Lucy Woodrow, a life-loving Dublin girl, tries hard to make sense of her life and her family. Her romantic and personal adventures are full of charm, wit and are illuminating and highly entertaining. She goes on a worldwide adventure of self-discovery, returning to Thailand three times. Each time her experiences there are radically different. This is a story, full of soul, of one woman's determination to find and live the life she loves. Along the way Lucy experiences the devastating loss of her older brother, Shane, and finds true love with a wonderful man, Charlie. As Lucy's life takes off in different directions she holds on tight to her self-belief. Although at times she goes through painful personal growth, she refuses to give in and ultimately finds her very own happy ever after.
On the ideal playground, all kids are equal. They take turns on the swings, play fair during kickball, and help each other up when someone falls and skins their knee. In all areas of life, we have much to learn from the playground kids. Be Nice. The End. distills the wisdom of the playground kids into seven simple values: Inclusion Empathy Acceptance Courage Perseverance Perspective Kindness Featuring thought-provoking messages from inspirational speaker Bryan Skavnak and darling, diverse faces illustrated by Wendy Kieffer Shragg, Be Nice. The End. teaches us that all the playgrounds of life are better when everyone--no matter their age, skin color, ability, shape, or size--is nice.
In his final work, a visionary game designer reveals how a surprising range of play-based experiences can unlock our imagination and help us capture the power of fun and delight. Bernard De Koven (1941–2018) was a pioneering designer of games and theorist of fun. He studied games long before the field of game studies existed. For De Koven, games could not be reduced to artifacts and rules; they were about a sense of transcendent fun. This book, his last, is about the imagination: the imagination as a playground, a possibility space, and a gateway to wonder. The Infinite Playground extends a play-centered invitation to experience the power and delight unlocked by imagination. It offers a curriculum for playful learning. De Koven guides the readers through a series of observations and techniques, interspersed with games. He begins with the fundamentals of play, and proceeds through the private imagination, the shared imagination, and imagining the world—observing, “the things we imagine can become the world.” Along the way, he reminisces about playing ping-pong with basketball great Bill Russell; begins the instructions for a game called Reception Line with “Mill around”; and introduces blathering games—Blather, Group Blather, Singing Blather, and The Blather Chorale—that allow the player's consciousness to meander freely. Delivered during the last months of his life, The Infinite Playground has been painstakingly cowritten with Holly Gramazio, who worked together with coeditors Celia Pearce and Eric Zimmerman to complete the project as Bernie De Koven's illness made it impossible for him to continue writing. Other prominent game scholars and designers influenced by De Koven, including Katie Salen Tekinbaş, Jesper Juul, Frank Lantz, and members of Bernie's own family, contribute short interstitial essays.
Joy is in the playground with her two friends: Jumpit the frog and Tortie the tortoise. They are joined by other friends who have been having a very bad day! They all work together to help their friends overcome the challenges they face through gratitude, mindfulness and self-belief. Joy's Playground promotes resilience in children though practising and teaching important skills. Now more than ever anxiety, stress and change-management is crucial for young children.
Would you like to experience more happiness and spontaneity in your life? Do you feel life isn’t as fun and exciting as it could be and crave more positivity, closer relationships, and a deeper understanding of what matters most to you? You need to play! In the book, The Power of Play: Optimize Your Joy Potential, you will discover how igniting joy and uplifting experiences through the power of play can transform your life, help you through challenging times and even lead you on a path to appreciation and great fulfillment. Play positively matters. From International award-winning fitness professionals and two leading voices advancing the science of applied Positive Psychology and the art of well-being, Elaine O’Brien, Ph.D., and Andrea Seydel are devoted to sharing the science and ways to enhance your life through play. You will discover valuable cutting-edge research and hundreds of FUNTANEOUS activities created to spark your energy, ease your stress, and increase your happiness. You don’t want to underestimate the power of play. Learn the secret of creating a “play mindset” that sparks meaning, loving connections, mastery, and laughs. In this playbook for grownups, you will learn to “optimize your joy potential,” the capacity to be open to experiences of joy, by harnessing your self-awareness, happy habits, and positive action. It’s vital and in your power to play, learn, move, rest, be in nature, perform, and live with wonder every day. Elaine and Andrea will show you how valuing play safeguards your mental health and is essential to your life. The Power of Play: Optimize Your Joy Potentialis designed to show you how you can have much more fun and be happier and healthier. The Power of Play is a game changer.
Unlike its eponymous, ironic, title, the characteristic 20th century preoccupation with discovering meaning seems to be at the thematic heart of this book. The possibility of love as a candidate returns again and again. The work is often cerebral seeming to exist in a world of thought only, which makes incursions into the sensual the more striking.
“But everyone else has it.” “If you loved me, you’d get it for me!” When you hear these comments from your kids, it can be tough not to cave. You love your children—don’t you want them to be happy and to fit in? Kristen Welch knows firsthand it’s not that easy. In fact, she’s found out that when you say yes too often, it’s not only hard on your peace of mind and your wallet—it actually puts your kids at long-term risk. In Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, Kristen shares the ups and downs in her own family’s journey of discovering why it’s healthiest not to give their kids everything. Teaching them the difference between “want” and “need” is the first step in the right direction. With many practical tips and anecdotes, she shares how to say the ultimate yes as a family by bringing up faith-filled kids who will love God, serve others, and grow into hardworking, fulfilled, and successful adults. It’s never too late to raise grateful kids. Get ready to cultivate a spirit of genuine appreciation and create a Jesus-centered home in which your kids don’t just say—but mean!—“thank you” for everything they have.
