This document provides an overview of a presentation on the neurological benefits of play in adults. It discusses how play is necessary for survival, healthy relationships, self-fulfillment, and mental health. Various forms of play and creativity are examined, including clinical play therapy, play therapy using video games, play therapy with families, music, crafting, learning new languages, and exercise. Benefits include improved memory, reasoning skills, attention, decision-making, and stress reduction. The presentation encourages incorporating more play and creativity into daily life and the classroom to support brain health and development.
2. Icebreaker
Imagine everyone in the room
speaks a different language.
Find a way to tell us about
yourself withouty using words.
3. “All people - and I mean scholars,
researchers and teachers, who in
any place have set themselves to
study children seriously - have
ended up by discovering not so
much about their limits and
weaknesses, but rather their
surprising and extraordinary
strengths and capabilities linked
with an inexhaustible need for
expression and realisation.”
-- Loris Malaguzzi,
founder of the Reggio
Emilia approach
4. Objectives
Upon completion of this
course, the learner will:
➢ define creativity
➢ summarize the benefits of creativity
➢ plan ways to be creative at home and in the classroom
➢ assess the creativity of various activities of their own and in the
classroom
of various creative activities
5. 30%
The dropout rate of early
childhood educators in 2015
Center for American Progress
6. Why?
➢ We’re caring; we don’t take lots of time for
ourselves.
➢ We have other stressors after work
➢ Underpaid
➢ We have the feeling that we’re not able to do it
all with what resources we have.
➢ We feel ineffectual and get stuck looking at
the short-term.
What’s the solution?
Play and Creativity
8. What are Play and Creativity?
➢ True play is purposeless. Psychology World
➢ Creativity is the use of imagination or original
ideas to create something. Oxford Dictionary
➢ Creativity is asking questions (Who? What?
Why? Where? When? How?)
➢ Creativity is the ability to take your ideas
seriously and implement them. BrianKim
9. Why is Play so
Important?
Dr. Stuart Brown
Researcher, founder of National Institute for
Play
10. Play is Necessary for Survival
Research with rats
➢ One group played; the other did not.
➢ Both groups were then introduced to an environment
containing a cat.
➢ The rats that did not play
➧ Overly fearful, to the point that they starved
themselves
➢ The rats that were allowed to play
➧ Explored surroundings and outwitted the cat
Brown 2015
12. What’s the first thing you
do when a new child
comes into your room?
Are you stern or are you
playful and welcoming?
Human trust is established
through play signals
➢ Inviting facial expression
➢ Gentle tone of voice
➢ Open body language
13. Necessary for Self-
Fulfillment
When you last
learned
something, were
you actively
engaged or were
you passive?
Think of a clear
childhood
memory when you
played with joy
and connect it to
your life now. Do
you see any
similarities in
your work?
Brown 2015
14. Play is Necessary for our
Mental Health
➢ In 1966, Dr. Brown heard about a horrific
murder/suicide and asked himself
“Why?”
➢ Found that the murderer had an
abusive and restrictive home life,
without play.
➢ He continued his research with
prisoners and found a strong
connection between lack of play and
criminal behavior as an adult.
15. “The opposite of play is
not work; [it’s]
depression.”
Dr. Stuart
Brown
16. Work can leave us fulfilled and
challenged.
The definition of depression is
a persistent feeling of
sadness or loss of interest.
Imagine a world without play.
Without art. Without music.
Without laughter.
17. Clinical Play Therapy for Adults
Play helps us overcome intense emotions that we
would not be able to address otherwise.
➢ Sand has a soothing nature
➢ Art
➧ We can’t talk about it, but we can draw it or
write about it.
➧ Roleplay to find solutions
➢ Many comedians draw from tragic personal
stories.
Eller 2011
18. Play Therapy in Depressive
Patients with Video Games
➢ Social games to combat social anxiety
➢ Puzzle games- keep hands busy, keep brain focused
on one task
➢ Sense of accomplishment
➢ Representations of depression and anxiety like
“Depression Quest” and “That Dragon, Cancer”
➢ Games “Deep”, “Anxiety Attacks” teach breathing
techniques
➢ Virtual reality technology for immersive experience
Geek & Sundry, 2015
19. Play Therapy with Families
➢ Builds relationships and family cohesiveness.
➢ Gives them another task to focus on besides the
therapist
➢ Keeps them engaged
➢ Children in family play therapy who saw a parent as
threatening changed their perception when their parent
played with them.
Lowenstein 2010
22. Benefits of Creative Thinking
➢ By-products created the world we live in
➢ Cross-marketable skills
➧ Executive functions
➧ Flexible thinking, reasoning, working
memory, self-regulation
➢ Instigate and adapt to change
➧ Initiative
➧ Optimism
➢ Opens opportunities for growth
➢ Problem-solving in a safe environment
Brian Kim
23. How to be creative:
Step back from the situation and observe
Ask questions
Implement your ideas
24. Let’s Try Some Problem-Solving
with Creativity!
A man lives on the twelfth floor of an apartment
building. Every morning he takes the elevator
down to the lobby and leaves the building. In the
evening, he gets into the elevator, and, if there is
someone else in the elevator -- or if it was raining
that day -- he goes back to his floor directly.
Otherwise, he goes to the tenth floor and walks
up two flights of stairs to his apartment.
Rinkworks.com Why?
25. How can we play and be creative
in the classroom?
“ Stand aside for a while and leave
room for learning, observe carefully
what children do, and then, if you
have understood well, perhaps
teaching will be different from
before. ”
- Loris Malaguzzi
26. ▸ We can expand our own creativity by
encouraging the children’s.
