“Recess is a necessary break in the day for optimizing a child’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.”
– American Academy of Pediatrics
Playworks believes in using the power of play to bring out the best in every kid. As schools transition back to in-person, it will be more important than ever that kids have the opportunity to play every day.
Why is play so important?
When transitioning back to school buildings after remote or hybrid learning due to COVID-19, a safe and healthy recess is especially critical for:
- Building connections between a community of peers and adults
- Healing from distress of the pandemic
- Rebuilding a sense of belonging
- Academic success
Playworks’ new Safe Return to Play training will help you:
Understand how to practically transition your space and equipment so every child can experience safe and healthy play every day. The training will cover:
- General Outdoor Space Guidelines
- General Indoor Space Guidelines
- Equipment Options
- Play Structure Options
- Games to play with students safely
For over 25 years, Playworks has mapped schools and playgrounds to ensure safe and healthy play can happen every day. This year, we’ve successfully implemented new strategies at schools around the country that have returned to school for in-person services or hybrid services and have built a foundation of best practices we are excited to share with you.
About the training:
This two-hour training can be attended by any staff in your school who will be helping kids transition back to school. They’ll learn about the benefits of play, including the less obvious ones, and get tailored insights about how to design your particular space to make it safe for the students to reap the benefits of play. This training is ideal for school staff who can support play at any time during a child’s day.
Why now?
Every educator and administrator has so many things to think about when returning to school. But the work of kids is play. It is what they enjoy. It is what motivates them to go to school. It is how they discover their best selves. Leveraging the power of play will bring out the best in every kid. Adults will play an active and critical role at recess all year; help your team get set up for success by getting trained today. And remember, safe and healthy recess is always critical for:
- Refocusing and cognitive processing
- Building attention spans
- Strengthening communication skills including negotiation, cooperation, and sharing
- Physical activity and fitness
- Improve capacity to manage emotions and build empathy
For more information and to request your training please contact us.
Are you an out-of-school time provider? We can tailor this training to help your staff think about how to bring play into your space too!
