Ooey Gooey® : About

About Ooey Gooey, Inc.

Lisa Murphy created The Learning Through Adventure Company in 1997 (now known as Ooey Gooey, Inc.) in order to bring high-energy, informative yet exciting and FUN hands-on workshops to teachers, directors, parents and family child care providers. From her first workshop held in a small preschool in the San Diego area for about 15 teachers… where it took her 2 hours to set up and 2 mini-vans to haul all the materials… to her latest… where she flew from New York to Florida to Sacramento in a 48 hour period with 3 tubs of goo! The security folks in the airport know her well! They see those tubs coming and say “OH OH! Here she comes again!” And despite the inconvenience of all the security lines, confiscated Ooey Gooey® materials, paint “mishaps” and missed flights due to extensive baggage searches, (not to mention the cash flow dedicated to Southwest Airlines sky caps!) she continues to schlep it across the country! WHY? Because we need it! You need it! The kids need it! We all need some time in the goo! …

In order for children to be “ready” for school, they need to have time to PLAY.

The best places for them to play are in child-centered environments - whether within homes, preschools, family childcares, kindergartens, or day care centers, children need to have the opportunity to be engaged in experiences that are relevant and meaningful to them. How do we do this? How do we meet the needs of all learning styles? Why is play-based more appropriate than academic [drill and (s)kill] based? What are children learning while playing? How do we share knowledge and information with parents, principals and administrators about what children really need (blocks, water, clay, stories, songs, free play, social skills and recess time) vs. what we sometimes think children need (dittos, drills, sitting still, homework, computers, evaluations, standardized tests, table work and grades)?

Facilitating discussions with parents and educators, coordinating staff development meetings, working with agencies to plan community workshops, writing books and articles, providing keynote speeches at conferences, sharing and disseminating the most recent information and research and assisting educators and parents as they think about the answers to these questions all the while working with parents and educators to create engaging, hands-on, play-based environments is the mission of Ooey Gooey, Inc..

Here at Ooey Gooey, Inc. we support the creation of child-centered environments… but wait just one minute… what is a “child-centered environment” anyway? There are many parenting books out there that claim “child-centered” parenting and/or teaching is NO GOOD! And should be BANNED and AVOIDED at all costs. And, to be honest, after reading how they DEFINE child-centered, I would have to agree with them.

It is the desire of Ooey Gooey, Inc. to establish a base line understanding of what child-centered is and isn’t in order to make sure that the practitioners of it are all on the same page and working towards the same goals with the same definitions!

Child-Centered is NOT…

putting out the new activity idea you learned at a conference this weekend then turning around to go clean the cupboards…
letting children have the run of the home or classroom…
a reenactment of Lord of the Flies…
letting children do “whatever they want”…
children running around naked with paint flying through the air…
an excuse to be disengaged from the children…
something that happens over-night…
the elimination of curriculum, rules, boundaries and structure...
CHAOS!

Child-Centered IS…

linking concepts to experiences…
controlling the environment, not the little people in it…
making a commitment to understanding the research that impacts our profession…
believing that there is NOT a one-size fits all formula that can be applied to each child, each time, in each situation…
engaging and connecting with the children, even at the expense of the lesson plan…
the hardest way to be… why? It takes passion, dedication and commitment on the part of ALL grown-ups involved!

How can you IDENTIFY a child-centered environment?

Although there are many many indicators, the TOP SEVEN that Lisa discusses in her seminars are the following:

1. Children are provided long periods of uninterrupted FREE TIME for investigation of their environment
2. Children are able to explore their environment with FEW RESTRICTIONS
3. Adults are acting as FACILITATORS for the children within the space
4. Children have TIME OUTSIDE to dig, splash, run, skip, hop, jump, climb and investigate
5. The experiences and activities provided must are real, meaningful and relevant to the children of this age group HERE AND NOW – not what they will need next year
6. The adults spending time with the children must be in the present moment and as such be able to articulate their rationale for activities presented
7. Successful child-centered early childhood environments have learned the importance of controlling the ENVIRONMENT, not the little people in it.

Ooey Gooey, Inc. is committed to providing parents, educators and administrators with the knowledge, facts and research that supports this educational philosophy. And it is this information that Lisa shares during the workshops she presents all over the country…

...why don’t you give her a call TODAY!

(800) 477-7977

CLICK HERE to read more about Lisa Murphy’s high-energy, informative, and inspirational workshops!