How does play fit within the higher education mission? And what prevents academia from realizing its benefits?

“Professors at Play: Bringing Fun and Joy into Higher Education”
with Lisa K. Forbes & David Thomas
Friday, April 23
2:00pm ET/11:00am PT

While play and elementary education have a long and positive history, post-secondary education has largely remained an ivory tower of serious contemplation and humorless work.

The Professors at Play community represents a movement in post-secondary instruction to encourage the utilization of play in teaching and learning.

This session covers student perceptions and outcomes, faculty approaches and barriers to play, a review of current research and a select inventory of playful approaches at various levels of scale–from single activities through whole course play. This session will sketch out the current landscape of play across higher ed and conclude with possible future directions and a call to action for participants to enact change.

Lisa K. Forbes, PhD, is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Counseling Program at the University of Colorado Denver. Lisa is a Licensed Professional Counselor and is training to become a Play Therapist. Lisa’s research centers around intensive mothering practices, gender conformity, and mental health and…you guessed it, play and fun in teaching and learning!

David Thomas PhD, is the Executive Director of Online Programs at the University of Denver and Assistant Professor Attendant in the Department of Architecture at the University of Colorado Denver. David’s research centers around fun, fun objects (like buildings!) and the meaning of play.

This session is part of the 2021 VIRTUAL Conference on the Value of Play, featuring weekly live headliners and networking events, dozens of recorded educational and research presentations and much more – all online through June 30, 2021.  Registered 2021 Virtual Play Conference attendees will access the session in the Attendee Hub.

This presentation will be recorded and included in our 2021 VIRTUAL Play Conference content, so don’t fret if you miss the live session!

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, park and recreation professionals, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The 2021 Virtual Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY IS SURVIVAL explores play across the lifespan, play in the workplace, play in the classroom and address universal issues of access, equity, inclusion and more.  The conference features weekly live headliners and networking events, dozens of recorded educational and research presentations and much more – all online from April 1 through June 30, 2021.  We hope you will engage with us virtually in the interest of public health, wellness, safety and education!!!

The full detailed schedule is coming soon…but until then, below is an alphabetical list of the MORE THAN 60 recorded Educational Sessions and Research Symposium Sessions that will be core content for the 2021 VIRTUAL Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY IS SURVIVAL, available online from April 1 through June 30.

As we prepare for our second online Play Conference, there is a renewed intensity to connect play advocates, educate our national and global community, support play research and publications, and truly fulfill our mission to promote the VALUE of play throughout life. We continue to incorporate phenomenal speakers and resources with unique opportunities for learning through play!

