Hi all, welcome to our next (vaguely) monthly update! A bumper one for the start of February (yeah, I know it’s technically not February until tomorrow, but I’m away for 2 weeks!)
First of all, for all you fellow procrastinators out there, the deadline for submissions to the annual Playful Learning Conference is Monday 3rd Feb! Remember, the panic of pulling together a last minute submission adds extra sauce to your proposal 😂 The topic is Surprise and Disguise.
We’ve a draft line up for our February (online) meet up on the theme of compassionate and playful pedagogies, more details will go onto our website shortly (as long as I do it before disappearing abroad for two weeks!). If you haven’t signed up already, give us a shout for the Teams link!
There is time yet to join us in Scotland for our next in person meeting! We’ve a date (22nd to 23rd May), a place (University of Strathclyde) and a theme, “permission to play”. Plan your travel, get your thinking caps on and book your place. (More information is on the booking form.) If you would like to offer a session during the day, please contact andywalsh999@gmail.com with your suggestions.
If you’re within reach of Scotland (Edinburgh), there is also Chaos play, on 15th February, an interactive workshop for a bargain £5 with PLA member Dan Castro. They ask “What is the role of play in animation, visual theatre and puppetry?” .“Join artist Anthony Schrag alongside Dan Castro, Mamoru Iriguchi and Lucy McGreal for a cosy conversation as we find common threads between forms, and then explore these meeting points, where we’ll we host an active play session together.”
An interesting call for papers and “save the date” for the 9th May, especially as two PLA friends are keynoting (Rikke Toft Nørgård and Nicola Whitton). “2025’s Islands of Innovation event, themed Theme Parks of Innovation, aims to connect educators, educational developers, and learning technologists worldwide. Sessions will feature a variety of interactive activities, networking opportunities, and a swathe of innovative ideas.“
We’d also like to shout out to PLA members Suzanne and Kiu who successfully ran a playful #LTHEchat Tweetchat (Flutterchat now it’s moved to Bluesky?) last week: https://lthechat.com/2025/01/20/lthe-chat-315-playful-learning/
Finally, our friends at InnoPlay, who hosted us for our last meet up in Exeter, have launched their Spring (31st March to 4th April) and Summer (16th – 20th) workshop dates and bookings, which we’re sure will interest some of you. You can get an idea of their gorgeous playful space and the wonderful things they do from our Exeter event materials.
Phew! I think that’s enough for now, isn’t it fabulous to see so many lovely playful things happening?