THE PLAY PROJECT

In 2004, founder Jeff Peyton identified Play as a form of energy that is carried on a biological wavelength of communication.
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PLAY IS A FORCE OF NATURE

HEALS

HEALS: Play, essential for human well-being, is endangered. Play deprivation threatens children's learning spaces, causing:
  • Mental health issues
  • Screen habituation
  • Learning resistance
  • Weak thinking skills
  • Teacher burnout

EMPOWERS

  • Spark inspired communication
  • Activates any subject or lesson  
  • Captivates every child
  • Invites verbal articulation
  • Bonds group experience 

TRANSFORMS

  • When play is present, everything changes
  • Factory template to a learning habitat
  • From High Tech to HighTouch, Human and Analog
  • From dead weight to lightness, warmth, passion and joy 
  • From rote lessons to receptive and motivated experience

WHAT IS PLAY
LANGUAGE?

Think of interviews with cells and subatomic particles. Converse with planets or bees. Talk to Albert Einstein at age 16 riding on light beams. Decades of research bear witness to this extraordinary innovation, featured in Edutopia magazine and recognized in the
annals of brain science.

Learn the Art and Science of
Play-Centered Communication!

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Our Mission:

The Play Project was founded by Melissa Edwards and
Jeff Peyton to bring the power of play into teaching and learning through their innovation, Play Language.

We believe play is one of humanity's greatest natural resources—and one of the greatest gifts
we can give our children.

For too long, play has been pushed to the margins of education. Yet play is the engine of curiosity, creativity, communication, and growth.

Our mission is simple: help educators experience the transformative power of play for themselves and bring that power into the heart of learning.

Because saving the future of learning means doing more than talking about play.

It means learning how to harness it.

Together, we can build a learning culture energized by play and inspired by the limitless potential of children.

Meet Jeff and Melissa

Jeff Peyton 

Co-Founder
A pioneer in play science and education innovation, Jeff's journey began behind a puppet theater. His observations of kids responding to puppets led him to recast the art of puppetry into a Play language, a process that mainstreams play into learning spaces. His work has 
reached into the hands of children and teachers around the world. 

Melissa Edwards

Co-Founder
Drawing from over two decades of experience as both a student and teacher in diverse international settings, Melissa's philosophy centers on a powerful insight: fostering self-compassion is key to truly connecting with and inspiring students. She ardently champions the essential role of play in the classroom, believing it to be a crucial element in nurturing our shared humanity.

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Thank you!
       Watching the children's reactions is most exciting and besides I really feel I am being creative -- something I never felt before. Thank you so much! 
                                                                                       -Marilyn, Special Ed.
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Play is a
universal language!

137
Countries
24
languages
~5500
students

Science & Research
Documentation

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