I've been asking myself this question alot lately, and realised I lost the art of play. When did I stop being creative and having fun ? What type of example am I setting to my kid? The parent & adult responsibility have a weight that seem to been extra heavy recently, and after finding this group and a few adjacent communities, I asked myself why not take a moment to play. Although playing looks different now I started a project where I can play with my boy in the same space, I'm turning my shed into "the ultimate family home gym" a place for me to train and do martial arts whilst building a full climbing are, including monkey bars, climbing wall and other activities that even I might play on. Sometimes I feel guilty when I tell my wife I'm going down to the shed to exercise, soon I will say me and our boy are going to play for awhile, and maybe can enjoy a bath or a book whilst we go off and play. I've got a new sense of joy, excitement and creativity back for this project!

Let's extend a warm Connected Through Play welcome to our newest community members, @Auli Takala and @Amanda Owens I encourage you to visit the #Welcome to Connected Through Play classroom to get the lay of the land and then complete your first mini mission #Try This Today and share your results. We'd love to get to know you so when the time is right, please introduce yourself and let us know where in the world you are, your favorite play memory, and one fun fact. You've joined at a great time as the Grand Unplugged starts today!

Our community is growing and we have some talented and dedicated community owners here. Today is your day to tell us a little bit more. 🦉Who are you and who do your serve? 🔂 In 1 or 2 sentences, describe your community. 🔗 Drop a link to your about page. Comment on 1 or 2 communities that interest you. Let’s support each other and build new relationships. If I missed your name, it’s not personal, with over 80 members, I’m not sure who has a community🤫 @Janell Bitton @Allan R. @Blue Mojo @Brenda Chilstrom @Celia Kibler @Daniel Cavaretta @Des Cooke @Elizabeth Houston @Evelene Sterling @Michelle Fuentes @Gus Gray @Amy Grantham @Jose Guerra @Heather Wilson @Katya McEwen @Lisa Vanderveen @Maryna Tempalova @Max Orlewicz @Mayelice Castro @Natasha Bryant @Paul Wren @Ruben Plasmeijer @Ramona Zihlke @Rene Kerkdyk @Roslyn Hill @Tim Tindle @Wendy Lee-Chu @Yu-Tzu Huang

We’ve had so many new folks join in the last month, I think it’s time for a fun game of introductions. Now, when I’m conducting in person training, I usually do this by passing around of toilet paper and asking everyone to tear off as many sheets as they’d like. No further instructions are given. After everyone has taken their share, I then let them know it’s time to share one fact for each square (or sheet) they took. That usually gets folks talking. Since we don’t have any toilet paper, let’s roll the virtual dice instead. For each dot that you get, share something about yourself. I’ll start. PS: This is on the honor system. https://www.calculator.net/dice-roller.html

There’s a moment you probably know well. Your kid walks into the room and says, “I’m boooored.” And almost instantly, you feel pressure to solve it. This week’s Playful Shift will be all about boredom, the science, some strategies, and more. Check the calendar for details. When I was growing up, I quickly learned saying, “I’m bored” usually meant “here come some chores!” So, growing up in an era where self-entertainment was key, I discovered how to keep boredom at bay. Today, the pendulum has shifted, maybe those of us who lived through the “bored = chores era” thought we were being helpful. Can you relate? We answer the cry by suggesting activities, or we offer screens. Maybe we throw out craft ideas. We mentally scroll through every possible option trying to “fix” the boredom before it turns into whining, fighting, or chaos. Raise your hand if you can relate. 🙋🏻‍♀️ But here’s the thing I’ve been re-learning. Boredom is often the space right before creativity wakes up. Researchers studying the brain’s “default mode network” have found that when the brain is not locked onto a task or flooded with stimulation, it starts connecting ideas, replaying experiences, imagining possibilities, and building internal narratives. In simpler terms, the brain starts wandering on purpose. That wandering matters. Let me say that again, the wandering matters! It’s where pretend games are born. It’s where inventions begin. It’s where kids suddenly decide to build a fort, write a comic, make up a dance, or turn a cardboard box into a dragon cave. The hard part is that boredom usually does not look magical at first. It looks uncomfortable. A lot of modern parenting culture has quietly convinced us that we should constantly enrich, entertain, optimize, and supervise childhood. But childhood was never designed to run on nonstop stimulation. Kids need some empty space. Not endless empty space. Not neglect. Not “figure it out completely alone while I disappear for six hours.” But enough room for their own ideas to start bubbling up instead of always receiving ideas from us.