Presented by Laura Hewitson – Admin Extraordinaire, Field Coordinator

Yes, And: �Play and the Art of Improvisation

FFDC Training Day 29/3/25

• Acknowledgement of Country
• Housekeeping
• Links
• Barriers to adults engaging in improvisational play
• Developmental importance of imaginative play
• How imaginative play can help Educators
• Video
• Basic rules of improvisation
• Expectations when playing improv games
• Games
• Wrap-up

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Overview

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by Maria Lin Kim on Unsplash

Acknowledgement of Country

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

For millennia, cultures have been passing down knowledge through stories, songs, dramatisations, and role-based play. Today we acknowledge Australia’s first peoples and the wisdom and skills they have passed down through generations in a wide range of creative ways, whose tradition we carry on whenever we imaginatively share skills with children.

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We pay our respects to the past, present, emerging, and future Elders of the Kaurna peoples, on whose land we are gathered today, the Turrbal and Juggera peoples, on whose lands a video we will watch today was created, the Wurundjeri peoples, whose land is the home of our Melbourne office, and all the peoples on whose lands our remote attendees are learning today.

Markurapiti – Patju Presley, 2015

• Bathrooms

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• Emergency procedure

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• Morning tea

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• Signing in

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• Confidentiality

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• Questions

Housekeeping

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash

• EYLF V2 & FSAC V2 –
• Principles 1, 3, 4, 5
• Practices 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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• CSS – 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10�
• Phoenix Cups – Fun, Connection Mastery, Freedom, Safety

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• NQS – 1.1, 1.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2

Links to standards and frameworks

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

© The Phoenix Cups

Barriers to Adults Engaging in Improvisational/Imaginative Play

• Self-consciousness, embarrassment, being “in your head”
• Lack of skills
• Belief that you’re not “creative enough”
• Fear of interrupting or “railroading” play
• Children with short attention spans
• Neurodiversity, difficulty going “off script”

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by Mitchel Lensink on Unsplash

The Developmental Importance of Imaginative Play

• Critical thinking skills
• Language– both expressive and receptive
• Practicing social skills (give & take, conversational skills, turn-taking, etc)
• Self-regulation (e.g. coping when not getting their own way)
• Problem-solving skills
• Creativity
• Exploring diverse perspectives

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

How Imaginative Play can Benefit Educators

• Introducing intentional teaching ideas
• Incorporating diversity
• Listening to children’s voices
• Highlighting child safety concerns
• Generating programming ideas
• Creating opportunities for observations

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

Bluey episode – “Octopus”

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Basic Rules of Improvisation

• Always say “yes, and…” - extend ideas rather than shutting them down
• Listen to what the others in your improv setting are saying. Listen to understand so you can expand on their ideas and play
• Mistakes are invitations - roll with whatever happens and let mistakes guide you in new directions
• Collaborate - an improvised scenario is built out of the collaboration of all involved. Model to children how to work together to create a scenario and collaborate with them on their ideas, too
• Be willing to look/feel silly - improv requires us to not take ourselves too seriously, so be willing to let loose and feel a bit silly. Often the sillier we are, the more children enjoy our shared play
• Action beats inaction - don’t tell me what you want to do, show me by just doing it. Action makes it easier to spark interest and create space for others to join in

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by Drahomír Hugo Posteby-Mach on Unsplash

Expectations When Playing Improv Games

• Everyone at least has a go
• We will ALL feel silly and self-conscious doing this, so try to focus on the fun aspects rather than on what others think of you
• Be encouraging of one another’s ideas
• You don’t have to be “SNL perfect”, but you have to try your best
• Try to come up with your own ideas. I will have some pre-prepped, but the goal is for you to be creative and strengthen your own imagination

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by Dan Cook on Unsplash

Game 1 - Greetings

Start by walking around the room. When asked, greet the person closest to you by shaking hands. As the game continues, you will be asked to greet each other in different ways. This is an exercise in ”playing pretend” and being different characters.

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by Noah on Unsplash

Game 2 - Dinglehopper

Your team will be given an everyday object as your “dinglehopper.” You will have 5 minutes to come up with a new name for the item and as many creative and unusual uses for the item as possible, which you will then present to the rest of the group.

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Game 2 - Dinglehopper

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Key Takeaways

• Examine your own barriers and beliefs - what strategies can you use to work around these
• Children don’t care if you’re perfect - they just care that you’re interested in playing with them
• Be willing to go with the flow and be directed by children. Choose your timing well 
• Pay attention to how children engage in imaginative play and be led by their interests and ideas
• Imaginative play is a helpful teaching tool - use it to your advantage
• Keep the play flowing by adding and extending on ideas (“yes, and…”)

Yes, And: Play and the Art of Improvisation

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash