Play Associate Training
Play Associates are an essential part of the Imagination Playground play experience.
Imagination Playground's mission is to transform children's minds, bodies and spirits through play. Play Associates are trained adults who enable an environment in which children can direct their own play.
They allow play activities to evolve naturally by maintaining a safe and secure environment, and by varying and renewing the collection of blocks and loose parts.
Please make sure that anyone working with your Imagination Playground reads the User Manual carefully and completes our online training session.
get started with 3 essential documents:
watch our training video:
This video will introduce you to the concepts behind Imagination Playground, the daily responsibilities of a Play Associate, and provide you with many ideas on how to foster great play experiences for children.
you're ready to start the fun!
We invite you to become a part of our community of Play Associates and participate in our online forum to share your experiences and efforts to encourage free play.
supplemental documents:
research and other information:
- Download FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions, straight from the field.
- Download Articles
“Playwork and Play,” “Stop, Look, Listen,” and “Playworkers”.
- Download Playwork Primer
Written by London-based Playworker, Penny Wilson, and produced by the Alliance for Childhood, The Playwork Primer provides an overview of playwork, a brief history of its develop, as well as a glossary of terms that can help to guide your observations.
- "Loose Parts: What Does This Mean?"
Developed by Christine Belinda. Penn State Better Kid Care Program (2009)
- “The ‘Whys’ Have It! Why to Include Loose Parts on the Playground.”
Jim Dempsey and Eric Strickland. Scholastic Early Childhood Today, Staff Workshop Teacher Handout. (1999)
