Welcome to the Playful Activity Library! We invite you to explore this curated collection of active, playful activities designed for use in adult education settings. This library supports our playful learning community by showcasing inspiring practices, sparking new ideas, and encouraging collaborative connections. We welcome all forms of playful approaches—whether it’s a quick icebreaker, a creative classroom activity, or a fully developed board game. Whatever your contribution, we’d love for you to share it with the community!
A playful, desk-based fidget designed to support communication, wellbeing and belonging in learning environments.
These fidgets are particularly suitable for higher education, induction and first-year learning, but can be adapted for other educational settings. Each student has a fidget that can be rotated or positioned to communicate different states or needs to teaching staff and peers without requiring them to interrupt a session or verbally ask for attention.
The fidget can be used to:
Normalise fidgeting as a legitimate way of supporting concentration, managing nervous energy and regulating attention.
Create a non-verbal communication system between students and teaching staff.
Allow students to indicate that they have a question, need help, or are okay and don’t need support.
Provide a visible way for students to indicate that they have submitted work and are waiting for feedback.
Reduce the need for students to sit with their hand raised while waiting for assistance.
Encourage students to identify and formulate questions, supporting metacognition and problem-solving.
Make help-seeking more visible and normal, reinforcing that asking for help is a normal part of learning.
Provide a physical reminder that it is okay not to be okay and that support is available.
Contribute to a sense of belonging, particularly when provided universally so that every student has the same shared object.
Give students a simple way to communicate their needs when they may not yet feel confident speaking up.
The resource can also prompt conversations about belonging, wellbeing, confidence, asking questions and learning through uncertainty.
Simon Grey
University of Hull
Interaction
Connecting, Sharing
Free to use and adapt