What if the best kind of learning looked a whole lot like play? Welcome to Play Happens - the podcast for parents, educators and caregivers who want to understand why play isn’t just fun, it’s fundamental. Hosted by Jess - a teacher, play advocate and mum - each episode explores the messy, joyful and sometimes unexpected ways children grow through play. You’ll get practical tips, myth-busting insights and encouragement to trust the power of play. Because the best kind of learning? It happens every day, through play.
S3 EP 5: Why Children Learn Differently When They're Having Fun
Why can children spend 40 minutes completely absorbed in figuring something out when they're playing, but struggle to concentrate for five minutes when we're trying to teach them?
In this episode, I look at what happens in the brain during play and why things like attention, motivation, curiosity, experimentation and feedback are so closely connected to learning.
Because perhaps play isn't simply a more enjoyable way to learn.
Perhaps play is one of the reasons we do learn!
✨ Play Happens is hosted by Jessica Degenhardt - Primary Educator, Masters in Special & Inclusive Education and passionate play advocate.
Follow Jess on Instagram: @playhappensau (https://www.instagram.com/playhappensau)
🎧 Follow Play Happens Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.
💌 Share this with someone who has ever wondered whether their child is actually learning when they're “just playing.”
Have a question, story or topic you’d love covered in the podcast?
Send a message or DM - this podcast is shaped by real families and real childhoods.
6 Oct 2026
S3 EP 4: When Play Takes Over Your House
I'm pretty good at letting my kids play.
Build a cubby in the lounge room? Sure.
Use the cushions? Go for it.
Turn the couch into an imaginary world? Apparently that's fine too… because it's been there for two days and I still can't sit on it.
But drawing on the walls? Nope.
Cutting the blinds? Absolutely not.
Texta all over your body? We need to have a chat.
So where's the line between giving children space to explore and letting play take over your entire house?
In this episode, we're talking about the “SERIOUSLY?!” moments of parenting, the learning hiding underneath them, and why setting boundaries around play doesn't mean you're stopping play.
Because sometimes the mess is just… evidence that play is happening.
✨ Play Happens is hosted by Jessica Degenhardt - Primary Educator, Masters in Special & Inclusive Education and passionate play advocate.
Follow Jess on Instagram: @playhappensau (https://www.instagram.com/playhappensau)
🎧 Follow Play Happens Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.
💌 Share this with someone who has a child who thinks the walls are a perfectly reasonable canvas.
Have a question, story or topic you’d love covered in the podcast?
Send a message or DM - this podcast is shaped by real families and real childhoods.
29 Sept 2026
S3 EP 3: The Art of the Playground
Is there actually a correct way to use a playground?
In this episode, I explore what children are really learning when they climb, balance, experiment and navigate a playground - and why our role isn't always to tell them what to do.
We look at the difference between genuine safety, social responsibility and adult discomfort, and how stepping back can give children more opportunities to practise judgement, problem-solving, independence and noticing the people around them.
Because maybe the playground was never meant to come with an instruction manual.
✨ Play Happens is hosted by Jessica Degenhardt - Primary Educator, Masters in Special & Inclusive Education and passionate play advocate.
Follow Jess on Instagram: @playhappensau (https://www.instagram.com/playhappensau)
🎧 Follow Play Happens Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.
💌 Share this with a parent who has a little playground adventurer.
Have a question, story or topic you’d love covered in the podcast?
Send a message or DM - this podcast is shaped by real families and real childhoods.
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Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
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