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Help build healthier communities

And achieve better outcomes for children and facilitators. 

Learn more from this short podcast

Where Mindfulness, Puppetry, and Play Meet

@Play Facilitator Training

The Program

@Play Facilitator Training is an online program for teachers, therapists, humanitarian aid workers, and even parents and caregivers. It blends mindfulness, puppetry, and play to help children build social and emotional skills, use their creativity, build friendships and community, and talk about difficult subject matter. 

Set up with age-appropriate programming, @Play guides future facilitators to work with kids ages 3-18 (and even adults). 

Certification

Students who complete all three levels of training will receive an @Play Facilitator Certification and the ability to provide to a range of children and adults in the classroom, at home, in the therapeutic setting, and in various settings that may present difficult conversations and subject matter. 

Register for Level 1 Training

More About

The Training

Learn about the power of puppetry and how to use it with children, teens, and even adults in a variety of settings. This program teaches future facilitators mindfulness techniques, puppet building, and how to build specific programs for specific situations. 

Depending on the field you plan to use this training for, capstone and practicum will be tailored toward your specific audience. 

Training Levels

Level I

Level I training introduces future facilitators to the world of mindfulness, puppetry, and play. This training is great as a stand-alone training for parents and caregivers, or as the prerequisite to level II and III trainings and certification.

Learning Objectives

  • Learn the history of puppetry, mindfulness and play and their connection to working with children in the classroom, in humanitarian aid work, in the therapeutic setting, and even at home.
  • Learn to build (and teach how to build) 2 different puppets.
  • Personal practice in mindfulness, meditation and movement.
  • Know the benefits of including this work with your children or within an organization.
  • Learn how to start offering these experiences to young people.
  • Build programming that includes love and compassion.
  • Gain the knowledge needed to move on to Level II.
Register Here

Level II

The Level II facilitator is a mentor-supported, in-depth training on how to provide programming across various developmental levels from ages 3-18 (and even adults). The information in this program sets up the trainee to complete capstone and practicum in Level III.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the use and science of mindfulness, puppetry, and play across developmental levels.
  • Learn shadow puppetry, object theatre, and brown paper puppetry and their various uses (especially working with teens).
  • Gain knowledge of trauma-informed play and mindfulness.
  • Begin to tailor your study to your population of interest (i.e., kindergarteners, inner-city youth, refugee camps, etc). 
  • Learn specific techniques to use in a variety of settings and with different ages.
  • Build programming that includes love and compassion.
  • Gain the knowledge needed to move on to Level III.
Registration Available Soon

Level III

Become a certified @Play Facilitator upon completion of your Level III training. With the help and support of your teachers you will both create and execute programming for the population of your choosing.

Learning Objectives

  • Have the confidence to build programming for specific populations  (and future groups outside of that population).
  • Build and execute a program with the support of your mentors and teachers. 
  • Use the education you received in Level I and II, your own research, and critical thinking to thoughtfully and mindfully create programs that take into consideration the health, mindset, community, and culture of the group of your choosing. 
  • Ethics, cultural awareness, and trauma sensitivity.
  • Build programming that includes love and compassion.
  • Go out into the community and share the power of mindfulness, puppetry, and play!
Registration Available Soon

Your Teachers

Lisa Buckley

Teacher: Puppetry & Play

Lisa Buckley is a professional puppeteer, humanitarian worker, and educator in puppetry, yoga, and play. She has actively traveled the globe teaching in the developing world helping adults work with children through difficult subject matter and at the same time, doing the same for the adults. 

Jessica Proulx

Teacher: Mindfulness & Meditation & Trauma

Jess Proulx has been a yoga and meditation teacher for over 20 years. She has taught training and retreats across the globe. She is an educator on mindfulness, meditation, Eastern philosophy, and self-transformation and has a background in education and psychology. 

Mike Williams

Teacher: Mindfulness & Meditation

Mike Williams teaches mindfulness and meditation. He trains professionals to teach these practices in a variety of settings. Though Mike’s foundational practices come from years of history, philosophy, and modern science, his main tool and practices are love and compassion. 

Program Information

All your questions answered

Level I: Level I is an online training designed for teachers, children’s yoga teachers, therapists, humanitarian aid workers, and even parents and caregivers. It offers programming using empirical data and proven research in the areas of mindfulness, puppetry, and play. Trainees learn through personal experience, video content, reading, critical thinking assignments, hands-on learning, and movement.  Covered Material: History and science behind the use of puppetry, mindfulness, and play. Breathwork and meditation techniques. The “why” include this in working with children. How to build puppets and start executing programs. Movement. 

Level II: Our level II training is offered both online and in-person (see below for upcoming in-person programs). Here students dive more deeply into science, research, and developmental milestones and start to tailor their training to the specific population(s) that they want to work with.  Learn about trauma, working with various communities, and how to apply different techniques to different situations. Covered Material: The science of mindfulness, puppetry, and play across developmental levels. Trauma-informed play and mindfulness Tailoring your study to your population of interest (ie: kindergarteners, inner-city youth, refugee camps, etc). Specific techniques to use in a variety of settings and with different ages. Programming that includes love and compassion. 

Level III: Capstone and Certification In level III training students build and execute a full program designed for a specific population. Students use the knowledge gained in level I and level II along with research, and critical thinking to thoughtfully and mindfully create programs that take into consideration the health, mindset, community, and culture of the group of their choosing. Here students also explore ethics, trauma, and cultural awareness.  

Level I: $450

Level II: $750

Level III: $750

There are so many areas to use this training, but here we have listed some: 

  1. In the classroom
  2. In the therapeutic setting
  3. Hospitals
  4. Yoga for kids and teens
  5. Camps
  6. Daycare
  7. At home
  8. Outreach programs
  9. Youth crisis
  10. Humanitarian aid resources
  11. After school programs
  12. Theater and arts programming

FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

No, not everyone is comfortable playing the role of the puppeteer. You need not be creative, silly, and theatrical to take and execute this training (though we encourage you to let loose and have fun). 

There are so many ways for you to use the puppet. Some include teaching the kids to use it when speaking or teaching something to the rest of the class. When working with older kids, we encourage teaching them to use the puppets in working with younger kids or behind the scenes using shadow puppetry. 

You don’t need any experience or special skills for this training. Just an open mind and the urge to help improve the lives of children and teens. 

Sure you can. This program was designed with teachers, therapists, and humanitarian aid workers in mind, but here are just a few people and professions this training would work great for! 

  1. Teachers
  2. Therapists/Social Workers
  3. Humanitarian aid workers
  4. Youth Pastors
  5. Kids yoga teachers
  6. Theater/music/arts directors 
  7. Camp counselors
  8. Parents, grandparents, and caregivers
  9. Daycare workers
  10. Hospital employees

We know it is difficult to afford continuing education, especially for people who work as teachers or in non-profit organizations. Here are some tips that may help you secure funding: 

  1. Here is a justification letter that you can include with materials applying for funding or reimbursement through your organization.
  2. You can contact your school about using ESSER funding
  3. Try GoFundMe or community outread
  4. Spread out your training 

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