Team
Playocracy has been a community partner with national school boards, municipalities, public health agencies, children's camps and early years providers for over a dozen years. Our goal has always been to share the joy of movement and encourage social skill development in order to have an appreciation of play through our lifespan.
Currently we are working with the HWCDSB and Hamilton Public Health to discover the best practices for creating a Quality Recess Experience for whole school that will support and enhance overall student well-being and success. This project approaches recess from a comprehensive approach:
- A Recess Team
- Developing a Recess Action Plan
- L.E.A.D. Recess Program
- Surveys to staff and students
Recess is an untapped gold mine and if given time and attention, it can help to create a strong school community through play; empower student voice; allow students to improve their social skills, such as self-regulation; and increase physical literacy levels.
Lynn Campanella - Chief Play Officer, CEO
For the past 18 years, my focus has been to find fun and creative ways to get people - not just children - active. When I started Lettuce Make Thyme (LMT) back in 2001, the motto was:
Non-Competitive + Non-Traditional = All Play
At that time childhood obesity was rearing it's ugly head and we were finally seeing what we were doing not only to ourselves, but to our children by living a life of "convenience" with poor eating habits and too much screen time.
I started LMT by bringing in the Giant Games to North America. These are classic games on a giant scale and they got people moving. The great thing was that people didn't even realize they were being active because they were having FUN!
As life transitioned and change occurred, a new company emerged: Playocracy. The original motto still runs through all we do today, but an additional need has been recognized: we need to allow our children the time to play and from that they develop improved social and emotional skills.
Playfully yours,
Lynn
Training and accreditation:
- Physical Literacy, 101, 201, 301, Facilitator Training - all with Dr. Dean Kriellaars
- Run, Jump, Throw
- NCCP: Coaches Physical Literacy Training
- Be Fit for Life: SuperHero Facilitator Training
- High Five: Principles of Healthy Child Development
- High Five: Quest 1
- Sport for Life: Physical Literacy instructor Program
- Sport for Life: Quality Physical Literacy Experiences QPLE
- Sport for Life:Physical Literacy for Early Childhood
Julia Abkarian - Social Media Coordinator/ Video Editor
I graduated in 2019 from McMaster University with a Bachelors in Film & Communications. With my degree, I flew to Armenia to volunteer and gain experience for 7 months.
I was able to design websites for a handful of start up restaurants and handle their social media accounts. I was even able to create short touristic videos of the city, property of a local organization that deals in tourism.
Through my projects, I was able to connect with various people from all four corners of the world. Hearing their stories of how they grew up, the different games they have played, and how they were institutionalized, enlightened me to see how contrasting childhoods can form people into who they are today.
Since I was young, I remember using my play time creating music videos, short skits, interviewing different people in my life, and most importantly capturing precious moments that I felt were dear to me with my little camcorder. I would create games, write short scripts, prepare hair and makeup and force my friends and cousins to participate in these videos with me. Through this, we have unconsciously gained social skills, patience, sharing skills, and public speech.
All the games we play as children impact and transform us into the young adults we become in the few short years. Thus, through Playocracy we can physically see how games and activities start to shape the children around us!
Would you like to join our team? If you value play, enjoy being physically active and are still a kid at heart, contact Lynn!