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 have some fun. Did you know Skool has a map feature? You can pin your location, don’t worry, it’s not exact! Why not check our community map and see if there’s someone near you. It’s always nice to be able to share ideas and maybe play dates. Now, let’s have some fun amongst ourselves. Share: 1. Something that makes your town unique 2. A unique food or event for your area 3. What the weather is today

My kids have set screentime. They know when and for how long they can play in their phones/tablets/watch TV. Screen time was up today.... And they wanted mooooore. (Of course) They didn't want to do anything. I suggested the following; Color, play with magna tiles, paint, finger paint, take the dog for a walk, play Simon says (I got his idea from the classroom here), color on an Amazon cardboard box, Legos, play with a laser pointer with the cats, and vacuum the floor. Every suggestion above was met with a hard NO! -I have two 4-year-old twins. I was lost. No idea. What to do. So I got a pen and broke up the cardboard box. I started writing. No in in the pen. My daughter told me it wasn't working. I looked at her confused... I asked her what I can do if this pen didn't work. She lit up! Dad! I have markers iny room, I'll go get them! I told her to grab a bunch. She came down with a bunch of markers. Then we all colored for the next 45minutes. Sometimes you just need to play. Then they will join in.

Welcome to eleven incredible humans joining our play-filled community this week! @Kata Rebbenszki is here with her music-loving 1-year-old daughter, eager to be fully present without the distractions of phones and housework. @Leah Connolly shares that same goal with her 15-month-old, both are seeking fresh activity ideas to support their little ones' development and would do well connecting around creative setups for that stage. @Hydee Douglas is a self-described hot mess doing her best, ready to spend more quality playtime with her 2.5-year-old. @Dana Britton has a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl who thrive on learning through play at play center and outdoors. You may want to connect with @Jen Staniforth, who runs The Baby Sleep Skool and brings 20 years of experience with littlies plus her own crew of six to the table. @Amy Jess is a mum to one fur child and one tiny human, hunting for new play ideas with her camera and appetite for travel in tow. @Danielle Wilson keeps it simple with her energetic 20-month-old boy. @Chanie Twersky is a mother of eight and inner child expert who leads Peak Parenting, she'd be a brilliant resource for any of you navigating multiple kids or big feelings and Chanie is one of our speakers at the upcoming Unplug & Play Summit in August! @Caitlin Siegers is determined to keep her 5-year-old and twin 7-month-old boys engaged without defaulting to screens. @T M has three kids, a firecracker 7-year-old, a tinkering 10-year-old, and an unmotivated 17-year-old and is calling out for help. @Celia Kibler runs Be A Better Parent and has five kids plus nine grandchildren, all ages, you may want to reach out to her for strategies around raising calm, respectful kids. @Mayelice Castro teaches kids French through play in just 10 minutes a day with The 10 Minutes French Club and could offer language-infused activities. @Brenda Chilstrom is a pediatric OT and feeding specialist behind Preschool Director Network, Raising Curious Eaters, and ULTIMATE Preschool Playbook sensory and emotional regulation are her specialties and all three of these lovely ladies are speakers at the Unplug & Play summit, too!

Greetings! As we welcome new members from other platforms like Facebook and Instagram, navigating Skool can be a bit confusing but after a day or two, it’s pretty easy to navigate. Here are some quick explanations. I’m working on a visual too. The landing page "Community" tab at top will be general discussions. This is where I will let you know about new items play prompts, games, and general conversation. Join in the conversations! We value your perspective. The "Classroom" tab is where you will find all labs and other resources. This is for you. The "Members" tab shows you all members of the community. The "Map" tab shows where all members are located on the earth The "Leaderboards" tab will show people that are engaging within the community. This platform was designed for human engagement (which I love because I'm a “online people person"). If you click on your profile picture, you'll see your engagement score. You have a different engagement scores for each community you join on the platform based on your engagement in that space. Jump in and join a conversation. I’m so happy you’re here! I’ve tagged our newest members. Why not pop in and say Hi? @Caitlin Siegers @Jake Newton @Dana Britton @Becca Kluchka @T M @Sophie Swallow @Leah Connolly @Kaitlyn Fair @Samantha Cross @Lauren O'Rourke @Lyndal P @Shelly Boyes @Tania Petrone @Natalee Pinnock @Sarah O Toole @Biyinzika Joshua @Neha Verma @Lani Carey @LaWanda Walker @Ashleigh Pollard @Senka Kovacevic @N Nijdam @Corrie Herrin @Stacey Hayward @Iryna Miroshnychenko @Abs F @Hira Palla @Dan Mowinski @Gen G