• A Play-Based Literacy Program for The Professional Development of Reception Year Teachers
• A Prescription for Play in Education
• Access for All: Providing Equitable Hands-On Learning Experiences in A Digital World
• All Ages, All Abilities, All the Time
• Beyond Candyland: Learning Through Making Board Games
• Big Body Play Powers A Child’s Learning Trajectory
• Capture the Flag: How Traditionally Marginalized Residents Reclaim Urban Space Through Play
• Circus Is an International Language
• Crazy Games Workshop Explores Using Low Cost Materials Outside Normal Usage to Create Fun Learning
• Designing Everyday Spaces for Children
• Designing Hybrid Outdoor Play and Learning Spaces for All Ages
• Eduspeak And Play: Surviving the Wolf at The Door While Keeping Play Alive & Well in Your Classroom
• Equity and Play: Surviving and Thriving
• Future of Play: Technology Integration
• Healthy Communities, Parks and Splashpads
• Hobby Horses—A Hobby, Sport or Pure Play? Feminine Debates on A Contemporary Plaything
• Inclusive Playground Design:  A Case Study of Three New England Playgrounds
• Intergenerational Play Within the Workplace: A Powerful Mechanism for Informal Learning
• Legacy of Laughter; A Grandparent Playbook
• Let’s Start With Play. Why Play in The Emergency Department Can Be Our Best Tool for Patients
• Making Connections: People, Places, And Physical Activity
• More to Say After Outdoor Play: Bookmaking and Storytelling with Children
• No, They’re Not Too Old to Play. Bringing Loose Parts Play to South Florida Middle Schoolers.
• Nonprofit, Let’s Play America, Hangs on During the Pandemic with Virtual Play Days & Handbooks
• Paddle, Pivot, Pedal, Prance and Most of All…PLAY!
• Parent LAB PLAY DAY Series
• Parents’ Perceptions of Play Throughout the Pandemic and In the Social Justice Movement
• Performative Play for The Project Based Learning Classroom
• Play and Expressive Therapy Interventions for Enhancing Emotion Regulation
• Play as Culturally Sustainable Family Engagement
• Play Behavior of Children from an Isolated Area in Brazil: Body and Space as Cultural Expression
• Play Frisco 2.0
• Play Like Our World Depends on It: Using Playfulness to Engage Others in The Climate Emergency
• Play on The Go: Tips for Developing and Using Prop Boxes
• Play Programming During the Pandemic…. What Can We Learn?
• Play, Politics, & Policy: Building a State-Wide Movement for Recess
• Playground Design for School Communities – Moving Towards a Better Way
• Playing in a Pandemic: Lessons from Virtual and Traditional Instruction in Early Elementary School
• Pretend Play as a Tool for Development During Virtual Learning of Young Children
• Prototyping: Play Applied
• Ready Player One: Harnessing the Power of Activity and Fun Using A Digital Medium
• Recess and Play Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Reconsidering Solitary Play: Understanding Self, Place, and Nature
• Reducing the Negative Impacts of Trauma Through Outdoor Play
• Removing Invisible Barriers: A Design Call to Action from Families of Those with Differing Abilities
• Sacred Play: An Ancient Contribution to Contemporary Play Theory
• Shifting Play from Survival to Thrivival
• Social Togetherness in a Time of Social Distancing
• Soulful Play
• Sustainability of Self
• Teaching Off Trail
• The Benefits and Uses of Collaborative Competition in the Classroom
• The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Children’s Play
• The Effects of a Multi Recess Intervention on Body Composition in Elementary School Children
• The Importance of Failure in Play
• The Push Play Project
• The Rubber Shark Principle: How Play Is Bridging Our Relationship with Disability Inclusion
• The Value of Adult Play Is All in the Design
• Those Summer Days: Exploring Extreme Heat’s Impact on Children’s Outdoor Play and Physical Activity
• Toy Activism Through Teddybears: Promoting Playful Resilience and Ludounity In Pandemic Times
• Ways to Play the Virtual Way
• Wordplay: How Silly Jokes, Nonsense Rhymes, and Secret Languages Thrive in Unstructured Play

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The 2021 Virtual Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY IS SURVIVAL includes keynote and featured speakers, round tables on critical issues and trends, research symposium for academics, educational sessions for practitioners, action and research grant opportunities, PLAYtalks and PLAYinstitutes, networking, EPIC play breaks and more.

The Youth Outdoor Policy Playbook is a joint effort of the Children and Nature Network, the Meridian Institute, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, Outdoor Alliance for Kids and North American Association of Environmental Education.

As part of the 2020 Online Conference on the Value of Play, representatives of each organization (detailed below) discussed the Youth Outdoor Policy Playbook, a tool to empower grassroots and grasstops leaders and educate state legislators on the value of outdoor engagement and play – with an aim to work together to pass legislation to give more youth and families more outdoor opportunities.

Panelists include:

• Martin LeBlanc (moderator), Principal at LBC Action
• Robyn Paulekas, Senior Mediator and Program Manager, Meridian Institute
• Sarah Bodor, Director of Policy & Affiliate Relations, North American Association of Environmental Education
• Dylan McDowell, Deputy Director, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators
• Jayni Rasmussen, Senior Campaign Manager, Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK)
• James E. King Jr., researcher, environmental activist, and cultural responsiveness facilitator

Watch the full video of the panel presentation recorded live on Zoom, April 24, 2020: “Engaging State Policymakers with Outdoor Play: Youth Outdoor Policy Playbook”

Want to see more great online professional development content like this?!
Join the 2020 Online Conference on the Value of Play through December 15.

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference! Learn more at usplaycoalition.org/playconference2020

The US Play Coalition and IPA-USA invite you to join us for “The Relationship between Play and Relationships” with Rusty Keeler, Claude Stephens and Megan Dickerson.

Holding space for play in our communities is built upon developing relationships and then continuously working to improve them. That isn’t always straight forward work and it doesn’t always go as planned.

