What happens when early childhood educators are given the time, space, and inspiration to reconnect with the heart of their practice?
That question sits at the centre of Return to Play, a residential learning retreat created for educators who believe deeply in the power of play-based learning. Hosted by Scholar’s Choice and featuring internationally respected early years expert Alice Sharp, this immersive professional learning experience will take place from October 19–22, 2026, at Oakwood Resort in Grand Bend, Ontario, in a beautiful Lake Huron setting designed for learning, reflection, connection, and renewal.
Unlike a traditional conference, Return to Play invites educators to step away from the noise and pace of daily practice and enter into a shared space where curiosity, creativity, reflection, and professional growth can truly take centre stage.
The Inspiration Behind Return to Play
Return to Play was inspired by the belief that early childhood education is at its strongest when educators feel connected to the why behind their work.
In the everyday rhythm of early years settings, educators are constantly giving. They are observing, planning, documenting, supporting, comforting, communicating, preparing environments, responding to children’s needs, and navigating the many responsibilities that come with caring for young learners. It is meaningful work, but it can also be demanding.
This retreat was created as an invitation to pause.
To breathe.
To play again.
To remember that play is not something extra in early childhood education. Play is the foundation. It is how children make sense of the world, build relationships, test ideas, develop language, practise self-regulation, explore materials, express emotions, solve problems, and develop confidence in who they are as capable learners.
Return to Play is about helping educators reconnect with that truth in a way that feels joyful, practical, inspiring, and deeply human.
A Personal Reflection: From Inspired Participant to Co-Host
There is something incredibly joyous about knowing that a conference experience that once inspired me so deeply has now grown into something I get to co-host and present at.
The original experience was truly one of the most joyful moments of my career so far. To be surrounded by educators, leaders, managers, lecturers, policy makers, industry friends, and early years professionals from across the globe was transformational. It was a space filled with big ideas, generous conversations, shared passion, and the kind of professional energy that stays with you long after the event has ended.
The keynote lineup was filled with powerful women who are true leaders in the early years industry. They were passionate, knowledgeable, kind, and deeply committed to the value of childhood. It was a privilege not only to hear their expertise, but also to spend time learning from them personally.
That experience reminded me of how powerful it can be when educators gather with open hearts and curious minds. It showed me that professional learning can be more than information. It can be connection. It can be renewal. It can be a return to purpose.
That is the spirit we hope to bring to Return to Play.
What Educators Will Explore at Return to Play
Across this three-night residential retreat, educators will engage in meaningful discussions, playful provocations, hands-on experiences, and reflective learning opportunities designed to deepen their understanding of play-based practice. The event is designed to support both professional growth and personal well-being, with practical strategies, fresh ideas, and time to connect with other educators who share a passion for early learning.
Together, we will explore the core ideas that sit at the heart of strong early childhood practice.
The Why of Play
Before we can confidently advocate for play, we need to understand why it matters.
During Return to Play, educators will revisit the foundations of child-led learning and explore how play supports early childhood development across all domains. Through play, children build cognitive flexibility, communication skills, emotional awareness, social confidence, fine motor strength, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and a sense of belonging.
When educators understand the why of play, they are better able to observe children with intention, explain the value of play to families, design more meaningful learning environments, and protect time for deep, uninterrupted exploration.
Process-Based Creativity
In early childhood education, creativity is not about producing identical crafts or perfect finished products. It is about the thinking, experimenting, wondering, testing, and expressing that happens along the way.
Return to Play will invite educators to explore process-based creativity through the eyes of the child. This means valuing the marks, movements, material choices, conversations, surprises, and discoveries that happen during creative experiences.
When children are given permission to create without a fixed outcome, they develop confidence in their own ideas. They learn that their choices matter. They begin to see themselves as capable thinkers, makers, and problem-solvers.
Invitations to Play
A thoughtfully prepared invitation to play can open the door to rich exploration.
At the retreat, educators will explore how to create meaningful invitations using open-ended materials, sensory elements, loose parts, natural objects, storytelling prompts, art supplies, construction pieces, and playful provocations. These experiences are not about directing children toward one correct answer. They are about sparking curiosity and allowing children to follow their own ideas.
An invitation to play might inspire children to build, sort, pour, mix, draw, pretend, investigate, transport, compare, collaborate, or create stories. When educators thoughtfully observe these moments, they begin to see the depth of learning that unfolds through play.
