Kaleidoscope
Person-Centred Creative Family Workshops
This pilot project was held at the beautiful alternative arts hub of Rockaway Park, in Bath & North East Somerset. The idea behind the project was to highlight the benefits of a Person-Centred Approach to play by offering a series of free creative workshops for families with their children from birth to three years old in a space where creativity and nature co-exist in harmony.
By offering these weekly workshops on a drop-in basis, the pressure of time was eliminated for parents who greatly appreciated the ability to arrive when they were able to and freely explore the different materials at their own pace as a family.
This project focused on families living rurally, including off-grid, means that families may be geographically isolated with limited services. Therefore, community and connection is at the heart of the project because how we engage matters as much as what we provide. My approach centres around relationships - seeing each child and family as unique, capable and worthy of being heard.
As a result of this project, a new play zine Kaleidoscope has been created to offer a Person-Centred Approach towards relational and open ended play experiences. There are two versions of the play zine – one for parents and one for workshop facilitators who might want to organise and deliver their own series of creative workshops.
Both versions of the play zine outline the benefits of a Person-Centred Approach to play, as well as ideas for materials and resources, plus you’ll find newly created songs and a poem for storytelling in nature.
For facilitators, there’s additional advice and guidance on a Person-Centred Approach, plus different forms to help with setting up your own workshops. If you want to print out the play zine, there's also a black and white version you can download.
A big thank you to Michelle Diwell (MA), who not only supported the running of the weekly workshops, but worked with me on this zine’s creation. She also created the songs about wildlife and the poem based on the Rockaway Community Forest Garden, which can be adapted to any outdoor space, plus a nature trail map that you can discover in more detail HERE on the Nature Trail page.
On the Nature Trail page you can download a black and white version of the map, along with a colouring sheet for kids of all ages. A handy QR code will take you to info about different wildlife featuring fun facts, as well as info on how your family can help each species!
To download your preferred version of the play zine, simply click on your chosen image below.
Play Zines For Parents
Full Colour Version
Black & White Print Version
Play Zines For Facilitators
Full Colour Version
Black & White Print Version