This session will explore how the concept of emergent strategies supports relationship development and what might spring from that. Plan on being part of the conversation.

NOTE: This recorded presentation is included in our 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY FOR ALL content.

Rusty Keeler
Rusty Keeler is a natural playscape designer and author who for nearly 30 years has traveled the world designing outdoor play environments and speaking about the benefits and beauty of saying “yes” to children’s play. Described as a blend of Mister Rogers and Jerry Garcia, Rusty is the author of multiple books on play and playscapes including the upcoming book Adventures in Risky Play: what is your yes? He is the co-founder of the social justice initiative the “Just Play Project” in Ithaca, NY which works to support all children’s right to play. With Rusty’s help the city of Ithaca declared itself America’s first “Free Range Kid” city to support children’s rights and initiate community conversation about children’s play, equity, and mobility.

Megan Dickerson
Megan Dickerson is an exhibition experience developer, playworker and community organizer. Her twenty-year museum career has included work at contemporary art museums, historic sites, and children’s museums. At Boston Children’s Museum for over a decade, Megan oversaw museum-community partnerships. Bringing pop-up museums to public housing, community centers, libraries and parking lots. In her current role as Director of Exhibitions at San Diego’s The New Children’s Museum, Megan collaborates with artists to develop emergent, site-specific artworks for a family audience.

Megan is one of the first Americans to earn a Masters in Play and Playwork, a practice that originated on adventure playgrounds in the United Kingdom and in Scandinavia. Her research work has recently been published in the book Practice-Based Research in Children’s Play, and a new project, Occuplay Museums, seeks to continue the work of her mentor, the late Stuart Lester, in exploring possibilities for playfulness in museum settings.

Claude Stephens
Claude Stephens is the Facilitator of Outreach and Regenerative Design at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky and the director of the Children at Play Network which is an ongoing project of Bernheim focused on working regionally to ensure equitable access to landscapes for play. The CAPN values play as part of healthy child development and as a means to reconnect children with nature in order to foster the next generation of environmental stewards. Claude has more than 34 years of experience working in museums and environmentally focused organizations. His academic background is in evolutionary ecology and biology which continues to frame his approach to how humans might build deeper and healthier relationships with the natural world.

This session is part of the 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play, launching on May 1 and featuring more than 50 recorded headliners, educational sessions and research symposium presentations. All “live” headliner presentations leading up to the official launch are open to registered online conference attendees. All live sessions are recorded and included in our online conference content (so don’t fret if you miss any!). There is still time to join some of the live sessions leading up to the online conference launch!

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference!

The full detailed schedule is coming soon…but until then, below is an alphabetical list of the Educational Sessions and Research Symposium Sessions that have been recorded for the 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY FOR ALL.

