{"id":3624,"date":"2025-11-10T10:19:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T15:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/?p=3624"},"modified":"2026-03-06T10:52:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:52:58","slug":"turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSince we stopped allowing phones in class, I\u2019ve noticed such a positive shift in my students. They\u2019re more engaged in our discussions, more respectful of each other, and far more focused on their work. Without the constant pull of their screens, they\u2019re connecting through conversation, sharing ideas, and really diving into the stories we read together. It\u2019s brought a new sense of community and enthusiasm to our classroom. They seem genuinely happier to be part of the learning community.\u201d – 6th Grade Teacher, New York\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the first time in years, students in New York and other states returned to school without something they have come to depend on daily\u2014their phones. This seismic transition will undoubtedly require time and patience from students and teachers alike, and presents an opportunity for everyone to engage positively.<\/span><\/p>\n

When kids impulsively reach for their phones, they\u2019re usually doing so in search of a quick boost: the chuckle from looking at a meme, the affirmation from getting likes, and the social element throughout. Play is the ideal strategy to meet those same needs in a way that gets kids moving, smiling, and practicing important life skills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This fall, use brain breaks and minute movers to re-energize the room when you see students starting to look fatigued. Take intentional time for teambuilding and cooperative play to support communication and strategic thinking. Gamify a lesson to increase the appeal and maximize retention. Whatever your objective, Playworks has a resource or a service to get it done. Start by checking out some <\/span>tips for creating supportive play in your community<\/span><\/a> and reach out directly for more information on our services in New York and New Jersey – we\u2019ll help you Fall into play!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/h3>\n

Recent training with The Metropolitan Museum of Art was a big success! We convened with volunteers who support young visitors to the Museum\u2019s 81st Street Studio Play Space and explored various strategies with them. These included positive framing and reinforcement, using inclusive language, modeling energy and joy, encouraging participation, debriefing through play, employing attention signals, and deepening relationship-building\u2014all tools that participants can use to make their interactions with children and caregivers both impactful and enjoyable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Game: Everyone\u2019s It Tag<\/a><\/h3>\n

The mere mention of\u2026gasp!\u2026 \u2018Tag\u2019 elicits images of chaos: kids flailing around in an ever-expanding cloud of dust and shrieks. Many students love tag for precisely the same reasons that many teachers don\u2019t – it\u2019s a rare occasion when they\u2019re allowed to be loud and wild.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot to like about the game of Tag – it\u2019s exciting, ever-changing, and can keep a large group of kids actively engaged for long periods of time. Still, it\u2019s not inherently inclusive and often results in conflict and safety concerns. That\u2019s where Playworks comes in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking for more safe and structured Tag games?\u00a0 Try on <\/span>Bandage Tag<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Watch Your Back Tag<\/span><\/a>, or <\/span>Magic Tag<\/span><\/a> for a fun collaborative twist. You\u2019re it!<\/span><\/p>\n

Our <\/span>game library<\/span><\/a> has an entire section dedicated to <\/span>Tag Games<\/span><\/a> that maintain all the excitement and dynamism of the original while completely reimagining rules and roles in order to make the game safer and accessible to everyone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Practical Tips: Recruit Older Students as Leaders<\/h3>\n

