Date: 3rd April 2024
Time: 6 pm to 7:30 pm
Mode: Online via Zoom
We are very excited to inform you that we have planned an outreach program that is very dear to our hearts – Play.
As the holidays approach, many parents start looking around for age-appropriate activities to engage their children in. We thought this would be a good time to bring on an expert to talk to us on the topic.
We all know that play is critical to development. What we don’t always know though is what age-appropriate play may look like. This sometimes leaves parents lost, overwhelmed, or frustrated. For example, we may not what toys to invest in, when to prioritise organised sports, how to encourage independent play or when to expect it. We hear things like, “Why doesn’t she share?”, “Why won’t they just play on their own?”, “I bought all these toys, and they still want me to be sitting with them!”
We have also seen that time away from school routine very often results in an exponential increase in screen time for many of our children – something we want to steer away from.
Through this outreach program we will touch upon the importance of play in childhood and see how it is critical for development. We will explore a bit what play looks like for different age groups and what kinds of tools and activities parents could provide to support their children’s developmental needs.
About our facilitator: Nisha Sharma has been working with children for the last seventeen years – over 2 of those have been in the capacity of Principal at a Montessori school in Telangana. She has also been around The Montessori Academy family for the past 3 years providing us with support as and when needed in the background. She is fascinated by the power of play. She believes that to build a happier and kinder world for our children, putting their play lives at the centre can be a great beginning. She strives to bring freedom and power to children by creating developmentally appropriate play opportunities for them and supporting adults to nurture them. She cherishes being with her five-year-old son who teaches her to be more present, alive, and compassionate.
She holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Elementary Education, a Diploma in Experiential Education and Practice and is also a Certified Global Trainer for Play for Peace. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Education Sciences. Her topic of research is Exploring how teacher playfulness can be nurtured to build safe and stimulating learning environments for children and teachers.