Below is a sample of what past participants have to say about Play’s the Thing: Facilitating Play for Young Children.

• I loved the opening: it really led us to a visceral place and identified the important aspects of play.
• [The case study presented by Barbara Field was] a very powerful story and a great example of how play heals across generations.
• Fantastic! I loved the chance to rework space, to examine different locations and review impact on play.
• Eye-opening and a bit of a call–to–arms.
• I was very open to the journey and got a tremendous amount out of it. It gave me a great sense of play purpose, use, and how it can influence the future. Very inspiring week and definitely fed my passion.
• So helpful and thought-provoking: nothing communicates better than direct observation of children.
• I expected to begin making the connection between what we know about the benefits of play and the greater nationwide campaign to restore play. I also expected to learn about playwork in England. This workshop exceeded all of my expectations.
• So beneficial for my work.
• I enjoyed this immensely and thought that it was presented in a way that made it applicable to my work. I would have enjoyed delving into it even further.
• I loved seeing the different perspectives, especially because I am not from a clinical background.
• Helped reignite my passion to challenge the “status quo” and follow my heart.
• I LOVED Kober and really was inspired by both the set up and the staff. Going to the playground was great, especially to see from others’ perspectives.
• Please have more of these!
• Beautiful, warm welcoming. Set the tone for a lot of camaraderie and exploration together.
• Wonderful food for thought.
• The only expectation I had was to become immersed in the world of play with folks on the cutting edge and that’s what I got.
• I just loved being in the same space with so many people wanting to effect change. Learned an incredible amount of new information. Increased my passion to advocate for and promote PLAY for children.
• It is a wonderful way to connect with children, what they need to do and what we need to do to foster their love of playing.
• More loose parts!
• The experience has given me specific “tools” to take back to the museum to teach staff about importance of play for children; be a stronger advocate for play opportunities, an “agent for change”; and provide “play training” for educators (i.e. teachers, YMCA, parents, policy makers, etc.).
• I know I can count on “my new comrades” to support me in advocating for play!