Wilson McCaskill taking students from Melrose Primary School through one of The Game Factory’s rhythm games.

Students playing one of The Game Factory’s most popular games called Picadilly Circus

Download written instructions on the game of Picadilly Circus for free at the end of this article.

PLAY IS THE WAY IN ACTION

You are watching a real-life demonstration of PLAY IS THE WAY in action at Melrose Primary School in Victoria, Australia. Being excerpts from the DVD’s in our program, the games are played in their entirety to give you a 10 minute insight into the effectiveness of our program.

Please pay special attention to the last couple of minutes of Picadilly Circus where the children’s experience of playing the game is crystalized into a powerful and important life message.

PLAY IS THE WAY

Play is the natural way in which human beings learn. Games of all types – from our earliest experiences with peek-a-boo to the engrossing complexities of the latest computer games – are what we use to develop skills, master emotions, connect with others and enjoy ourselves.

Play is a contributing factor in stopping children from gaining weight and maybe even becoming prone to depression and other mental disorders.

Dealing with difficult behaviour has frustrated teachers since teaching began.

For too many teachers, school becomes a place made miserable by a few children who act as if they simply don’t care. But teachers do and they struggle daily to change the behaviour of some to benefit the many and to benefit themselves.

Teachers want to teach. And teachers want children to learn. As an educator, you want school to be a rewarding experience for everyone and you know it can be, in fact you know it must be.

However, while you may be running out of ideas, the children who lack self-control aren’t running out of energy.

So what can you do?

You can try our games, because they bring about change and those changes may just allow you to do what you do best and that’s TEACH.

GAMES THAT HELP CHILDREN TO BETTER THEMSELVES

The sample games you are watching are from the PLAY IS THE WAY Program Kit.

This Game Factory program is having a significant impact on entire school communities.

It’s a curriculum friendly program that requires no special training on the part of the teacher, is easy to establish and helps you to help children master their behaviour, making everyone’s life in the classroom easier.

BASED ON PRACTICE NOT JUST THEORIES

Hundreds of teachers have found PLAY IS THE WAY founder, Wilson McCaskill’s unique approach to self mastery and responsible and reasoned behaviour to be transformational and highly effective.

Wilson has worked in hundreds of schools throughout Australia. His program was developed from direct interaction with children of every age in primary schools of every type.

• “The games provide an opportunity for students to be placed in real-life situations where they are faced with pressures to succeed and perform, set goals, work against time, interact outside of their comfort zone and learn to overcome these elements by building their social skills and discovering their inner strength and resilience.” – Peter Harty (Deputy Principal) W.A.

• * “This philosophy has given us a new shared understanding of student’s social emotional needs and how to challenge them positively to be better people. Your ideas have inspired many teachers to change their own practices and think a little differently about what they are here to teach these students.” – Raelene Campbell (Primary Guidance Counsellor) Brisbane Catholic Education

• * “Play is the way” is a fantastic opportunity for a school, to have its staff enjoy the same challenges that face our children when placed under the pressure of social and emotional settings. Children all want to play games and the delivery of Wilson, plus the support materials is quite exceptional and a high quality tool that will engage children at every turn.”. – Trudie Nagle – Principal, Cobram Primary School

The beauty of the PLAY IS THE WAY Program Kit lies in its simplicity.

By following the carefully designed timetables and using the physically interactive games that require minimal equipment and set up time, teachers have a tool to develop the pro-social behaviour of students.

Our games help to habituate patterns of behaviour that are socially effective and culturally appropriate.

LET OUR PROGRAM CREATE A CULTURE OF CONSIDERATE BEHAVIOUR IN YOUR SCHOOL

Children love to play and the PLAY IS THE WAY program raises awareness, triggers discovery, initiates change and consolidates improvements in pro-social behaviour.
The wellbeing of teachers is essential if classrooms are to be the source of well rounded, optimistic and aspirational adults of tomorrow. And nothing elevates the well being of teachers like appropriately behaved children.

The social and emotional development of children is now part of the core business of primary schools simply because elevated competencies in these two areas can improve learning.

*But children don’t learn the skills of pro-social behaviour by talk alone. They learn by doing it. *

Follow the timetables in the PLAY IS THE WAY kit’s implementation manual, as a whole school, and start a cultural change that will improve the wellbeing of everyone involved.

