Penny Brownlee

I am the mother of one, grandmother of two, and began my primary school teaching career way back in 1967.

My early childhood experience began with motherhood, and it grew when our daughter Clare and I attended Thames-Parawai Playcentre in 1975. We both loved it so much we stayed there an extra year instead of going to school. It was there I had the time and space to observe what happens when children play and learn.

After five years of observing many children's creativity unfolding, I wrote "Magic Places: An Adults' Guide to Young Children's Creativity", published by New Zealand Playcentre Publications in 1983, revised in 2007, and completely rewritten in 2015.

Since 1990 I have been facilitating residential retreats for parents and teachers throughout New Zealand, exploring creativity and learning, for both children and adults.

In 2004, 2006, 2013 & 2014 I attended Summer Schools at the Emmi Pikler Institute in Budapest, Hungary. There my eyes were opened to what respect really looks like with infants, toddlers and young children. Wanting to share the information that so inspired me, I designed and intensive course in 2005 - "Dance with me in the Heart • Level One". In 2008 I wrote "Dance With Me in the Heart: An Adults' Guide to Great Infant-Parent Partnerships". In 2011 I launched a 'portable course' for people who had done the "Dance with me in the Heart" training so they could go back to their own communities and seed the skills for "The Culture of Kindness" there.