Play Planning One (PP1): Planning to Plan – making the decision to change (2 hours ECE-TRIS credit)
Play Planning Two (PP2): Producing Your Conceptual Plan – a picture (2 hours ECE-TRIS credit)
Play Planning Three (PP3): Finding Your Resources – funding (2 hours ECE-TRIS credit)
Play Planning Four (PP4): Implementation, Programming, Ongoing (2 hours ECE-TRIS credit)
Prerequisites
Play Planning workshops are intended for individuals or groups
engaged in the planning and development of nature-based outdoor play environments. They have been created to support the process of redesigning existing play environments or the design of new play environments.
Before engaging in play planning it is beneficial to have a good understanding of the basics of nature-based play. For that reason these workshops have prerequisites. The five Play Strategy workshops offered through the Children at Play Network provide a foundation that supports the Play Planning workshops. The minimum prerequisite is to have taken Play Strategy One (The Play Spectrum) and Play Strategy Two (The Opportunities of Risk) but participating in all five workshops provides a broader understanding that will support planning.
We highly recommend spending the up-front time on training and planning. Rushing into the planning process unarmed with background knowledge or a good understanding of the planning process can increase costs and decrease opportunities.
It is possible that an organization already has a solid background in nature-based play. We are open to a conversation with you about why the need for prerequisite workshops may not significantly benefit your organization.
Play Planning One (PP1)
Planning to Plan – making the decision to change
This workshop is based on the knowledge that the planning process itself requires planning. To plan you need a clearly articulated mission along with specific goals and objectives for your project. You will want to identify the resources you have on hand and resources needed. You will want to identify and communicate with the community of people that the project will reach. You will want to know the who, what, when and how of the planning process. This workshop will help you work through a host of advance considerations intended to make your planning process a success. The intended outcome is more effective planning, reduced costs and expanded opportunities matched to your final project.
Play Planning Two (PP2)
Producing Your Conceptual Plan – a picture
The conceptual planning process results in a “picture” of the play environment that you hope to eventually create and provides opportunities to communicate with your community in order to gather insight, hopes and support. It provides opportunities for you to prioritize what you most want and begin looking for resources that can reduce overall costs. Eventually, it provides you with a tool that you can use in fundraising for the next steps. A conceptual plan does NOT typically provide the final site plan and construction drawings that will be needed to bid and build your project. During this workshop the team will pull together an outline of the planning process, begin to establish a planning time line and define who will do what and by when. The focus of this workshop is to know what to expect before the conceptual planning process begins and how to respond when things don’t go as initially planned.
Play Planning Three (PP3)
Finding Your Resources – funding
At least three types of resources need to be managed to accomplish major new projects: people, time and money. Few organizations have enough of all three to reach goals, and this workshop is focused on finding opportunities to gather them. A portion of this workshop will focus on “telling your story” in a compelling way. It will help you think through how you might use your conceptual plan and other assets to bring your project to fruition.
Play Planning Four (PP4)
Implementation, Programming, Ongoing
This workshop takes a broad sweep at what will need to be managed after the conceptual plan is in hand and you have a team working on funding your project. It will include a discussion about how to move from conceptual plans to working plans and eventually how to find, hire and manage the people who will turn your project to reality. It also will help you think through how to open your project, thank those who helped, and begin using and evaluating the new play environment.
Training Topics and Training Objectives
Play Planning Workshops are designed to support actual planning and development projects. Before we provide specific training topics and training objectives we will meet with a representative from your organization at the site of your proposed project. Based on a site visit and a conversation with your team we will propose specific training topics and objectives matched to your project.
The Children at Play Network is focused primarily on outdoor play environments with a strong commitment to connecting children with nature.
For more information on costs and scheduling click here.
