Say helloBefore the prompt. How can we see this as an adult?
Play, trust and agency in early childhood
The same 45 minutes, read through the research, the risks and the reasons.
AI literacy for our youngest children doesn’t start with a prompt. It starts with a dalmatian, a drawing of the technology around us, two gentle hands and a grown-up nearby.
Every playful stop has a reason behind it. This lens shows the developmental thinking, the evidence and its limits, and the honest questions about using a much-loved character to teach discernment.
Today’s adventureThe shape of the session
At the workshop · twelve stops in 45 minutes
Hands busy first, ideas second. We start with you, travel through Dilon’s classroom, then make it yours.
- Start with you
- 10–2 min
Say helloGreet the Dilon plush and rate how you feel. - 22–3 minJoin the siteYour notes, drawings and plans live here.
- 33–8 min
Tech huntDraw the technology in a space you know. - 48–11 minHunt → tech planHow what we find shapes safeguarding.
- Inside Dilon’s classroom
- 511–15 min
The latest episodeWhat Lesson 1 looked like in Nest and Reception. - 615–18 minNest to Year 2How the lessons grow, and where AI fits.
- 718–20 minCapture & shareChildren document, then show their families.
- 820–24 min
Beebots & playOther moments of play that grow the same ideas. - Make it yours
- 924–31 minThe playhouseFind a moment that fits your learners.
- 1031–35 min
Make Dilon yoursGrow a values character from your culture. - 1135–42 minCheck & buildWhere are we now, and where can we go?
- 1242–45 minFamiliesResources and guidance to send home.
- It starts with the adults’ own spaces and feelings before anyone looks at a classroom.
- Every idea is experienced before it is explained, mirroring how the lesson works for children.
- The last twenty minutes belong to participants: a playhouse, a character, an audit and a plan.
Say hello to Dilon. Then, where are you today?
At the workshop, we start by waving to the Dilon plush. Wherever you are, be honest: how do you feel about AI in early childhood right now? There’s no wrong answer. Your choice is saved only in this browser and can appear on your audit download.
In the room, pop a dot sticker on the door chart too. We’ll come back to it at the very end, and your choice here goes onto your audit PDF.
www.misterpyles.com
Main website · choose Before the Prompt
You’re in. Keep this tab open.
At the workshop, this site is your notebook for 45 minutes; afterwards it’s your toolkit. Your work is saved on this device in this browser. This application does not submit it to us.
What technology lives in your space?
Pick a space you know: your home, your classroom, a friend’s house, anywhere. Draw it, or tap to add stickers. Then we’ll see what your drawing tells a tech plan and a safeguarding policy.
He made it to the carpet.
Digital Citizen Dilon joined the DUCKS values family at Dulwich College Beijing: seven friends who bring the college’s values to life in every Early Years room. He carries digital citizenship, and now early AI literacy, from Nest to Year 2.
From Nest to Year 2
The screen is a doorway, not the room.
Our latest change: children document their own learning on iPads, the photos go offline, and they can’t wait to show their parents. Then Beebots, story mats and pretend tech grow the same ideas through play.
Your learners, your rooms, your character.
Where are we now, and where can we go?
Audit six areas of practice from 0 to 3, then build a plan for your children. Both come away as pre-filled PDFs.
Mirrors of the community.
Questions to try at home in English and Chinese, simple guidance for parents, a family note and an outline for a short family session.