A day in the life of a playworker

This is meant more for folks we're hoping to hire! We wanted to link to something rather than have crazy long job descriptions... even though no two days are alike, we thought we'd attempt to capture a few things we regularly do along with photos!

A day in the life of a playworker:

A crucial point of the job is actively observing children at play without interrupting or making it about ourselves.

We have a variety of materials that we provide for the kids and lifting, trash pick- up and moving materials is an everyday part of this job.

Playworkers respond to play invitations, or play cues, when appropriate and when invited.... which means sometimes we might be found crawling around in tall grass.

....And sometimes our quiet presence, willingness to engage in un-adulty things and our practiced active listening leads to personal and therapeutic conversations with children about their lives and their struggles. Even if it just looks like playing in the mud or slaying zombies.

We follow the lead of the children in this space. We intentionally step back and let the children own the space, time and materials and we stay deeply present and accessible to children for help or in anticipation of their needs. Deep relationships are built with children in this work and with that comes great responsibility.