Toni and Robin Christie
Keynote Speaker and Workshop Presenter
Toni and Robin Christie are inspirational Keynote speakers in the field of early childhood education.
Robin’s work designing and building children’s playgrounds, furnishings and equipment is internationally renowned. He is a passionate advocate for natural and aesthetic environments for our youngest children. Toni is recognised internationally for her contributions to the field of infant and toddler research and writing. Toni delivers keynote addresses and workshops on many varied subjects relevant to early childhood education including leadership, communication, emotional development, respectful care, behaviour guidance and self-review. Together Toni and Robin provide visionary leadership for their team of more than 50 teachers, designers and administrators at Childspace.
Keynote Topic
Respectful people, places & things
New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum framework, Te Whariki, suggests that children learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places, and things. Through visual slides, story-telling, examples, experiences and powerful quotes, Toni illustrates how the infants, toddlers and young children at Childspace experience respectful people, places and things. The information presented includes simple examples of respectful interactions with children, images and theory behind the design of the physical environment, and how to select the best natural, open-ended and authentic toys and objects for optimal exploration and learning opportunities.
Workshop Topic
Rituals, risk & resilience
Meaningful rituals throughout the day provide a secure base from which children can explore, challenge themselves, and develop resilience. Toni and Robin will share how children contributing to a shared sense of order and purpose develop the confidence to test their limits through adult-supported risky play.