Research studies show that all students—young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural—benefit immensely from classrooms filled with art, creativity, and laughter. Fun, playfulness, creative thinking, and individual expression reinforce positive experiences, which in turn lead to more engaged students, better classroom environments, and successful learning outcomes. Designed for K-12 educators, The Playful Classroom describes how teachers can develop a playful mindset for giving students meaningful, relevant and fun learning experiences. This unique real-world guide provides you with everything you need to incorporate engaging, hands-on lessons and creative activities, regardless of the level and subject you teach. Building on contemporary and seminal works on learning theory and play pedagogy, the authors explain how to inspire your students by bringing play into your classroom. This clear, user-friendly guide supplies practical strategies and effective solutions for adding the missing ingredients to your classroom culture. Access to the authors’ companion website provides videos, learning experiences, and downloadable teaching and learning resources.

Section 1 : The case for play. Hey y'all! (yes, all y'all) -- Play as a behavior -- Play as a mindset -- Benefits of play -- Excuses -- Reframing play -- Section 2 : Play inspires creativity. Friday afternoons and Monday mornings -- Begin with the experience -- Variations on play in the classroom -- Creativity as discovery and invention -- Make time for what matters -- Finding balance -- Section 3 : Play builds trust. Play builds trust -- Don't sit and get -- A story about trust -- Administrators must trust -- Teacher's can trust -- Parents can trust -- Students already trust -- Section 4 : Play builds relationships. Our biological predilection -- The impact of the germ -- Love first, teach second -- Play personalities -- The theme park experience -- Learning with them, alongside them -- Section 5 : Play builds community. Relevance and the four-legged stool -- Fostering a sense of belonging -- Getting to know students personally -- Supporting academic success -- Knowing students' names -- Creating interesting and applicable lessons -- Beyond the red school door -- Across the country, and around the world -- Section 6 : Play nurtures growth. The truth about success -- Encourage a spirit of growth -- Your brain, an infomercial -- Creating a culture of growth through play -- A lesson of play : nurturing growth for an administrator -- Section 7 : Get out there and play! The playful mindset -- Look for playful moments (awareness) -- Time, space, opportunity (intentionality) -- Play, mess up, learn, repeat (process) -- The more we play, the more playful we become (habit) -- Play makes you happy. Happy people play. (results) -- Get out there and play -- Appendix A : Southernisms and their meanings -- Appendix B : The playful classroom teacher's reading guide.