• Adapting Play for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
• Advocating for Risky Play
• The All New Voice of Play Website: How to Maximize This Exciting New Resource
• The American Association for Promoting the Child’s Right to Play – IPA USA Information Session
• Applying a Task-Person-Environment Approach to Designing Play Studies
• “As a parent, if I can…”: Parents’ Perception and Design of Children’s Out of School Time
• Building an Outdoor Classroom Anywhere
• Child play network influences on physical literacy in Mexican-heritage Colonias
• Creativity and Outdoor Play – The recipe for all children
• Designing Successful Play Partnerships:  PlayBuild + Tulane University
• Determining obesity rates in children with multiple play breaks in schools daily
• Documenting Children’s Play: Including the Child’s Voice
• Empowering LGBTQ+ Youth Through Meaningful Play and Recreation Opportunities
• Encouraging Time Outdoors in Naturalized Learning Environments in S. Carolina Childcare Facilities
• Examining the link between recess quality and classroom behavior in elementary school children
• Free Aquatic Play in a Controlled World
• Furnishing for Adult Play: Developing a social play space for a multidisciplinary research community
• Green Schoolyards : Neighborhood Amenity to National Necessity
• Guide to Implementing Play Streets in Rural Communities: A Tool to Increase Active Play
• How Principles in Play Connect to Pedagogy in Gifted Education and Talent Development
• The Influence of Preschool Educators’ Beliefs About Play-Based Learning on Instructional Delivery
• Is Your Recess Toolbelt Equipped?
• Joining In: Parent Perspectives on Specially Designed Inclusive Play
• Keeping the Recess in Indoor Recess: Creating Playable Spaces Anywhere!
• Leisure & Late Adulthood: Examining the Benefits of Participation during Retirement
• Local Sources for Play Space Materials and Labour – Its the Design that Counts
• Lost Opportunities: How Teaching Interferes with Learning
• Messy, Muddy, and Marvelous: Forest Schools, Education and Play
• Movement & Learning: What’s the Connection?
• Movement in Middle School – Application of the Transtheoretical Model for Physical Activity
• Pedaling to Safe Play: Factors Related to Youth Self-Efficacy for Injury Prevention Bicycle Skills
• Play and Family
• Play ranging with the Hidden Children: Notes from the field
• Play, Dementia & Alzheimers: Life and Fun Following Diagnosis
• Playing the Eduspeak Speak Game: Tips on Aligning Lessons with Play Principles
• PlaySchool:  How to Infuse Play into K12 Education
• Raptors & Ruderals: What do we mean by ‘nature play’ in an urban environment?
• Same Game, Different Play
• Seniors and preschoolers design toys together: An intergenerational play project in Finland
• Unstructured play in schools is linked to positive health benefits for teachers
• #WePlayChat: How to Use Social Media to Drive the Value of Play in a Virtual World
• Wilding nature play for children and families
• Yes, And: The Power of Teaching With Improvisational Play

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference!

What is the state of Play? Explore the worldwide changes that are shaping the Future of Play and ‘Play Workshops’ that create a lens into the understanding of our playful minds.

“Magic of Play and Play Workshops” with Yesim Kunter, Monday, April 27, 10:30am EDT/7:30am PDT

(Registered 2020 Online Play Conference attendees will receive Zoom details by email.)

According to Yesim Kunter, “As designers, developers, and practitioners, anything we design has a fundamental power, power of creating versions of ourselves and societies. We are the magicians of play! And we should be mindful of using that power!”

So if we are the developers of the Magic of Play, what is the state of play?

In order to predict upcoming dynamics, behaviors, needs and desires of children and adults, designers, developers, practitioners have used the methodology of play.

There are many dynamics that are shaping the Future of Play – from trends that are shaping children’s intellectual, cognitive and physical development to parenting styles that are impacting their risk taking abilities and macro trends that are technologically, socially, politically and environmentally impacting all generations.

In this “Play Hour” session, Yesim Kunter provides secure settings and inspiring materials for the participant to feel comfortable enough to examine variety of possibilities through unknown perspectives and create new connections in order to form new meanings. The experience of these settings are like time capsules.

Yesim Kunter is a recognized play expert and a creative strategist understanding behavior of people to create new experiences and define new opportunities.

As a consultant; develops “playful” experiences for Fortune 500 Companies, Universities, Communities by applying ‘Play Philosophy’ to products, environments, communities, culture creation as well as market research with future scoping; She has facilitated numerous successful ‘PlaytoInnovate® Workshops’ in training organizations with diverse backgrounds from kids to professionals for leveraging Creative Thinking and held talks at prestigious conferences.

Previous to her consultancy she had worked for Toys R Us, Lego and Hasbro as a play futurist.

This session is part of the 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play, launching on May 1 and featuring more than 50 recorded educational and research symposium sessions. All “live” headliner presentations leading up to the official launch are open to registered online conference attendees. All live sessions are recorded and included in our online conference content (so don’t fret if you miss any!). There is still time to join some of the live sessions leading up to the online conference launch!

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference!

The Youth Outdoor Policy Playbook is a joint effort of the Children and Nature Network, the Meridian Institute, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, Outdoor Alliance for Kids and North American Association of Environmental Education.

Join us Friday, April 24, 10:30am EDT/7:30am PDT for “Engaging State Policymakers with Outdoor Play: Youth Outdoor Policy Playbook.”

(Registered 2020 Online Play Conference attendees will receive Zoom details by email.)

With representatives of each organization (detailed below), this session will highlight the Youth Outdoor Policy Playbook, a tool to empower grassroots and grasstops leaders and educate state legislators on the value of outdoor engagement and play – with an aim to work together to pass legislation to give more youth and families more outdoor opportunities.

