Southeast

Playing Across Age Groups
2023-12-13
There are many ways to play!
Join us as for the second webinar in the return of The Game Plan, a free, four-part series designed to provide practical solutions for principals, district administrators, teachers, and leaders of youth serving organizations.
As students grow and learn new skills, their approach to play evolves too. Discover games and resources that engage students across different grade levels, ages, and abilities.
The webinar will be offered twice, at 12:30 PST/3:30 EST and 3:30 PST/6:30 EST.
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Resolving Conflicts Through Play
2024-02-14 12:30 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Learn fun, easy conflict resolution techniques students can utilize!
Join us as for the third webinar in the return of The Game Plan, a free, four-part series designed to provide practical solutions for principals, district administrators, teachers, and leaders of youth serving organizations.
Disagreements on the playground can be an opportunity for children to develop healthy and productive conflict-resolution skills. Explore strategies you can use to encourage students to resolve disagreements independently and create a culture of cooperation.
The webinar will be offered twice, at 12:30 PST/3:30 EST and 3:30 PST/6:30 EST.
All webinars will last approximately one hour and will be recorded.
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Supporting Student Mental Health Through Play Webinar
2024-05-16 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Create a more playful environment that supports every child’s mental well-being!
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Playworks and the American Academy of Pediatrics are teaming up for a special webinar exploring the ecosystem of care for kids’ mental health and the transformative role of play.
This virtual conversation will engage medical professionals, educators, and other community leaders to shine a spotlight on the various people who form the ecosystem of care for youth and how play based practices can make a difference across all of those relationships and settings.
Attendees will:

Identify the various roles within the ecosystem of care for kids’ mental health
Learn about the benefits of universal supports and protective factors on youth mental health
Understand how play positively supports youth mental health
Take away practical tips for utilizing play in your roles

This webinar will begin at 12pm ET / 11am CT / 10am MT / 9am PT and will last approximately one hour. It will be recorded and the recording will be available following the event.
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Experts

Gigi Chawla, MD, MHA, pediatrician, received her medical degree and business degree from the University of MN and is the Vice President and Chief of General Pediatrics at Children’s Minnesota. In her role, she has oversight over primary care, rehabilitation services, and mental, developmental, and behavioral health, including development of an inpatient mental health pediatric unit, and partial hospitalization mental health programs. She is often called upon by the media for her pediatric expertise and is a regular contributor for the Minnesota Parent’s column and WCCO’s segment to “Ask the Pediatrician.” Her clinical areas of interest are the outpatient and inpatient care of complex special needs patients, premature infants, and ventilator dependent children. Dr. Chawla is also instrumental in advancing the organization’s forward-looking efforts around community engagement. Through internal efforts to better integrate school based care, primary care with behavioral health, social support services for families, as well as, external advocacy with government groups, she works to create an environment for child health that extends beyond the clinic. She is a Board Member and the state’s Medical Director for Reach Out and Read Minnesota. She’s been consistently named to Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine’s and Minnesota Monthly magazine’s Top Doctors annual list. In 2020, she received the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Women in Business Honoree award; and in 2023, she received the Women’s Health Leadership TRUST Honoree award for Health and Well-Being. She is a Board Member and Vice President of the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice. She is a member of the National Quality Forum’s Prevention and Population Health Committee. She has two amazing daughters who are changing the world.

Elizabeth Cushing is CEO of Playworks, a national organization dedicated to ensuring access to safe and healthy play for all kids. During her tenure Elizabeth has led Playworks’ scaling strategy, growing from a San Francisco Bay Area-focus to a national organization reaching more than 700,000 children every year. She is an advocate for collaboration amongst youth development organizations and is committed to making sure every kid gets to play every day.

Jessica Driscoll is the Assistant Principal at Marcy School for the Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to her role as an administrator, Jess served as a teacher at the 1st and 2nd grade levels and worked in the capacity of both Instructional Specialist and Literacy Coach. Jess strives to create a school culture that nurtures the whole child while cultivating a strong community of students, staff, and families.

Dr. Arwa K. Nasir, MBBS, MSc, MPH is Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. She is the chair of the AAP Committee on the Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. Her research focuses on the impact of family psychosocial wellbeing on child development and behavior, and the incorporation of family science and behavioral health into primary care pediatric practice and residency training. She is also engaged in global health research with a focus on the cross-cultural aspects of behavioral conditions and autism. Dr. Nasir spent the 2019/2020 academic year as a Fulbright scholar in Jordan teaching and researching cross cultural aspects of pediatric behavioral health.

Dr. Michael D. Patrick, Jr. is a board-certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He also serves as an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and an Attending Physician with the Section of Emergency Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Additionally, Dr. Patrick hosts the PediaCast and PediaCast CME Podcasts.

Thriving Through Play
2024-10-23 15:30 - 16:30 (America/New_York)
Get ready for the return of The Game Plan webinar series—now featuring exciting new topics! Playworks invites educators and administrators to join our free, four-part series designed to help bring the benefits of play to your school.
Play is an essential part of every child’s development, fostering social skills, creativity, and overall well-being. Learn practical strategies and insights to increase playtime at your school or site and ensure every child has the opportunity to benefit from recess.
We’ll also explore how play can create positive outcomes for kids and contribute to a healthy, engaged learning environment.
Each webinar will begin at 12:30 PST/3:30 EST and last about an hour. The webinar will be recorded for future viewing.
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Building Positive Relationships with Play
2024-12-03 15:30 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
The Game Plan webinar series is back with exciting new topics! Playworks invites educators and administrators to join our free, four-part series designed to help bring the benefits of play to your school.
Build stronger student-adult connections at recess with practical strategies for fostering positive relationships. We will explore the importance of adult buy-in and how involving adults in different roles can enhance the overall play experience.
With these strategies in place, you will be able to create a play environment where students and staff thrive together.
Each webinar will begin at 12:30 PST/3:30 EST and last about an hour. The webinar will be recorded for future viewing.
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Adapting Play for Every Space
2025-02-19 15:30 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
The Game Plan webinar series is back with exciting new topics! Playworks invites educators and administrators to join our free, four-part series designed to help bring the benefits of play to your school.
Learn how to make play work in any space, whether indoors, on blacktops or small playgrounds, or in unconventional areas.
This webinar will provide practical strategies to keep kids engaged, safe, and having fun to maximize your available space.
Each webinar will begin at 12:30 PST/3:30 EST and last about an hour. The webinar will be recorded for future viewing.
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Youth-led Play Shapes Tomorrow’s Leaders
2025-04-16 15:30 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
The Game Plan webinar series is back with exciting new topics! Playworks invites educators and administrators to join our free, four-part series designed to help bring the benefits of play to your school.
Unlock the power of youth-led play and see how it can transform your playground!
In this webinar, you’ll discover strategies to encourage children to be leaders during playtime, fostering creativity, confidence, and teamwork.
The webinar will begin at 12:30 PST/3:30 EST and last about an hour. The webinar will also be recorded for future viewing.
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