We're thrilled to have some wonderful new folks joining Connected Through Play! This community thrives because people like you believe that play is where the real magic happens and we can't wait to see what you bring to the mix. @Daniel Albert is here to connect with people who share ideas, and as a single father navigating the beautiful chaos of raising children, he's excited to find new ways to engage with them. @Anita Jeffrey was drawn to the power of play as a tool for building stronger connections, and she's committed to learning fresh approaches that center the children in her life. @Patricia Wilson , an ER nurse and business owner from Atherton, is here to discover fun and meaningful ways to create lasting memories with her two daughters. @Pacita Florida a brings strategic thinking and a passion for practical solutions—and she's looking forward to ditching the screens and playing the old-fashioned way with her 3-year-old grandson. @Emily Harper is passionate about understanding how play supports children's development and learning, and she's eager to both contribute ideas and learn from others here. @Audrey Worm, a podcast manager and coach who helps mothers balance business and family, is hunting for fresh play ideas to enrich time with her kids. @Jessica Meraz is focused on building better memories with her kids while honoring their ADHD, just like her own, and she's excited about learning different ways to connect. Dive into the conversations, share your stories, and remember, there's no such thing as too silly when it comes to play. We're so glad you're here.

Hey everyone! Emily Harper here from the US. If you're anything like me, trying to keep track of fun activities, hands-on project ideas, and creative moments for kids can feel like total chaos. I used to have random craft instructions, kitchen experiment notes, and story prompts scattered across a million different browser tabs, sticky notes, and phone screenshots—never able to find the right idea when it was actually time to play. So, I decided to organize my creative experiments into something much more structured and fun. Here is how I keep our playful labs running smoothly: - The Play & Tinkering Vault: A centralized home for keeping track of hands-on builds, cardboard engineering, and kitchen science experiments without the usual clutter. - XAMPP & Local SQL: Where all my digital project files, printable logs, and local activity archives live securely offline, fully backed up and ready whenever inspiration strikes. - Floment AI: Whenever I need a quick, imaginative spark—like "simple kitchen science experiment about density using household items"—I feed the raw idea into Floment AI and instantly get 3 playful variations and step-by-step instructions in 2s flat. How are you all keeping playtime organized and stress-free in your world lately? Drop your favorite quick activities below!

You can have the best idea in the world, but if you never act on it, it remains just an idea. Thinking is important. Planning is important. Learning is important. But at some point, you have to take action. Don’t wait until everything is perfect. Start small. Take the first step. Learn as you go. Adjust when things don’t work. Because an average idea with consistent action can go much further than a brilliant idea that stays in your head. Your idea becomes valuable when you do something with it. What’s one idea you’ve been thinking about that you need to take action on? 👇

My presentation on Saturday, the last day of the Summit, was somewhat like brainstorming for ideas of what could make for fun when cooking with kids. After getting the news of Dolly's passing, I was in my kitchen fishing for more ideas. And I want to add to the list the following: After the kids have torn the lettuce into the salad bowl and added, say, tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms, you can see it they'd like to dump the whole thing into the pot of rice (if there's room in the pot). Then you can serve the two dishes combined. I can just see Dolly saying, "Yes" to that and picking up the bowl and dumping it in.