Last weekend I gave a presentation to 30 highly passionate early childhood education (ECE) teachers and leaders on the power of community and the future of ECE. I practically grew up surrounded by amazing teachers with my family being in the ECE business for 25 years now and I’m really excited to share my insights into where I believe the industry is headed over the next 5, 10, 15 and 25 years. I’ve also created a fun and unique community building game called “THE DINNER PARTY” which can be used by anyone who’s looking for an awesome game for their community, childcare or even coworking space. Enjoy!

1. THE POWER OF

3. Business/Product life-cycle theory by Raymond Vernon

7. 1.
Bringing us together.
No one person ever has all of the
answers, and regardless of the
amount of Googling you do,
consulting and sharing with others
brings us closer together.

8. 2.
Pushing our limits
Surrounding ourselves with others
working towards a similar goal or
objective to get motivation, support, and
friendly competition to push each other
just a bit further than you would have
done on your own.

9. 3.
Support & Beliefs
Your community believes in you—
probably more than you belief in yourself.
Coming together enables us to support
each other through our personal desires,
shared beliefs, dreams and goals.

10. 4.
New Ideas
When you are working within a community
of like-minded people that the wisdom of
crowds is considerably greater. Our
divergent world views and lenses mean
that we all approach the exact same
problem slightly differently.

11. 5.
Our biggest fans
Even on those days when your belief in
yourself isn’t waning, doing what needs to
get done can seem overwhelming. Look
around your community and be inspired!

12. 6.
Positive outcomes
We can rely on our community to help us
achieve positive outcomes towards a
shared purpose. Our community wants to
see us succeed, not fail. Together, we
work to help each others dreams and
desires.

13. WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN
FOR ECE?

14. game
the

15. DINNER PARTY GAME
You’re at a
dinner party
where you
don’t know
anyone.

16. DINNER PARTY GAME
The aim of the game is to
mix and mingle with your
dinner party guests.

17. DINNER PARTY GAME
Everyone gets a nametag
that shows their
NAME
and
WHAT YOU DO.

18. DINNER PARTY GAME
Everyone gets a
secret paper with
3 things written on it.
(DO NOT SHARE THIS WITH ANYONE ELSE).
1. YOUR STRENGTH
2. YOUR WEAKNESS
3. YOUR PERSONAL DESIRE

19. DINNER PARTY GAME
Every personal desire,
strength and weakness is
completely different and
unique. This forms your
character & personality for
the party.

20. DINNER PARTY GAME
Without sharing your personal
desire, strength or weakness
you must network with other
guests and get to know them in
a natural and organic way.

21. DINNER PARTY GAME
Remember to stay in
character as much as
possible in order to fully
enjoy the game.

22. DINNER PARTY RULES
Strictly no cheating. We’ll be watching you..
Remember to stay as much in character as possible to get
the most out of the game
Enjoy the game, take your time there’s no rush and there’s
no “winners” and “losers”!
Do not share your secret paper with anyone
Do not read out loud or tell people what is written on your
secret paper
Try your best to not share your personal desire openly
unless it naturally comes up in conversation