Panelists include:

Martin LeBlanc (moderator)
Martin LeBlanc is a strategic planning, public policy, and fundraising specialist with two decades of experience helping organizations expand their impact and Principal at LBC Action a Strategic Advisory Firm. He is co-founder and vice-president emeritus for the board of the Children & Nature Network. Martin is also a member of the US Play Coalition’s steering committee.

Robyn Paulekas, Meridian Institute
Robyn Paulekas is a Senior Mediator and Program Manager in Meridian’s Dillon, CO office. She has led and supported both domestic and international projects on water, conservation, outdoor recreation, agriculture, and climate change—often working at the nexus of more than one of these issues.  Robyn has extensive experience finding and catalyzing collaborative solutions.

Sarah Bodor, North American Association of Environmental Education
NAAEE’s Director of Policy & Affiliate Relations, Sarah Bodor comes from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, where she worked closely with state education agencies in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to develop and pilot standards-based curricula and provide teacher professional development.  From 2008-2012, Sarah coordinated the national No Child Left Inside grassroots coalition and in 2008, she served as the writer of Maryland’s Children in Nature Plan, which resulted in passage of Maryland’s environmental high school graduation requirement.

Dylan McDowell, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL)
Dylan McDowell serves as the Deputy Director for NCEL. Dylan is a science communicator with a passion for environmental issues. He specializes in making complex science accessible for a general audience, and his background includes developing education and outreach programs for the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Hatfield Marine Science Center. He is an active science writer and regularly contributes to Oregon Sea Grant publications.

Jayni Rasmussen, Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK)
Jayni is a Senior Campaign Manager for the Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK) & Youth for the Sierra Club. Previously, she served as NRPA’s Advocacy and Outreach Manager, where she designed, implemented and managed the Park Champion initiative, a national grassroots advocacy program training park and recreation professionals and park advocates to invite their members of Congress to see their parks and programs first-hand at site visits and events.

James E. King Jr.
James E. King Jr., MAED is an African American researcher, environmental activist, and cultural responsiveness facilitator based in Seattle, Washington originally from Atlanta, Georgia. He currently works on multiple projects, facilitating the growth of awareness within multicultural environmental education alongside conferences, industries, communities, schools and now the filming industry. He calls it J.E.D.I. Training. Outside of his work you can find James outdoors connecting to nature with family and friends.

“Play Hour” is a series of LIVE Zoom sessions every Monday and Friday in April at 10:30am EDT/7:30am PDT as part of the 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play.  All “Play Hour” LIVE Zoom presentations will be recorded and included in our online conference launch on May 1, so don’t fret if you miss any!

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference!

Expect to learn a skill to amaze your family at the next LIVE Zoom presentation!

“Ta Dah! Circus as a Teaching Tool”
with Jessica Hentoff, Artistic/Executive Director, Circus Harmony
Monday, April 20, 10:30am EDT/7:30am PDT. (Registered conference attendees will receive Zoom details by email.)

The best way to educate is to be entertaining and the best way to entertain is to be educational! For many children, sitting still while learning is difficult. Experiential and fun learning has been proven to be more effective. Circus arts works across ages, backgrounds, and school subjects!  You do not have to be an acrobat or a tightrope walker yourself to apply this fun, fantastic, flexible art form!

Circus arts are an amazing activity that can be used to teach physical education, science, math, language, history and more! It is also perfect for teaching character education. Circus helps children learn concepts in a new and fun way that they will remember and apply. This holistic approach to learning not only teaches academic or character concepts, but, at the same time, helps children develop their physical literacy, strength, flexibility, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness. In addition, students can learn how to present themselves in public, an all-around useful life skill! Circus is most obvious to use as an alternative approach to physical education. It is non-competitive and is comprised of several genres so there literally is something for everyone.

Our “Play Hour” presenter is Jessica Hentoff, the artistic/executive director of Circus Harmony, a social circus based in St. Louis, Missouri. Circus Harmony is a non-profit social circus organization that uses circus arts to motivate social change. It is both an arts education and a youth development organization. They believe that circus teaches the art of life- while children are learning circus arts, they are also learning life skills like focus, persistence, teamwork.

