.svg)
Traditional interventions can feel exhausting. Talk therapy. Consequences. Rewards. And yet, some kids stay stuck because we've been focusing on behaviour while the real opportunity is in helping a nervous system rediscover safety.
The good news? Play is how healing happens. Dr Stephen Porges spent decades proving that our autonomic nervous system responds to specific cues such as warm faces, attuned voices, and rhythmic movement. Play delivers all of them naturally. This is the foundation of the Polyvagal Play Approach.
Measuring actual physiological markers shows that play-based work improves vagal tone, which means better emotional regulation, stronger social connections, and genuine resilience. Not because we convinced someone to behave differently, but because their nervous system learned a new pattern.
This week, we're sharing ways you can use this in your classroom, with your teams, or even for yourself when things feel overwhelming. Your nervous system speaks the language of play. Let's get started!
Daily Mission Cards
What can you do with a roll of toilet paper? More than you think!
Today's mission: helping kids understand their nervous system through playful creation. Start by asking your students, "What could we possibly make with toilet paper?" Let their imaginations run wild. Then introduce papier-mache characters that represent how our bodies feel in different moments.
Meet the three friends:
- Calm Cody (ventral vagal): relaxed, connected, ready to learn and play
- Speedy Sam (sympathetic): full of energy, alert, ready for action
- Droopy Dana (dorsal vagal): low energy, withdrawn, needing rest
As kids tear, dip, and shape their tissue creations, they're externalising internal states. "Which character feels most like you right now?" This playful scaffolding gives children a concrete, engaging metaphor for understanding what's happening in their bodies. When they can name it, they can navigate it.
Grab your Creative Play & Movement Daily Mission Card and discover 50 ways to make nervous system awareness feel like pure fun!
Look Up & Down
Want to see nervous system flexibility in action? This week's game is a masterclass in resilience building, and it's ridiculously fun.
Look Up & Down creates a "hybrid state." Players experience calm anticipation, social connection, and then explosive sympathetic activation (running, jumping, celebrating).
Here's how it works: Gather everyone in a tight circle. Call "look down", everyone stares at the ground. Then, call "look up", players must lock eyes with someone across the circle. If two people catch each other's gaze, they yell "whoop whoop!" and sprint across for a high-ten jump greeting. Both earn a point.
Once you've connected with someone, you can't choose them again. This keeps the game flowing and builds multiple connections. Players practice moving between calm focus and energised action while maintaining social safety!
Need hundreds more games like this? Sign up to Jugar Life and get instant access to play-based activities designed to build resilient, regulated learners!
Ash Manuel – How to Execute a Positive Education Program in Your Classroom and Around The School
What really transforms a classroom? Teachers becoming co-regulators through playful, attuned connection.
This course draws on John Hattie's research into what truly influences student achievement—visible learning. It happens when teachers see through their students' eyes.
In this session, Aaron shares practical strategies to maximise learning time while building the regulated, connected classroom environment. With 13 years of teaching experience across K-6 and five years in leadership, Aaron knows how to create inclusive communities grounded in quality relationships.
Bring playful attunement into your teaching practice, so you become the regulating force that helps every student access their best learning state.
Ready to transform your classroom? Save this course for later and discover how your presence becomes the intervention!
Our Global Reach
We had the absolute pleasure of running a full-day Play FunShop for the PHASE Asia pre-conference, and what an incredible way to kick things off!
Close to 30 amazing humans from around the globe spent the day exploring connection, well-being, happiness, and the power of play. The energy, insights, laughter, and openness to dive in made it truly special.
A massive thank you to everyone who brought such open hearts and playful spirits. We can't wait for everything still to come.
Join us on this global journey of joy and connection! If you want to bring The School of Play to your community, fill out the form here ➡
.avif)
