The Spirit of Play

December 5, 2024

The Spirit of Play


A journey starts, uncharted and free 

We go on a path together   

Where we are more open to not knowing

Embracing the joy of spontaneity


A reminder of how freeing play can be 

And that we don’t need much to play 

Just hearts eager to connect

Laughter as our guide   

Connecting with new people, hearing their stories 

Each voice a note in our shared symphony


Confidence is contagious 

Like ripples in a pond 

Don’t overthink! 

Let intuition lead the way 

Own your story 

Speaking it with energy! 

And we learned to build on someone else's work— 

Every contribution, a stepping stone.


Did you know we have an ability to connect 

Without using words? 

Silent understanding blooms

Authenticity!   

And sometimes that is more powerful


Be present  – a mantra in the stillness 

A playground for the mind and spirit 

Games motivated us to be more creative 

Y’know, everyone has boundless creativity 

Waiting to be sparked.


At the GPB Changemakers Play Festival 

Ideas dance and collide 

A community united in this tapestry of play 

We weave connections that last 

A reminder that together 

We are on the path to joy 

(This poem was created from the chat comments of Changemakers PlayFest and then creatively edited)


Back to Newsletter
By Danielle Speciale June 9, 2026
Author: Sarah Filman, GPB Director of Programs
June 9, 2026
GPB and Linking Circles Academy Collaborate on Project TECI We love a good partnership. And we really love a partnership that puts play where it belongs, in a classroom. So when Linking Circles Academy came with a vision to transform how teachers in Nigeria show up for their diverse learners, we opened the door. Fewer than half of teachers in Nigeria do not receive any training on inclusive education, and there are a lot of learners with diverse learning needs and abilities. Founded by Elizabeth Adams, a brigadier, Linking Circles is an education-focused organization on a mission to improve learning outcomes in African schools through teacher development. They've already trained over 50 teachers through virtual and in-person workshops. Project TECI (The Equitable Classroom Initiative) is their boldest move yet, aimed at training and mentoring at least 1,000 primary and secondary school teachers to design and sustain inclusive, equitable, student-centred classrooms. It's ambitious. It's necessary. And it has GPB's name all over it. Inclusive classrooms need teachers who know how to meet a room full of different minds, different stories, and make every single one of them feel like they belong. And play is one of the most powerful tools for developing exactly that. That's why GPB is stepping in as a curriculum partner for Project TECI. Through our Educators Ensemble, we're bringing our play-based and experiential learning methodologies directly into the teacher training design. GPB will be providing play-based learning resources and frameworks to shape the TECI curriculum, offering advisory and technical input, and delivering a virtual training session for TECI facilitators on how to integrate play and performance-based approaches into their work. We'll also introduce GPB's work to the educators coming through the TECI programme — because once a teacher catches the play bug, there's no telling where it spreads. We're happy to be walking this road with Linking Circles Academy. We're bringing play into spaces where it has been absent for too long. And we can't wait to see the classrooms and the children that TECI helps transform. Let's play it forward!