If You Are an Early Childhood Educator or a Parent Who...

  • Is ready to give the children in your life an authentic childhood full of play and learning . . . then this course is for you.

  • Is ready to more fully understand how children “teach” themselves through their play . . . then this course is for you.

  • Is ready to know how to specifically support children as they learn through play . . . then this course is for you.

  • Is ready to support children to be curious, self-motivated, and to think for themselves . . . then this course is for you.

  • Is ready to be the kind of loving, respectful, and authoritative (as opposed to authoritarian) adult that children most need . . . then this course is definitely for you.

Teacher Tom's Play-Based Learning Course Will Provide
A framework for developing or enhancing your play-based preschool program based upon the work and philosophy of Teacher Tom.
The tools and inspiration you need to deepen your understanding of, and respect for, young children and their educational development.
The ability to ensure that children explore and experience the most important lessons in life; self-motivation, curiosity, a willingness to fail, and getting along with other people.

Scroll Down For A Deeper Look At What Will Be Covered In This Course

Live Course Kickoff:
August 2, 8:00am PT with Teacher Tom

Teacher Tom will get the party started in a live Zoom session, and set the stage for how to get the most out of this week-long camp

DAY 1:
Why We Even Bother Educating Young Children

We begin by taking a step back and asking a big question: why do we bother educating children in the first place? We will explore the role of education in self-governing societies, how our current system of schooling gets it wrong, and why Teacher Tom believes that play-based learning is the only way to really prepare children for their role as citizens.

DAY 2:
Play, Community, and Democracy

On the second day we consider the importance of community in play-based learning, especially for our youngest children: why it’s central to children’s social and emotional development and how this connects us to our hunter-gatherer ancestors. We will look at the history of childhood and play and make a brief survey of the evolution of the science behind it, and discuss how play and community/democracy go hand-in-hand before launching into our deeper thinking about what we mean when we say “play.”

DAY 3:
What Play Is

Day three begins with our deep dive into the characteristics of play, focusing first on why play must be open-ended rather than close-ended, what it means to “flow,” and how to create an open-ended play environment. We will look at play as the manifestation of the human instinct to educate itself through curiosity, how children really “teach” themselves, and how to create an environment in which children ask and answer their own questions. We will also examine the absolute necessity of ‘risky play’ and how we can foster it in a risk-averse society.

DAY 4:
How Children 'Teach' Themselves Through Play

Many of the loudest critics of play-based education ask, “But how will children learn the value of hard work?” On day four we will discuss how play helps children understand the link between failure, perseverance, and success; why children prefer “life itself” over things like toys; why a play-based environment must be holistic and inclusive; and the necessity of mess, including the social mess of bickering.

DAY 5:
The Role of the Adult

On this day we will explore what it means to be a play-based educator or parent, and answer the question “So if the children teach themselves, what does the adult do?” We will think deeply about our environments, the importance of observation and research, how to use language to create space for children to do their own thinking, and will discuss when and how to insert ourselves into the children’s play.

DAY 6:
Putting it All Together

We conclude with a discussion about what your play-based environment might look like and how our days might look. We will explore the roles of rules, punishments and rewards, and how “natural consequences” are the best way for children to learn about living and working with others in a community.

PLUS:
Live "Cohort Graduation" with Teacher Tom

Course kicks off August 2nd with a live kickoff class with Teacher Tom at 8am PT, and drops a module every day starting that day, ending with a graduation celebration on Friday, August 8th at 8am PT.

The graduation webinar is limited to participants who are 100% complete; you are not required to attend in order to receive your certificate. This session will not be recorded.

*Don’t worry if you have not completed the course by this date; you have lifetime access, so you can work at your own pace or review the episodes whenever you need.

How This Course Works

  • If you register in time and get a spot, you’ll be joining our special Summer Camp cohort — the only one with a daily-drop format and a live kickoff with Teacher Tom!

  • Rather than sending you the entire course at once, you’ll receive one module each day for 8 days, starting August 2nd.

  • Each day you'll get 30–45 minutes of video in bite-sized nuggets, plus about 15 minutes for your reflection guide/workbook. That’s about 1 hour per day.

  • In parallel, Teacher Tom will encourage you to post your insights, reflections, and questions in our community space — where he’ll check in and respond daily.

  • Earn and receive a 6-hour Certificate of Attendance signed by Teacher Tom upon completion of the course (i.e., you’ve watched all of the videos and downloaded/filled out each of the six reflection guides/workbooks.)

  • Keep up with the cohort and complete the course 100% by August 8th to attend the 90-minute live Graduation Celebration with Teacher Tom at 8:00am PT. Save the date!

*Even if you do not complete the course on August 7th, you have lifetime access. You'll receive the certificate automatically once you have watched every episode of the course and downloaded and filled-in your reflection guides.

