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
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.
Play is not only our creative drive; it’s a fundamental way of learning.
-David Elkind
For The Latest
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!
Emotions Charades and Other Games to Support Feeling Kids
Emotions Charades is a super fun and incredibly potent tool to help support EQ and empathy in our kids. Use these tips from our theater classrooms to inspire your games and learn about other playful ways that help kids come to terms with their emotions. In these highly charged times we live in, kids need support in identifying and expressing their feelings…let’s do it through play!
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...
For New Yorkers
Play touches and stimulates vitality, awakening the whole person – mind, body, intelligence and creativity.
-Viola Spolin
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