1-094 Webinar

Cultivating curiosity, playfulness and professional love

Curiosity? Curiosity drives children's desire to explore, to ask questions and to play. Children learn most deeply when they are following their natural curiosity as it places them at the centre of their learning.

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FREE WEBINAR

Are your early childhood environments thoughtfully considered?

Do you reflect on your environments in terms of interactions, experiences and spaces?

Do they promote;

Curiosity? Curiosity drives children's desire to explore, to ask questions and to play. Children learn most deeply when they are following their natural curiosity as it places them at the centre of their learning.

Playfulness? Play cannot be pinned down into a neat, measurable definition. Reflecting on Tina Bruce's “12 features of play approach”, does your environment support a clear play pedagogy?

Centred around love? – Reflecting on Dr Jools Page thinking on “Professional Love”, are loving relationships developed in settings between children and adults.

Recognising that carefully considered and designed play spaces encourage optimal learning and development, Karen has shared first-hand her experience of how she and her teams at Kirktonholme Centres weave their thinking about curiosity, playfulness, and professional love throughout both their indoor and outdoor environments. She has shared various images to enlighten you about the thinking behind the design and curriculum.

About the presenter

Karen Flynn

Introducing Karen Flynn, General Manager/Director of Kirktonholme Childcare. Karen prides herself on remaining a practitioner at heart who ensures that whatever the challenges the children remain front and centre of her delivery for the last thirty-eight years.

Kirktonholme Childcare is a group of ten nurseries and two Forest schools situated within Glasgow City and close neighbouring areas in the West of Scotland. Over the past twenty-one years Karen has been integral to the growth of this nursery group, expanding gradually from one service to twelve, each with their own distinctive and unique environments designed by Karen and her teams to meet the needs of the children and families within the individual communities.

For the past five years Karen has also worked part-time for Glasgow Clyde College as a college lecturer delivering Scotland’s PDA Level 9 Childhood Practice qualification. This qualification when successfully completed allows the graduates to gain the registration to lead a service.

It gave me a fresh perspective about my profession. It reminded me to be adaptive and flexible to better engage tamariki into deeper learning.

— CHRYSLENE

Professional love is what we do but often shy away from that label, so it is lovely to see it being used and accepted. Thank you for the great ideas and sharing the beauty of the Scottish Centres at Kirktonholme Childcare.

— LESLIE

This webinar inspired me by emphasising the importance of genuine, warm relationships in early childhood education. It reminded me that when teachers approach learning with curiosity, playfulness, and professional love, children feel safe, valued, and confident to explore, take risks, and engage deeply in their learning.

— SUSMIR

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Cultivating curiosity, playfulness and professional love

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