The Introduction of APC

WHAT IS A TOPP KIDS ACTIVE PLAY COORDINATOR?

The best way to look at the role of an Active Play Coordinator is to split the role in two components: the Educator and the Play Worker.

THE EDUCATOR

They are flexible. Being able to change lesson plans on the fly is an essential skill for early childhood educators. Lesson plans will have to be adjusted to meet the individual needs of each child in their care, and they must be able to adapt accordingly for those child participants who may be further behind or more advanced than others.

They have great communication skills. All childcare providers must have the skills necessary to communicate with young children on their level. Plus, they must also be able to communicate with parents about the needs, learnings, problems and successes that their child has experienced. The best ECEs have mastered oral and written communication that gets their message across to someone at any age.

They are patient. An ECE needs to have learned the art of patience in order to effectively manage the short attention spans of young children. A child does not always follow directions or pick up new skills quickly, so educators must be extremely patient and learn to reinforce and repeat classroom rules and instructions. A good ECE is patient with the progress of their child participants and will work to address the individual needs of each child with the help of parents and other educators.

They are passionate. All early childhood educators must be passionate about teaching. Great ECEs are enthusiastic about encouraging development in young children and find it rewarding to watch a child begin to understand a new concept, demonstrate responsible behaviour and work well with other children.

They build strong relationships. Finally, all early childhood educators must be focused on developing strong positive relationships with every child. Two of our favorite quotes here at TOPP KIDS:

“No significant learning can ever happen without a significant relationship!”- Dr. James Comer

“Every child deserves a champion: an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the best they can possibly be.” -Rita Pearson

Remember it is not the activities children will remember, it is the relationships they build and the feelings they experience.

An Early Childhood Educator must play various roles and master
several diverse skills, all while staying up to date on research in
the exciting and ever-changing study of early childhood education.

THE PLAY WORKER
A Playworker, which is described here: “At its most basic level, play work is about removing barriers to play, and enriching the play environment…The role of the playworker is to create flexible environments which are substantially adaptable or controllable by the children …” (Professor Fraser Brown)

Play Ambassadors add to this, as they are also innovative change-makers, community connectors, site planners, and social innovators! TOPP KIDS Active Play Coordinators are a team of motivated playworkers that seek to increase knowledge, understanding, value, and participation in PLAY by offering both spontaneous play and structured play opportunities for the children that attend our programs and to their communities. We are “human swiss army knives” that create change, meaningful connections, and impact within the community through play.

QUALITITES OF A PLAY WORKER
TOPP KIDS Active Play Coordinators align closely with play work and follow many of the playworker procedures; however, we do not hold the play work profession as doctrine. Play work emerged from a different time (back as far as World War II), and we must flex with the times while remaining true to play. Which brings us to this training and you, what qualities do contemporary Play Ambassadors possess? Creativity, imagination, and fun! Balanced with lateral thinking and collaborative nature.

THE KEY QUALITIES ARE:

• QUIRKY- silly and playful; the opposite of cool
• NON-CONFORMIST – does not conform to other people’s ideas of how things should be (except for TOPP KIDS policies and standards)
• COLLABORATIVE- work together to solve problems
• CREATIVE AND IMAGINATIVE – see the world outside the box
• LATERAL THINKER – solve problems or situations using indirect and creative approaches; look at situations from a unique perspective. Play Ambassadors are “able to tolerate with joy, the benign wildness of creativity that they observe in the playing child.”

The ‘Play work Principles’ establish the professional and ethical framework for play work. The principles describe what is unique about play and play work and provide the play work perspective for working with children and young people. They are based on recognizing that children and young people’s capacity for positive development will be enhanced if given access to the broadest range of environments and play opportunities. Remember as an Active Play Coordinator, ALWAYS BE THE BEST TOY IN THE ROOM -Dr. Gale Gorke.