Wild Craft Play is like a play, mixed with a videogame, played outside and you are the game master.
For people who work with groups of 6 to 30 children,
Ideal for ages 8-12 (grades 3-7), adaptable for all.
Children say that Wild Craft Play is “the best of three worlds, friends, nature AND videogames, but it’s all in real-life!” “I don’t know why kids WOULDN’T want to be in Wild Craft Play.”
Wild Craft Play is a challenging, engaging and rewarding game that fosters independence, critical thinking and compassion. Focusing on honing your skills as a facilitator to support social, emotional, mental and physical wellbeing in youth through theatrical role-play in Nature.
How does it work?
Just like any videogame, or game board, or DnD, or Theatrical play, you need to purchase: The Manual, the Secret Storybook and the Training Videos. Then you need a bit of time to prepare the props and ignite a story that you can’t wait to facilitate.
This is NOT a one-day game, this game can last weeks, months or even years.
First, purchase the manual, Secret Storybook and training video
Then you have options:
- Free-source your own supplies (the list of supplies is in the manual)
- You might need to hand-craft what you need, find it in a garage sale, or put a call out to your community for what you need.
- Buy your resources online
- Order specially hand-crafted resources from us (be forewarned, this will take 3 times longer and be 3 times more expensive due to shipping, so we recommend the first 2 options).
Purchase by
Entering information here and either
e-transfering to info@wildcraftplay.com
OR
Paypal below.
Regular $297
30% OFF – New Years Sale!!
$209 (plus shipping)
It is the magic of wonderment that ignites a sense of ownership, responsibility, inclusiveness and togetherness.Jamie Black
A Story from the Founder, Jamie Black
Playing Wild Craft Play is like living the life inside a videogame where the land is your game board, the props are life-size, and the characters are the children, AND you! Prepare to wear a few different hats, the Merchant, the Banker, the Government, maybe a Lawyer and definitely the Game Master, and your own quirky character.
Wild Craft Play was born in 2008 from a conversation I had with a group of children. I was a manager at a Boys and Girls Club on Vancouver Island, BC in 2008. I asked the children “Who wants to play outside” and most of them said “Awwww, do we have to? I just want to play Mine Craft.” In that moment I decided to remain curious, I sat down next to these kids and watched them play. I then asked “What’s your favorite part of the game” and one child said
“When I get to explore in Nature!”
As you can imagine I was awestruck. After having been a professional outdoor guide for 8 years at this point, I realized that there was something terribly wrong. I asked myself, why is it that kids feel more comfortable “Exploring in Nature” on a screen than the real thing.
This is when Wild Craft Play was born. September 2008.
I hosted an almost free spring break camp at 2 different schools, hired adventurous and theatrical staff, prepared a bunch of props and launched this idea. Those 20 children said it was the best camp they had ever been to. They didn’t want to stop, there were swamps and bridges, moats and dragons, life-size dice and challenges that left them craving more. We were on to something.
Over the years we played it in different venues, short one-week camps, weekly school programs, festivals, birthday parties and what we found was that this game has to be played week after week after week, just like Dungeons and Dragons.
The role of the facilitator is to ignite that sense of wonder through quests, keeping secrets and only revealing when it seems appropriate, letting the children lead the adventure, and having things happen upon them when they least expect it.
So, if you know how to do all that and feel confident with taking this game and running with it, great. Go for it. All I ask is that you join our community and share your epic stories! It’s free to be a part of the community.
If you need support with HOW to facilitate this game, click the button below. We are happy to walk you through the many different skills required to be a game master of an epic outdoor play.
Skills Required to Facilitate Wild Craft Play
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Creative & Flexible
Imagination -
Outdoor Group
Dynamic Management -
Place-Conscious
Ecological Practice -
Game
Creation -
Welcome All
Beliefs -
Story-crafting
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Orienteering
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Ignite a sense of
Wonderment & Magic -
Artsy
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Hand-crafting
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Story-catching
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Let the Children
Lead
“All of them worked on what they were passionate about, it was part of what they were selling and what they were creating. Now they’ve gone beyond that, outside the classroom. All of them have… Wild Craft Play brings back the magic.” Kelli Rosenbeck
Here are the basics of what is required to run Wild Craft Play;
- Outdoor space with room to run, foliage to hide in and a place to tuck a mailbox
- Access to shelter for the cold and windy days
- Storage for your resources
- Tarps, First Aid Kit and
- Most important an open mind and heart to let in the imagination
The amount of time you would want to spend minimally is 2 hours per session, with at least 8 sessions. An optimal time commitment would look more like many hours a week for months, if-not years.
Are you looking for ways to boost your confidence in facilitating outdoor play with youth? It takes experience, good resources, committing your time to following through with professional development training, and coaching that will leave you feeling confident, engaged, and supported.
We are on a mission to regenerate resilience in youth the way Nature intended. We have created an accessible online and outdoor training platform adaptable to program leaders around the world.
This training is an innovative, unique approach designed for adults who lead programs or classes for youth ages 8-14.
People who are willing and eager to take youth outdoors who are looking for guidance and support receive the following;
- Tricks and tools on how to make your program more fun and engaging
- Enhance youth self-regulation skills, coping strategies and group decision making
- Enlist agency in financial literacy, reading, writing, history, storytelling by being physically active and creative outside
- Teach life skills like thinking of others, preparing food, working together as a community, taking initiative, thinking ahead
- Become a community that feels supported
- Build and craft resources and practical tools
- Practice the art of keeping youth safe, while still engaging in Risky Play
- Receive group and One-to-One guidance from professionals with 20 plus years of experience in the field.
You might have a group of youth who act out with behaviors, or maybe diagnosed with ADHD, FASD, or Autism. Or maybe you are struggling with trusting the decisions that you make, when it comes to youth and risky play. Maybe you are just looking for alternative games and strategies to support your covid safety plan.
The way this training works:
- Think of this training as your compass to mastering your adventure and boosting your confidence, knowledge and skills
- Access training through our App that allows you to access materials on and off-line, so that you can take these teachings into the field (I highly recommend you buy a waterproof phone case)
- Join the zoom calls to introduce yourself, share stories and review new teachings
- Engage in 2 longer days over the span of 6 weeks (1 at the beginning, and one mid-way through), where we dive into the skills that you truly need to enhance your understanding of Wild Craft Play, whether it’s Assessing Hazards, Hand Skills, Heart Skills or deepening your understanding through Earth Conscious practices
- Join a follow-up debrief to catch stories, ask questions and wrap up your learning
- Receive your License to Teach via email.
e-mail: info@wildcraftplay.com
call: 250-927-7923
It is an honor and privilege to work and play on the K’omoks First Nation Territory in beautiful BC.
Apply Here
Click here for you free consultation:
e-mail: info@wildcraftplay.com
call: 250-927-7923
It is an honor and privilege to work and play on the K’omoks First Nation Territory in beautiful BC.
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