Play On: Creating Bullying-Free Communities

Play On, an interactive symposium focused on harnessing the power of play to create bullying-free playgrounds and schools, is coming to Santa Monica’s Annenberg Community Beach House October 20. The half-day event is for parents, teachers, youth workers and others who care about bullying-prevention and making their schools and communities more inviting places to learn and play. Participants will learn useful techniques, tools, games and strategies they and their kids can immediately implement into their communities.

Hosted by Playworks, a national nonprofit that has been shown to reduce bullying in schools, including dozens in Southern California, the event features Kevin Carroll, acclaimed author of Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, as well as some of the country’s top experts on play and recess. Panelists will discuss social and emotional learning, empathy, bullying prevention and other issues that live on playgrounds and provide valuable insights and information that can be put to use immediately.

Play On also includes a hands-on training session on creating safe play spaces. Participants will learn valuable techniques to channel challenging behaviors into constructive actions as well as learn and play fun, engaging games that work on all playground configurations. The training session will introduce the importance of play and physical activity that is fun, safe, and inclusive; explore the benefits of play and the barriers youth face when accessing play, and provide tools and resources for creating an inclusive and respectful environment

In addition to the sessions and training for adults, Play On features fun, supervised activities for children 4 – 12. All sessions, lunch, parking, children's activities (and lunch) are included in the back-to-school admission price of $25 (adult + 1 child).

To learn more about Play On 2012 and to register online, visit www.playworks.org/playon2012.