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The Power of Play
Play brings joy and happiness to learning. Infusing play in schools prepares kids as future citizens.
When you play a game with your friends, how do you feel?
When you see children playing with other children, what do you notice?
Ask a child if they remember the worksheet they filled out last week.
Did they have fun?
Do they remember what they learned?
Let’s play more and discover how learning unfolds.
Schools can invest in more play through games, interactive experiences, and just making learning fun. Providing engaging activities through play creates learners who become critical thinkers, researchers, and designers.
A few thoughts about PLAY I wanted to share with you.
A Love of Learning Through Play
When I thought about PLAY, I remembered my conversation with Katherine Mengardon on Episode #117: Sparking Back a Love of Learning Through Play. Katherine shared her story as an author, innovator, illustrator, and designer. Katherine has written and illustrated multiple books, adventures, and hosts a new program called YourPlay.space, where PLAY is a universal human right. She believes that playfulness is key to re-igniting a love of learning and developing, not only for children, but for grown-ups too.
She welcomes you to the serious business of play.
Adventure Learning and PlaySpace Learning
Go to https://yourplay.space/home to find out more about PlaySpace Learning
Play Through Embodied Learning
The child is the social change maker.
I also remembered my conversation in Episode #109 with Tommaso Lana, who created Embodied Learning with PLAY as an experiential staff development program. He uses multiple sensory, motor, and imaginative experiences to support early childhood professionals in the wonder and meaning of learning. Team-building, parent-teacher communication, remote learning, SEL, STEM, and outdoor education are his forte.
Adults experience childhood physically and emotionally with Embodied Learning sensory constructions through play. This is where they understand how many learning experiences and life skills naturally happen during the first 5 years of life. I hope you check out what Tommaso is doing now.
Adults learn the importance of PLAY by experiencing how children play.
Ignite Joy, Creativity, and Purpose through Play
Learning should feel like an experience, not a checklist.
I recently had a fun conversation in Episode #172 with Michael Wesely, who shared that he had a blast learning how to become that teacher who brings joy, fun, and magic through play to the classroom. As an Instructional Technology Specialist, Michael is passionate about transforming classrooms into creative playgrounds where curiosity is sparked, innovation is fueled with PLAY, and a little fun is always part of the plan.
Michael learned how to turn anything into a game, even reading at home, to excite kids about it. Students were reading for hours at home each month simply by adding a reading punch card and some knight costumes. They were playing and enjoying the learning process.
Ignite Joy, Creativity, and Purpose in Teaching, Learning, and Life with Michael Wesely
Michael found it easy to create magic for them through play and games. It was a reward to see their JOY in the simplest things.
How can you not love seeing that exact moment when a kid has an AHA moment and you’re watching their face light up?
Play and the Playful Rebellion
Gary Ware is a Strategic Play Consultant, Improv Comedian, keynote speaker, coach, and founder of Breakthrough Play, whose passion is to help people become the best version of themselves they can be simply by having fun. He works with professionals to help them incorporate play into their lives and experience how it can improve every part of living, from confidence and energy to attitude and creativity.
Playful Rebellion is a must-read book to help you discover how to find joy and wonder in the mundane again and how to use the superpowers hidden within yourself. In this book, Gary Ware will show you that when you play, your life works better!
Thank you, Gary! I love this book and refer to it when I consider activities for workshops, webinars, and more.
A book about play written playfully! Gary reminds us of the importance of play, not because it’s a kid thing to do, but a human one. ~ Andrew Tarwin, CEO, Humor That Works!
Playful Rebellion: Maximize Workplace Success Through The Power of Play
These are just a few thoughts and resources I wanted to share with you to discover how PLAY can bring joy, wonder, and fun to your learning and life. I plan to share more ideas and resources in future posts on different themes.
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