Overview:
This interactive training session is designed to help young staff understand and implement free play, a vital but often overlooked part of healthy child development. Many staff members in today’s generation have grown up without access to unstructured play, making it essential for leadership to not only introduce the concept but also model how to support it in real-time.

Duration: 60–75 minutes

Audience: Youth development professionals ages 16–25, facilitated by directors or leadership staff

Includes: Training outline, sample activities, facilitator guidance, and an interactive planning worksheet

Participants will:

✅ Learn what free play is and why it matters

✅ Explore their own play experiences and how it shapes their approach

✅ Discover how to manage free play spaces safely and meaningfully

✅ Receive a worksheet to plan and facilitate open-ended, child-directed play experiences

✅ Gain confidence in how to explain the value of free play to parents

✅ This training embraces the mindset that letting go of control can be uncomfortable, but it’s often where the best growth happens for both kids and staff.

Perfect for: Summer camp/ Afterschool/ Teen leadership/ New youth development professionals

Includes: full lesson plan PDF + printable worksheet

🔒 Licensed for single-organization use