Schematic Play
Children often show us what they are working to understand through repeated patterns in their play.
They may carry objects from one place to another, wrap materials, line things up, rotate wheels, hide items, fill containers, empty baskets, build enclosures, or move their bodies in repeated ways. These patterns are known as schemas, and they offer educators valuable insight into children’s thinking and development.
Return to Play will help educators look more closely at these repeated behaviours and consider how environments, materials, and adult interactions can support children’s natural play patterns. When educators understand schematic play, they can respond with greater intention and provide experiences that feel deeply meaningful to children.
Playful Environments That Spark Wonder
The environment has a powerful role in early childhood education.
A well-designed early learning space invites children to explore independently, make choices, revisit ideas, collaborate with peers, and engage in focused play. It should feel warm, flexible, beautiful, accessible, and alive with possibility.
During Return to Play, educators will reflect on how learning environments can support wonder, independence, sensory regulation, creativity, movement, dramatic play, construction, literacy, numeracy, science thinking, and social connection.
This is not about creating perfect spaces. It is about creating responsive spaces.
Spaces that listen.
Spaces that change.
Spaces that honour children’s ideas.
The Adult’s Role in Play-Based Learning
In play-based learning, the adult is not passive.
The educator’s role is thoughtful, responsive, and deeply important. Educators observe carefully, notice children’s interests, listen for theories, document learning, ask meaningful questions, extend thinking, offer language, support relationships, and make intentional decisions about materials and environments.
Return to Play will support educators in reflecting on how they show up in children’s play. When should we step in? When should we step back? How do we extend learning without taking over? How do we support children’s agency while still providing guidance, safety, and emotional connection?
These questions are at the heart of strong early years practice.
Reflection and Action Planning
Inspiration is powerful, but it becomes even more meaningful when educators can bring it back into their classrooms, centres, and communities.
That is why Return to Play includes time for reflection and action planning. Educators will be invited to consider what they want to try, shift, revisit, or strengthen in their own practice. They will leave not only with new ideas, but with practical next steps they can bring back to their early learning environments.
The goal is not to overwhelm educators with more to do. The goal is to help them return with clarity, confidence, and renewed energy.
Why an Immersive Residential Retreat Matters
There is something different about residential learning.
When educators step away from their usual routines and enter a shared learning environment, they are able to be fully present. The experience becomes more than a workshop or a session. It becomes a community.
A residential retreat creates space for deeper conversations, slower reflection, meaningful relationships, and informal moments of learning that often happen between sessions. It allows educators to connect over meals, continue conversations beyond the classroom, reflect in quiet moments, and build relationships with others who understand the joys and challenges of early childhood education.
At Oakwood Resort, participants will be surrounded by a relaxing lakefront setting, comfortable accommodations, and amenities designed to support rest, reflection, and connection, including peaceful gathering spaces, a heated saltwater pool, sauna, and fitness centre.
This matters because educators deserve professional learning that nourishes them too.
When educators feel inspired, supported, and valued, that energy flows back into their practice. It influences the way they design environments, interact with children, communicate with families, and advocate for play.
What We Hope Educators Take Away
Our hope is that educators leave Return to Play feeling refreshed, inspired, and reconnected to the joy of early childhood education.
We hope they leave with practical ideas they can immediately bring back to their classrooms and centres.
We hope they leave with new friendships, meaningful professional connections, and a stronger sense of community.
We hope they leave feeling more confident in explaining the importance of play-based learning.
Most of all, we hope they leave remembering that play is powerful.
Play is where children make meaning.
Play is where relationships grow.
Play is where curiosity comes alive.
Play is where children discover who they are and what they can do.
More Than Professional Development
Return to Play is more than a professional development event.
It is an invitation to return to the heart of early childhood education. To return to curiosity. To return to creativity. To return to wonder. To return to the belief that children are capable, competent, imaginative learners who deserve rich, responsive, joyful experiences.
For educators who are ready to pause, reflect, connect, and be inspired, Return to Play offers something truly special.
It is a chance to step away from the demands of everyday practice and invest in yourself as an educator. It is a chance to learn alongside passionate early years professionals. It is a chance to experience play not just as a teaching approach, but as a source of renewal.
Because sometimes, the most powerful professional learning begins when we give ourselves permission to play again.
