inspire the creative process
  • Turn your centre green: connect children to nature and environmental responsibility

Create active learning environments: invite challenge and learning through play

Environment web

"An active learning environment is one in which children are encouraged to explore and interact with the environment to make (or construct) meaning and knowledge through their experiences, social interactions and negotiations with others" (EYLF, 2009, p.45).
In this workshop your team will explore ways to create an active learning environment, and experiences that engage children in learning through play. The EYLF PRACTICES discussed are: Learning through Play, Intentional Teaching and Learning Environments.

Topics include:

We discuss five steps to creating an active learning environment and reflect on improvements to consider.

1. Unrushed play and interactions 
- Respecting children’s work and play experience, and peer scaffolding

2. Flexibility in spaces, design and arrangement 
- Setting up inclusive environments with spaces that encourage agency, exploration and learning through play

3. Access and creativity with materials and equipment
- What are 'loose parts' and why? - Practical play experience with loose parts

4.  Providing safety and challenge
- The right mix of providing comfort with a sense of belonging and challenge in the environment

5. Supporting children's learning
- Being a co-learner: promoting children's learning dispositions and role modelling these
- Supporting children's collaborative learning opportunities


Promote children's agency
Environment and experiences

Topics include:

- Identify with the purpose of promoting children’s agency and discuss the links to the National Quality Framework and relevant theories.

- Use strategies to develop children’s confident self-identity, autonomy, resilience and sense of agency.

- Reflect on your practice of using rewards and engaging children in choices, planning and decisions.

- Discuss strategies for encouraging children’s collaborative learning, connectedness, inter-dependence and sense of agency

- Use critical reflection to evaluate how your curriculum promotes children’s agency. Consider the children’s perspective, the NQS, parents and educators’ perspective. 

Nurture creativity in children: inspire the creative process

Creativity web

This work is facilitated by Chrissy, a professional artist and a passionate, creative and qualified early childhood educator with over 20 years experience working in Early Childhood. This workshop supports educators to understand their role in nurturing creativity in children. Educators will explore ways to value and nourish the creative process across the curriculum and with all children.

Topics include:

- Defining creativity and connecting creativity to the five learning outcomes

- Understand how creativity relates to the use of language, problem-solving and improvising

- Identify ways to nurture the creative process as an educator

- Support children’s right to be creative through the effective use of environments  and resources and considering Malaguzzi’s 100 languages for children

- Integrate various types of creativity, including music, into the program

- Practical activity: Practise the five keys to successful storytelling


Turn your centre green: connect children to nature and environmentally responsibility
Turn centre green web

Topics include:

- What's the problem and what can we do?

- The benefits of nature play, success stories: forest kindergarten and sustainability in Brisbane Early Childhood centres

- Consider and use strategies to develop children’s appreciation, care and respect for the natural environment

- Embedding sustainable practices into everyday actions and experiences

- Identify people’s strengths and interests within the team and community to support sustainable practice

- Reflect on current practice and environments to promote nature play and sustainability

- Consider ideas potential changes for your service to better promote sustainable practices

Team professional learning workshop fee



Enquire now or phone 3204 4336 to discuss your team's professional development needs.