Playing for our Physical, Cognitive and Mental Health with Brandi Heather

Production team:

Host : Maria Xenidou

Producer: Julie-Roxane Krikorian

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

[email protected]

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Where to find Brandi Heather and AMPED2PLAY:

Brandi on LinkedIn 

AMPED2PLAY

Play For A Change, a podcast by Brandi Heather

Mentioned in this episode:

Reed College

Listen to this episode and explore: 

Learning through play and fort-building in her childhood (3:16)

Her relationship with school: being the helper and caring for others (5:54)

The decision to study education in college and her experience teaching young kids (8:16)

Creating a new program for students and kids with disabilities (10:39)

How Brandi first started thinking about play (16:05)

An example of play-based teaching (18:26)

The mission of AMPED2PLAY and its creation (21:36)

The role of play in our biological and developmental process (23:57)

How AMPED2PLAY is serving all generations (24:58)

The role of play for our cognitive development through sensory experiences (26:29)

The importance of playing in nature (31:37)

The role of play in war zones and poverty (33:39)

The social aspect of play: different approaches for different preferences (36:13)

The underdeveloped skills in the absence of play (40:18)

The implications of industrial education without play for students and educators (45:28)

How to invite children and educators to play by building safety and cultivating trust (49:44)

The two different types of play for adults (51:33)

How to create effective team-building around play (53:41)

The impact of AMPED2PLAY programs on corporations (56:53)

Why play is more important today than ever before (59:24)

What Brandi wants to leave her mark on during her lifetime (1:03:32)

How we pass on the play (1:04:31)

Where to find Brandi and AMPED2PLAY (1:05:54)

Maria's takeaways related to play (1:07:01)