Playmakers

I had the opportunity to become a Life is Good Playmaker this year.  Playmakers are a group of people who are trained to bring joy, optimism and a love of life to children who have been affected by trauma, violence, illness and poverty.  You can learn more about Playmakers or look at the schedule for future trainings at the Life is Good website. I've been a teacher for almost 20 years so I've attended a lot of trainings and workshops during that time.  The LIG Playmakers training is by far the best training I've ever attended. 

Yes, the fun starts here.  During the Life is Good Festival a few weeks ago I got to meet and work with a group of LIG Playmakers to play games and spread good vibes through play. It was a lot of fun to help kids into sacks then watch the laughter and joy as the hopped across the field.

Here's our sack race crew for the first shift on Sunday.  In case you haven't done a sack race in a few years, it's much harder than I remembered.  I was super slow and quickly realized it was way more fun helping the kids race than racing myself.

This photo comes from the LIG Playmakers.  These are the people who volunteered to play games with children and their families.  I'm in the back on the right hand side(the dark blue sleeve.)

Playmakers rock! I got to meet the Chief Playmaker, Steve Gross. He's in the middle in the brown shirt.  He was super nice. Really all of the Playmakers I've meet are nice, it goes with the whole Playmaker philosophy of spreading joy. It was so much fun to meet other Playmakers and spend the weekend playing with kids and their families.  I'm looking forward to the LIG festival next year.

For my crafty friends, I just had to share this picture.  This is Emily, she's one of the awesome Playmaker trainers. Can you believe she made this amazing dress from a ripped parachute?  Isn't it fabulous?!