The Junior Coach Leadership Program is a powerful initiative the gives older students the opportunity to build self-esteem, take on responsibility, and grow as leaders\u2014all while making recess more inclusive and fun for everyone. Junior Coaches help shape a more structured, supportive, and welcoming playground environment by leading games and encouraging positive behavior among younger students. Here are some of the jobs student leaders can hold on the playground:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Line Captain\u00a0<\/strong>Help smooth transitions in and out of recess. Junior Coaches can lead chants, movement games like Follow the Leader, or cheers as the class lines up.<\/li>\n
  • High Fiver<\/strong>\u00a0Promote positive sportsmanship by encouraging student leaders to give high fives and share compliments like, \u201cNice try kicking the ball!\u201d or \u201cI love how you included your teammate!\u201d<\/li>\n
  • Shoe Tie-er<\/strong>\u00a0Some students love showing off their shoe-tying skills. There\u2019s always a need\u2014especially with the younger ones!<\/li>\n
  • Game Leader<\/strong>\u00a0Junior Coaches can support and run staple games like four square, wall ball, soccer, or basketball. This helps games run smoothly and keeps more kids engaged.<\/li>\n
  • Equipment Manager<\/strong>\u00a0Empower students to distribute and collect playground equipment before and after recess. This role not only gives students ownership, but also cuts down on lost items.<\/li>\n
  • Recess Buddy\u00a0<\/strong>Some students hang back during recess. Junior Coaches can help bring them into the fold by inviting them to join games and making them feel seen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cSince we stopped allowing phones in class, I\u2019ve noticed such a positive shift in my students. They\u2019re more engaged in our discussions, more respectful of each other, and far more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":3628,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-3624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-updates"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTurn Teamwork in Playful Activities - New York \/ New Jersey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cSince we stopped allowing phones in class, I\u2019ve noticed such a positive shift in my students. They\u2019re more engaged in our discussions, more respectful of each other, and far more…\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cSince we stopped allowing phones in class, I\u2019ve noticed such a positive shift in my students. They\u2019re more engaged in our discussions, more respectful of each other, and far more […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New York \/ New Jersey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-10T15:19:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-06T15:52:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"761\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"343\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jglasser\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jglasser\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jglasser\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#\/schema\/person\/5f265d8dc79df4f39e79135a9d81958b\"},\"headline\":\"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-10T15:19:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-06T15:52:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/\"},\"wordCount\":788,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Updates\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/\",\"name\":\"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities - New York \/ New Jersey\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-10T15:19:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-06T15:52:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#\/schema\/person\/5f265d8dc79df4f39e79135a9d81958b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png\",\"width\":761,\"height\":343},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/\",\"name\":\"New York \/ New Jersey\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#\/schema\/person\/5f265d8dc79df4f39e79135a9d81958b\",\"name\":\"jglasser\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47a9e59fa3b6679c126980c73405a01456eb8b2203b0d9ba5075dcdcdd053322?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47a9e59fa3b6679c126980c73405a01456eb8b2203b0d9ba5075dcdcdd053322?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"jglasser\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/author\/jglasser\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities - New York \/ New Jersey","description":"\u201cSince we stopped allowing phones in class, I\u2019ve noticed such a positive shift in my students. They\u2019re more engaged in our discussions, more respectful of each other, and far more…","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities","og_description":"\u201cSince we stopped allowing phones in class, I\u2019ve noticed such a positive shift in my students. They\u2019re more engaged in our discussions, more respectful of each other, and far more […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/","og_site_name":"New York \/ New Jersey","article_published_time":"2025-11-10T15:19:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-06T15:52:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":761,"height":343,"url":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"jglasser","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"jglasser","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/"},"author":{"name":"jglasser","@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#\/schema\/person\/5f265d8dc79df4f39e79135a9d81958b"},"headline":"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities","datePublished":"2025-11-10T15:19:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-06T15:52:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/"},"wordCount":788,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png","articleSection":["Updates"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/","url":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/","name":"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities - New York \/ New Jersey","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png","datePublished":"2025-11-10T15:19:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-06T15:52:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#\/schema\/person\/5f265d8dc79df4f39e79135a9d81958b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Hero-image-e1762355843911.png","width":761,"height":343},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/2025\/11\/10\/turn-teamwork-in-playful-activities\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Turn Teamwork in Playful Activities"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/","name":"New York \/ New Jersey","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#\/schema\/person\/5f265d8dc79df4f39e79135a9d81958b","name":"jglasser","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47a9e59fa3b6679c126980c73405a01456eb8b2203b0d9ba5075dcdcdd053322?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47a9e59fa3b6679c126980c73405a01456eb8b2203b0d9ba5075dcdcdd053322?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"jglasser"},"url":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/author\/jglasser\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3624"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3675,"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3624\/revisions\/3675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3624"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.playworks.org\/new-york-new-jersey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=3624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}