Welcome to Let Grow Play Club on ChangeX. We believe that children learn important skills and life lessons when adults don’t get involved every step of the way. By hosting a Let Grow Play Club at your school or organisation, you can help kids of all ages enjoy unstructured free play outside of regular school hours. We're looking forward to helping you get started!
- Lenore Skenazy, President & Co-Founder of Let Grow
The Idea
Let Grow Play Club itself is very simple: Just let kids onto the playground or into the gym before or after school and let them play! Play Club involves unstructured play, kids of all ages playing together and adults stepping back.
Why this Matters
Many of today’s children spend their out-of-school time in adult-directed activities—from soccer to d...
Let Grow Play Club itself is very simple: Just let kids onto the playground or into the gym before or after school and let them play! Play Club involves unstructured play, kids of all ages playing together and adults stepping back.
Why this Matters
Many of today’s children spend their out-of-school time in adult-directed activities—from soccer to dance class to drama to tutoring. Even children who do have free time, like after school, are often glued to screens because parents are afraid to allow them outside. At the same time,
the pressure of high-stakes testing has resulted in more seat time and dwindling recess during the school day. Is it any wonder that behaviour problems are increasing and more children than ever are suffering from anxiety and depression?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “ The benefits of play cannot really be overstated in terms of mitigating stress, improving academic skills and helping to build the safe, stable and nurturing relationships that buffer against toxic stress and build social-emotional resilience.”
An easy, almost no-cost solution for schools, rec centers, and other organizations is to host a Let Grow Play Club, where kids of all ages can enjoy unstructured free play outside of regular school hours.
"Many kids don’t get the social interaction they need to develop into empowered adults. Play Club is an intentional way for us to provide that for our students."
- Kevin Stinehart, Elementary School Teacher, Central, South Carolina
How to get involved
Time:
Planning and preparation will take 3-4 hours. Once you get started, it's up to you how often you host your Play Club, it could be every day or it could be once a week!
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