Welcome
to the home of
playful, positive kids.

Welcome

to the Home of
Playful, Positive Kids

Nothing lights up the brain like play.

-Stuart Brown MD

But another part of the evolutionary story is that play is a satisfying good in itself – a source of joy, laughter, and fun for parents as well as children. If it had no other rationale, the sheer pleasure of play would be justification enough.

-Dr. Alison Gopnick

Theater Teacher Playing Acting Games With Kids, Jocelyn Greene

Hi, I’m Jocelyn

I’m an educator, children’s theater director, and a parent.
There is so much noise out there about what you “should” be doing with your kid to help them succeed. But I’m starting to feel like it is all really simpler than we think: that in order to create thriving children and successful humans, we just need to be playing more.

As a mom, I use my acting training and classroom curriculum to work through parenting challenges, survive snow days and most of all have fun with my kid!
I love watching my son grow into his own person and have fun just keeping up with him.
I can’t wait to share my tools with you. Thank you for being a part of Child’s Play in Action!
You can read more about me here.

Parent teaching kid, spending quality time together, family and playtime, mom

Play is not only our creative drive; it’s a fundamental way of learning.

-David Elkind

For The Latest

Why “What Are You Doing?” is my New Favorite Funny Game

This awesome theater games does double-duty as a living room staple! You can play this during transitional time when you are looking to avoid screens and capitalize on imagination! Watch classroom teaching artists play “What are you doing?” do get inspired for your own playtime!

8 Ways A Simple Puppet Can be the Best Parenting Hack

Playing with a puppet is more than just fun and games. Watch Child’s Play NY teachers use puppets to get kids communicating about emotions and using empathy. This is an essential tool in the parenting arsenal to help manage behavior and get in touch with our children’s rich emotional lives. Happy puppeteering!

Gifts for Kids to Spark Curiosity and a Love of Learning

While I love a good pillow fort, I also appreciate the value of quality games and toys! Here’s four fabulous gifts for kids that tickle the brain and capitalize on the kind of learning that inspires them. These are all less than $15 and are super portable too. I like these for road trips or for after-dinner playing with your kids. Happy gifting!

For Parents

3 Simple Tricks That Will Make Your Kids Eat Better

Kids eat healthier when mealtimes are fun! Here’s some inspiration for table games and ways to use improv to get great eaters.

How To Be Silly And Boost Mindfulness At The Same Time!

Here’s a game I love to enhance mindfulness, brain power and at the same time get some great laughs out of your kids! The good news it requires very little “stuff” to make this game fun. Like most of the dramatic play tools I can offer you, this game can spark your child’s creativity using things you already have on hand. I call it “Test Your Touch!”

How To Make Clean Up Fun

Using positivity and playfulness you can transform even the most annoying task of clean up, into a game! Watch this short video I made about the Clean-up Game! I use this tactic in my classrooms and in my living room. Learn about positive discipline techniques to...

For Teachers

Got grit? This is the exact pep talk that will make kids work hard

Motivate your kids and learn more about grit. In this week’s video we avoid the pitfall of “good job” and learn some other ways to praise kids. And read Jocelyn’s pre-show speech for her cast of Music Man!

Feelings and How to Help Kids Talk About Them

Give kids mastery over their emotions. Let them identify and communicate about their feelings by talking “to” them! If they give voice (literally) to parts of their brain, they gain mindfulness and perspective over their worry.

Make Reading A Game With These Simple Tools

Soup up your story time: turn your books into games when you do reading the Child's Play way! One of the perks of growing up with actor-parents is that story time was...awesome. My mom and dad picked great books, threw themselves into the dialogue, lifted up the...