So far, during January’s #PlayProject I’ve been exploring simple, quiet ideas I can incorporate into my days.
I mean, could it get more simple and quiet than word searches?
I hope my boring attempts (so far! I intend to up my game in the weeks ahead) remind you that fun doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or involved.
It can be, though, if you’re inspired!
Whether you curl up in front of the fire to read a book, or head outside to build a snow fort or run in the rain, life improves with a little play in every day.
Check out what Michelle’s documenting in her Instagram stream:
Some magnetic poetry…
A poem tapped out on a Remington Portable Model 5, then illustrated by hand…
A few minutes with a charming children’s book about e. e. cummings…
An origami box…
And, a balloon launch!
Meanwhile, Marilyn Yocum is playing in the kitchen, slicing and dicing, letting her creativity flow freely.
Play can be delicious. Callie Feyen knew that when she baked #PlayProject bread using her grandmother’s recipe…
and created some art to inspire…
Lisa Taylor Phillips played with her button collection.
Christina Hubbard heard about my doodling and shared her dreams of the beach…
We’re just getting started on this month of fun.
And by “we” I mean you, me, our friends, your writing group, the neighbors. The #PlayProject is for anyone: writers, creatives, and curious people of all kinds.
Are you hesitating?
Dr. Stuart Brown observes, “We strive to always be productive, and if an activity doesn’t teach us a skill, make us money, or get on the boss’s good side, then we feel we should not be doing it. Sometimes the sheer demands of daily living seem to rob us of the ability to play,” and yet “play is what lifts people out of the mundane” (6-7, 6).
He continues, “Once people understand what play does for them, they can learn to bring a sense of excitement and adventure back to their lives, make work an extension of their play lives, and engage fully with the world” (11).
Won’t you join us? Let play lift you out of the mundane. Bring that sense of excitement and adventure to your life. Engage more fully with the world.
You can start small, like I have, with a coloring book, a doodle, a break from the weight of work and everyday challenges. Or go big straight out of the gate! Jump in at any time with your own playful ideas.
If you make your own efforts public, link up on social media or send me a link (you may have to adjust privacy settings). I’d love to see and celebrate! Did I miss you this week? Drop a link to your project in the comments below, so we can pay you a visit!
For now, play on.
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Related:
- The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives) (includes free worksheets to inspire your creativity)
- #29: The Energizing Work of the Playful Writer (podcast)
- Top 6 Curiosity Discoveries – December 2015, Planning for Play
- Take Your Play History
- #31: Plan a Playful Year (podcast)
- English Teaching Resources: Incidentally, That Play-Doh Could Prevent a Homicide (Tweetspeak Poetry)
- English Teaching Resources: Incidentally, That Lego Could Earn You Six Figures (Tweetspeak Poetry)
Source: Brown, Stuart L., and Christopher C. Vaughan. Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. New York: Avery, 2009. Print.
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