Workshops for Teachers & Librarians
“Jim Gill has trained our children’s librarians in “music play.” He demonstrates everything we embrace as children’s librarians — to encourage meaningful, playful interaction with children and caregivers in our programming that also develops essential early literacy skills.”
—Elizabeth Basile
Early Childhood Specialist
Chicago Public Library
Jim Gill is a nationally acclaimed author and musician. Over the years his recordings and books have received four separate awards from the American Library Association.
Most importantly, however, Jim is a child development specialist. He speaks to early childhood educators, child care providers, and children’s librarians at conferences throughout the country about the value of play, in general, and the many connections between music play and literacy. He also illustrates how play-based programming provides opportunities for inclusion of children with special needs.
Jim Gill has a unique ability to offer sessions that are balanced with:
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Active participation in his music and reading play activities that participants can utilize in their programming.
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Information about why this type of play is so important, based on graduate studies in child development and 20 years of experience working with children and families.
Whether the format is a conference keynote or a longer training workshop, participants leave each session with a repertoire of music play and reading play activities, a renewed respect for play and an understanding that play is professional.
Below are a few specific sessions that Jim offers. Click the Title to Expand
Jim Gill explains the purpose behind his play. Active music play provides a context for children to develop abilities, such as self-regulation, essential to school success. Jim’s clever word play and rhymes in the context of active movement games also provide broad opportunities for literacy development.
Educators, care providers and librarians leave each session with a repertoire of music play activities that can be put to immediate —and purposeful— use in their program. Best of all, they leave the session understanding that play is a teaching tool that inspires, in children, agility in thought and a love of learning.
Jim Gill shares a number of his music play creations and discusses how play provides an inclusive experience for children with special needs. He focuses on music as a context for active play and participation: the approach he developed over 20 years while leading weekly programming in music play for families with children with special needs.
The session is a perfect blend of active participation and useful information gathered from research and actual practice.
Although it is common to refer to play as “a child’s work,” in this lively and thought-provoking session Jim Gill reminds us that play is also a child’s art.
Jim discusses the dynamic and improvisational nature of play. Jim also shares his energizing music play activities that he has created for young children and discusses how his books and his music are most often creations with children.
In his humorous and straightforward manner, Jim will address the many benefits of play and, in particular, music play.
Jim Gill shares music and play that can be utilized with preschoolers as well as with infants, toddlers, and parents.
He also explores the many correlations between music play, literacy and various domains of early childhood development. Connections between music and early literacy become clear as Jim Gill shares clever word play and rhymes in the context of active movement games.
Librarians in youth services and early childhood professionals will find many new ideas to enhance storytimes and children’s programming.
Discover musical ideas every teacher can use!
Jim Gill will share a variety of interactive and enriching activities including music play, bookmaking, and book dramatization that kindergarten and primary grade teachers can incorporate into their classroom repertoire. He explains how certain literacy “building blocks,” such as auditory acuity and phonemic and phonological awareness, are best developed through active engagement in word play and rhyming games. And he demonstrates that a playful approach to sharing the joys of language and books needn’t end after kindergarten.
Teachers will leave the session with a play-based approach to literacy that offers unique learning opportunities for all the early grades.
If you are interested in contacting Jim about speaking at an upcoming conference, you can
e-mail him at jimgill@jimgill.com