Nicola Hoad was a primary teacher for 10 years and is now an owner of Play in the Past which centers around providing playful explorations with historical resources into classrooms for a hands on rich exposure to children’s learning. Nicola has shared with us deliberate and intentional languages that she uses when she’s teaching and how this exposure would extend children’s contextual and understandings of the learnings they are experiencing with. Today's episode, I invite you to reflect on:  - What is play? And how often do we engage in play? - Have you unpacked the concept of play with your team or yourself? - What space and time do you allow free explorative play? What does that look like? - How are children engaging in play and how do we allow children and educators to experience and reflect upon the human and non human entanglements in those interactions?   Resources:  UNICEF (June, 2024) First Ever International Day of Play https://unicef.org/stories/first-ever-international-day-of-play "Children’s immersion in their play illustrates how play enables them to simply enjoy being" (EYLF v2, 2022, p21). United Nations (2024) International Day of Play. https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-of-play   Guest speaker : Nicola Hoad @playinthepast https://www.instagram.com/playinthepast/ Play in the Past https://www.playinthepast.com/   Host: Dee Suvanmani  @teachingjourneypodcast (https://www.instagram.com/teachingjourneypodcast/)    *Disclaimer* Please note that I have missed spelt and pronounced Nicola's last name as Noad when it is Hoad. Apologies for the initial lack of research and clarification on my end and I am unable to make the changes in the recording. Names are an integral part of our identity and should be clearly pronounced, spelled and identified.