The Real Play Revolution: Why We Need to Be Silly with Our Kids - And How to Do It, Paperback

Aimed at parents, teachers and anyone who cares for or works with children, this is a highly original, inspiring and above all fun guide to the power of play and how to use it from expert Ash Perrin of the Flying Seagull Project.

This is a guide to help grown-ups share silliness, laughter and fun with kids, benefiting the kids, the adults themselves and, ultimately, society at large. In a world of technology, product marketing and unending messaging aimed at adults and kids, there is a need to liberate the imagination, re-sow the seeds of creativity ... and start a Real Play revolution Real Play needs no expertise or qualifications and no equipment beyond what can be found about the house - all it does need is a genuine interaction between grown-ups and children. Offering the techniques and play ideas developed by Ash Perrin through his work at the Flying Seagulls Project in an accessible, engaging and fun way to a wide audience of ordinary parents and childcare professionals, this book also makes a passionate case for the importance of play in children's lives. The Real Play Revolution is a treasure trove of fantastic, unexpected and effective play ideas, from step-by-step activities such as Kids Comedy Corner (all about telling jokes together as a family), Home-Made TV (make your own TV, then watch it ) and Circus Skills Workshop (hoola-hoop, juggling balls, spinning plates, etc) to quick fixes for cheering everyone up, such as the One Minute Madness Miracle (the first one to get nowhere wins), and defeating a bad mood - whether a child's or a grown-up's - with the Turkey Head Grump Crown (who can carrying on feeling annoyed with a turkey on their head?). All suggestions can be adapted to work with any numbers from one child to a whole classroom. Fun line drawings clarify step-by-steps and add to the book's appealing design.

Ash Perrin set up the Flying Seagull Project - a troupe of entertainers engaging children and adults in art, music, craft, circus skills, games and performances - in 2008. They have since worked in a wide range of settings in the UK and around the world, ranging from children's hospitals, orphanages and refugee camps to festivals and parties. The underlying philosophy of the Flying Seagull Project is that everyone - man, woman and child - has the right to put aside the cares of life and smile for a while