The NPR article "Play Doesn't End With Childhood: Adults Need Recess Too" reports, "[P]laytime doesn't end when we grow up. Adults need recess too." Why? To find out, they asked our friend Dr. Stuart Brown, who responded, "Play is something done for its own sake...It's voluntary, it's pleasurable, it offers a sense of engagement, it takes you out of time. And the act … [Read more...]
#PlayProject Jan 2016 – Week Two Update
This week I cranked up Earth, Wind & Fire and started hooping—you know, with a hula hoop. https://www.instagram.com/p/BAicYUOLHax/?taken-by=annkroeker I'm not super flexible, nor do I dance well, but I can spin that hoop in both directions. When I turn up music and that hoop is in motion, I feel free and fun. It offers a perfect play break, especially after an … [Read more...]
#PlayProject Jan 2016 – Week One Update
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? https://www.instagram.com/p/BAFnRLprHTw/?taken-by=annkroeker Coloring books? https://www.instagram.com/p/BAKpTlLLHTI/?taken-by=annkroeker And … [Read more...]
Top 6 Curiosity Discoveries – December 2015, Planning for Play
In each month's Curiosity Journal, I invite you to peek inside as I document six areas that ignite a curious mind: learn, read, write, play, try, listen. This month, I've been planning January's Play Project (#PlayProject), which starts today. You can jump in any time, of course, creating playful activities for each day of the month ahead to discover how play can, among … [Read more...]
#31: Plan a Playful Year
Show Notes Summary: This is the time of year when people look back at 2015 and consider how they did at achieving their goals, then they look ahead to 2016 and start to plan the year ahead. They decide the habits they want to eradicate and establish, and the goals they want to achieve. It happens that this time of resolution setting overlaps with the Play … [Read more...]
The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives)
In a recent podcast, I encouraged play as a way to energize a writer's work, and a week ago I zeroed in on the need to take your play history to identify what brought you joy in childhood, in hopes of incorporating it into your life today.I shared with you about the care and keeping of crickets, but the more I worked on my play history, the more I … [Read more...]