▸ We’re very good at giving a purpose to
children’s play, but children are naturally
playful and creative.
▸ Provide open-ended questions and projects.
▸ Creativity is a skill. Just as we meet their
academic and social needs, we can meet
their creative needs.
28. How do you unwind after work? How
effective have you found it to be?
Write your response below.
29. Our brains are constantly
changing
➢ As long as we’re alive, our brains continually adapt
to our surroundings and stimuli, even as they lose
their elasticity. This flexibility and ability to adapt
is called “neuroplasticity.”
➧ Prevents atrophy, delays dementia
➢ Researchers are continually conducting studies on
the brain and the effects of various activities.
(Merzenich et. al, 2006)
30. Music
➢ Imagine images or memories.
➧ Fantasia
➧ Think about your favorite song. Where were you
the first time you heard it? Who were you with?
➢ Stimulates emotions
➧ How does your favorite piece of music make you
feel? Is there any music that brings up negative
emotions?
Barnes, 2015
According to a study using an fMRI machine, we use
the whole brain when we listen to music.
31. Music
➢ Connects us by changing our heart rate in time to the
music.
➧ We don’t listen to Greg and Steve during naptime
and we don’t play soft music for energetic gross
motor activities.
➢ Music is also used in a wide variety of therapies.
➧ Children with speech issues or autism will learn
routines through music or be asked to sing
something instead of saying it.
32. Helpful in memory
➢ We remember information better when we have a tune.
➢ Studies show students who played an instrument had
better language and reading scores in school
(Schellenberg 2004)
➢ Pattern recognition and mental representation scores
improved significantly in students who were given a 3-
year piano instruction (Costa-Giomi 1998).
➢ Dr. Sacks: Awakenings, Musicology
➧ "For the vast majority of students, music can be
every bit as important as reading or writing."
Locker, 2014
Music
33. Video Games
Dr. Daphne Bavelier, Biological Psychologist
at University of Geneva
➢ Improves vision and focus
➢ Task switching
➢ Problem-solving
➢ Decision-making
➧Strategy, time and resource management
➧Moral decisions
➢ Empathy and socialization
➢ Social games teach teamwork, cooperation, and
leadership through various jobs working together
in order to reach a goal.
Bavelier, 2013
34. Crafting, Learning a New Language
➢ Knitting or crocheting soothes “fight or flight”
response through repetitive behavior
➧ Focus on the moment and the task
➧ Know that what we need to do is possible
➢ Drawing, painting, etc. elicit “flow,” which reduces
strong negative emotions
➢ Improve reasoning skills
➢ Memory
➢ Attention span
➢ Visuospatial processing
➢ Problem-solving
Wilson 2015
36. TV
➢ Hypnotic state
➧ Our brain is more active when we’re sleeping
➢ Reduction in higher brain functions
➧ Revert to basics: sleep, food, survival
➧ Lack of critical analysis
➢ Excessive TV watching has been linked to dementia and
alzheimer's.
➢ Artificial emotions
➢ Sluggishness through slowed circulation and metabolism
Eruptingmind.com
37. Internet
➢ In moderation, using search engines can boost brain
function and activation patterns. (Small, 2009)
➢ Excessive use causes “Addict’s brain”
➧ Our brain releases dopamine (chemical linked to
addictive behaviors) to reinforce pleasurable behaviors
➧ Abstaining from internet activity for just one day caused
withdrawal symptoms (Moeller, et al Salzburg Academy on Media and Social Change)
➢ Pavlovian response
➢ May decrease positive social behaviors and satisfaction
levels
➧ anonymity, comparison to others (Kross 2013)
➢ Decreased ability to focus
38. ITERS and ECERS limit screen time.
Research suggests that screen time
in young children inhibits working
memory, verbal skills, and
intelligence.
Are we really helping our brains by
bingeing as adults?
Sigman, 2010
40. Exercise your brain through play
in 5 minutes or less
➢ Write!
➧ Find a sentence starter online to help you find
ideas to write about
➧ Write about the first word you see
➢ Draw
➧ Listen to music and draw what you hear
➧ Doodle
➧ Finish an unfinished piece
➧ Color. Find a coloring book or just scribble.
➢ Sing/Hum
➧ Singing has the added bonus of getting children’
s attention in a new way. Next time, try singing
your command.
➧ Other languages and playing with your voice
41. ➢ Dance like no one’s watching.
➢ Name games and puns
➢ Fidget. Play with string or blocks and see what
happens.
➢ Copy the children and encourage them to copy
you.
➢ Talk a walk and let your thoughts wander with
questions. “What if?” “I wonder why?” “How
does…?”
➢ Put a caption on a picture
More 5-Minute Exercises
42. Find one way to be creative at home and one way to
be creative in the classroom. Use the previous list or
make up one of your own. Work alone or with a friend.
Write them down so you can implement them!
Home:
Classroom:
43. Before you leave today,
stay and play or be
creative for 5 minutes.
CHALLENGE!
THANK YOU!
44. Trainer Info
Amy Latta discovered her passion for early childhood
education in 2008 and hasn’t looked back. Since then,
she has taught all ages in the US, from birth to
afterschool (but her favorite is preschool). She has a
husband, two cats, and a classroom full of children.
Email: cerrida82@gmail.com
Pinterest: TptKidAtHeart
Teacher store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.
com/Store/Kidatheart
Blog: pursuingwonder.blogspot.com
Follow DOCAEYC on Twitter @DOCAEYC