The PLAY IS THE WAY program requires children to play the games for a minimum of one hour per week (typically 3 × 20 minute sessions). The games use equipment that is readily available in most schools and can be played at specific times or when time permits, allowing it to fit perfectly into your busy timetable.

With increasing concern about the physical health and fitness of children, the PLAY IS THE WAY program gives schools the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Improve the physical health of children while simultaneously improving their pro-social behaviour.

• “I have found the program transformational for some kids and really inspirational for many teachers.” – Bruce Wadd (School Chaplain) Qld

PLAY IS THE WAY is not a pencil and paper program. Too often, these have children knowing what is appropriate and necessary but unwilling to do it.

The PLAY IS THE WAY program is an action plan. Its resources are designed to effectively guide teachers through the processes that lead to lasting and sustainable improvement in the critical area of positive social behaviour.

INTEGRATES WITH OTHER PROGRAMS

Teachers are skilled operators and the program allows them to adapt and tailor the program to fit with the needs of their classroom. One size does not fit all and the value of the PLAY IS THE WAY program lies in its ability to either stand alone, or integrate with other programs that a school may have invested in.

The PLAY IS THE WAY program is a hands on, enjoyable and engaging way for teachers to teach the life skills that make living and learning more productive. It’s a powerful way for children to master those skills through direct participation and action.

Those that use PLAY IS THE WAY laud the power of the straight talking language and the strategies they learn by using the program.

You will love the way these same strategies and the language can be transposed to every area of interaction with the child and quickly recognize the capacity for our games to act as metaphors, similes and analogies for life and living.

Users discover that children quickly use the lessons learnt from the games to help guide their behaviour in the classroom and playground and frequently at home as well.

NOW IS THE TIME TO PLAY

• “I have just finished watching your DVDs package and ……WOW! I’m so excited to show them to staff, and my mind is racing with ideas for using them as a teaching and learning resource with both staff and students throughout this coming school year. What a fabulous idea having with/without commentary. It gives the resource a whole other dimension that takes the viewer from passively observing the games to actively learning the theory and ideas behind each one of them. This makes them a valuable resource as they can be watched and re-watched many times by teachers, as there is so much to see and learn from each one of the games. 

For example you could focus just on watching kids body language, or focus just on learning how to play one of the games, or focus just on learning the purpose behind the game, or you could focus on learning how to improve your role as the facilitator of the games. ….and so on. And having 35 games is unbelievable. Really, you could cover a game a week for the year, then the following year watch and do it again and see and learn things you missed the first time. And probably a third year too. Not to mention having the ability to up skill new staff members during the process. Yes, I really think it is a valuable resource and teaching tool. So good and so many teaching and learning opportunities!” – Maree Geoghegan, Deputy Principal

The program comes as a comprehensive kit of resources that has everything you and your school needs to implement it successfully at whatever point in the year you choose to start.

The PLAY IS THE WAY kit of resources acts as a coach, mentor, and motivator and with 4 DVD’s gives teachers all the benefits of visual learning at its very best.

Our games manuals not only detail the games, they also support teachers with the language, strategies and observations to help children understand and improve their behaviour.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Children are constantly in the news. Daily their poor behaviour and health draws the attention of press and media. They are in the spotlight and as a consequence so are teachers.

Pressured by public concern, governments want action. Queensland requires teachers to supply 30 minutes of physical activity each and every school day. Victoria wants their children to be taught social skills. Similar stories can be told for all the other states of Australia.

The National Safe Schools Framework requires Australian schools “to implement policies, programmes and process to nurture a safe and supportive school environment.” There is no end to the amount schools have to do and there is certainly no extra time with which to do it.

Having worked in hundreds of schools across Australia we understand the pressure schools are under and we empathise.

It is with this understanding that we confidently encourage schools to employ the comprehensively evaluated and proven, PLAY IS THE WAY Program to improve the pro-social behaviour of their students.

COMPREHENSIVELY EVALUATED AND PROVEN

Helen Street, an Associate Professor and senior lecturer at the University of WA and co-founder of Wise Solutions has been involved in the evaluation of the effectiveness of The Game Factory program in Australia and in the UK and has this to say:

“I have been delighted to continually and consistently report on the effectiveness of The Game Factory program as an ongoing means of improving positive social behaviour across entire school populations. In addition, I have found that levels of social phobia and separation anxiety have been very low in schools employing this program. Overall the program has been found to be an excellent and sustainable means of increasing classroom cohesion and consequently overall student wellbeing.”

You can download this game for free here.

Picadilly Circus

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