Join the Waitlist

About Teacher Tom

Tom "Teacher Tom" Hobson is an early childhood educator, international speaker, education consultant, teacher of teachers, parent educator, and author. He is best known, however, for his namesake blog Teacher Tom's Blog, where he has posted daily for over a decade, chronicling the life and times of his little preschool in the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest corner of the USA.

For nearly two decades, Teacher Tom was the sole employee of the Woodland Park Cooperative School, a parent-owned and operated school, knit together by Teacher Tom's democratic, progressive play-based pedagogy.

Today, Teacher Tom shares his play-based pedagogy through online courses for early childhood educators and parents; produces online early childhood conferences, e.g., Teacher Tom's Play Summit 2021 and 2022; consults with organizations about his "Family Schools" program; and inspires early years audiences around the world (Greece, UK, Iceland, Australia, China, Vietnam, New Zealand, Canada, and across the US) both virtually and in-person with his engaging views on early childhood education, play, and pedagogy.

He has authored two bestselling books, aptly named Teacher Tom's First Book, and Teacher Tom's Second Book.

Register for Teacher Tom's Play-Based Learning -- Summer Camp!

$129 USD / person

WHAT'S INCLUDED

  • Lifetime Access

  • Daily video modules (delivered daily for 6 days)

  • Six Reflection Guides/Workbooks to record your own thoughts and insights

  • Online community to share questions, insights, and ideas

  • High quality coaching for self directed learning wherever and whenever it's convenient

  • Live Graduation webinar with Teacher Tom on Friday, August 8th at 8:00am Pacific Time* (must have completed course on August 7th)

Group Discount Pricing

Groups of 5 users or morel receive a 20% discount off of the $129.00 per person.

Schools and ECE program directors, please contact [email protected] about larger groups (100 persons and higher) to discuss additional discounts and bespoke PD programs for your community.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Who is this course for?

    While it is specifically designed for early childhood educators, directors, and childcare owners, parents and grandparents of young children will also find it invaluable too.

  • What will the course cover?

    We will examine the (real) purpose of education, the role of community, the history of play, what play is and how it educates, the role of the teacher/adult, the role of the environment/classroom, and the role of rules/agreements.

  • What will I learn?

    Like with anything worth doing, you will get out of it what you put into it. This course is designed in the spirit of play-based learning in that I eschew direct instruction, “how to’s,” tick boxes, and lists of learning objectives. Instead, my approach is to assume that you are a motivated, intelligent, committed adult. I share my best thinking, tell stories, and ask probing questions intended to make you think about yourself, the children in your life, what you can do given your own unique situation; and, of course, to inspire you!

  • Do I need any special qualifications?

    Absolutely! This is a course for self-motivated educators and parents who want the children in their life to have an authentic childhood full of learning and play; who want to learn to be partners in that learning; and who are willing to honestly examine and reconsider their beliefs about children and learning.

  • Will this course really offer you something better and different?

    I guarantee that you have never taken a course like this one. It will challenge you, it will probably even make you mad at times, but it will also cause you to think and grow. Most importantly, it will enable you to offer children in your class or at home an authentic childhood with learning through play where it belongs, at the very center of their lives.

  • When does the course start?

    The first lesson will be published on August 2nd.

  • How does it work?

    Starting Saturday, August 2nd, and every day for the next six days, you’ll receive access to one module of the course along with a work book. You can watch that day’s episodes at any time that’s convenient for you, as long as you do so prior to the next day. We will all be working through the material together as a cohort, day-by-day. (If you can’t watch it that day that’s ok too, since you have lifetime access, but you’ll have more fun if you keep up with the cohort.)

  • How much time will I need to spend?

    At the start of each day, you’ll get about forty five minutes of video in bite sized chunks. You’ll watch these and then spend another 15 minutes or so each day filling out your reflection guide/workbook. In total, you’ll be investing about one hour every day between August 2nd and August 7th.

  • Do I have to attend at a particular time?

    No. You can watch the sessions and work through the reflection guide any time that is convenient for you; after that you can share your insights and ideas in our online community area and Teacher Tom will comment and “cheer you on.”

  • How long will I have access to the content?

    You will have lifetime access and can go back to it as often as you like.

  • Where does the course community connect?

    Our virtual meet-up place is our course site on Thinkific.com, where we will share insights, ask questions, and celebrate successes.

  • What about the live graduation webinar?

    If you've kept up with the cohort and have completed the course 100% by midnight on August 7th, you will be invited to attend a live Zoom graduation webinar on August 8th at 8:00 am PST. Save the date.

  • Will we be tracking your progress?

    You bet! Not only is this necessary for issuing your proof of completion certificate, but it is part of keeping us all accountable.

  • Will I get personal feedback from Teacher Tom?

    Yes! I will do my best to respond to all comments in our course community area in Thinkific, so please participate! You'll get more out of it, and you'll have more fun.

  • Can I get professional development credits?

    Yes! After you complete the course, you will automatically receive a 6-Hour Certificate of Attendance signed by me.

  • What does the course cost?

    The cost is USD $129