“Play Hour” is a series of LIVE Zoom sessions every Monday and Friday in April at 10:30am EDT/7:30am PDT as part of the 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play.  All “Play Hour” LIVE Zoom presentations will be recorded and included in our online conference launch on May 1, so don’t fret if you miss any!

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference!

Join our next LIVE Zoom presentation,“A Community Within: Black Child Play as Response and Protest,” with Ariana Brazier, and Julia Brazier, Friday, April 17, 10:30am EDT/7:30am PDT. (Registered conference attendees will receive Zoom details by email.)

This informative and interactive session explores the different ways that play contributes to childhood growth, focusing on the ways that Black children living in poverty play. Participants will learn to  identify and analyze the racialized and classed ways in which play is deprived as Black children age and grow.

Ariana and Julia Brazier will guide participants through dialogue, physical play, and multimedia presentations to analyze the ages and stages of play necessary for holistic child development.  They will lead play breaks in the form of physically active games, so have plenty of room for movement and activity (Note: Participants are encouraged to play to according to their personal abilities).

Ariana Brazier is a play-driven community-organizer and educator. She is an English, Critical & Cultural Studies, Doctoral Candidate at the University of Pittsburgh. Ari conducts community-based ethnographic research with Black students and families living in poverty in the southeast United States in order to document how Black child play functions as a grassroots praxis. She is the Founder and CEO of the 501(c)3 nonprofit, ATL Parent Like A Boss, Inc. (Parent LAB). Parent LAB’s mission is to enhance generational literacies through PLAY in underserved African American communities.

Julia Brazier is a mentor for Auburn University Family Child Care Partnerships and has served in this capacity for 9 years. She has 30+ years of experience as an early care/education professional, 2 of which were spent as a family child care provider. Julia has 14 years of experience in administrative positions serving, training, and mentoring family child care providers. She also served as the director of child care programs at the Bessemer YMCA for 5 years. Julia is the ATL Parent Like A Boss, Inc. (Parent LAB) Board Chairwoman.

“Play Hour” is a series of LIVE Zoom sessions every Monday and Friday in April at 10:30am EDT/7:30am PDT as part of the 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play.  All “Play Hour” LIVE Zoom presentations will be recorded and included in our online conference launch on May 1, so don’t fret if you miss any!

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference!

“The Playful Classroom: Teachable Moments on a Playful Walkabout,” with Julie P. Jones, PhD, Associate Professor of Education, Converse College and Jed Dearybury, Director of Creativity at www.mrdearybury.com

Learning must be meaningful. Learning must be relevant. Learning must be fun. We believe play is the key to making magic happen regardless of the setting, regardless of the student, regardless of the content. Play constantly teaches us life skills, so why not bring that same experience into every area of learning?!

In this session (now given through Zoom rather than in-person), Jed and Julie will take you on a playful walkabout outside to show how you can find unstructured playful LEARNING experiences all around us that can be used in your own classroom.  The will also give an overview of their work, “The Playful Classroom: The Power of Play for ALL Ages.”

Jed Dearybury began his education career in 2001. During his 13-year early childhood classroom tenure, Jed received numerous awards. He was featured in GQ Magazine as Male Leader of the Year, met President Obama as the SC winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, and was named as a top 5 finalist for South Carolina Teacher of the Year because of his passion, love, and success in education. Since 2015, he has become an educational leader by providing quality, hands-on, engaging learning experiences for students and teachers across the country. Jed is also a Play Ambassador for the US Play Coalition.

Julie Jones, PhD, is Associate Professor of Education and the Director for Student Teaching in Converse College’s School of Education and Graduate Studies. She maintains an active research agenda with interests including instructional technology and pedagogy, always with a mix of creativity and play. She is a Google Certified Educator, providing regular training for K12 educators on technology integration, and she serves as the Executive Editor for the Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina, a South Carolina Association of Teacher Educators (SCATE) publication.  Julie is also a Play Ambassador for the US Play Coalition.

“Play Hour” is a series of LIVE Zoom sessions every Monday and Friday in April at 10:30am EDT/7:30am PDT as part of the 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play.  All “Play Hour” LIVE Zoom presentations will be recorded and included in our online conference launch (May 1), so don’t fret if you miss any!

The Conference on the VALUE of Play
The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference!