HEALTHY PLAY

I teach guidance lessons in every classroom every other week. In recent weeks I have been teaching the Healthy Play curriculum to everyone in grades K-6. Healthy Play is a program developed by Charlie Steffens and Spencer Gorin of Creative Spirit, which promotes empathy and compassion for others. Through these games students achieve feelings of success and well-being while preventing bullying, intimidating or aggressive behaviors.

As stated in the book, Learning to Play, Playing to Learn (Steffens and Gorin), Healthy Play is based on the knowledge that:

1. Children like and want to play.
2. Play is the most natural form of learning.
3. Play incorporates all eight of the multiple intelligence styles of learning.
4. When play is practiced correctly, it is a positive emotional experience for all the participants.
5. Of all the learning concepts involved in Healthy Play, the most important one is the emphasis placed on the actual DOING of social skills/behaviors desired repetitively.