Giggles learning center: Giggles Learning Center – Giggles Learning Center

Опубликовано: January 18, 2023 в 1:04 pm

Автор: alexxlab

Категории: Miscellaneous

Giggles Learning Center – Care.com Pflugerville, TX

Costimate^™

^$176

per week

Ratings
(9)

★★★★★

Availability

Costimate^™

^$176/week

Ratings
(9)

★★★★★

Availability

At Care.com, we realize that cost of care is a big consideration for families. That’s why we are offering an estimate which is based on an average of known rates charged by similar businesses in the area. For actual rates, contact the business directly.

Details and information displayed here were provided by this business and may not reflect its current status. We strongly encourage you to perform your own research when selecting a care provider.

Free registration and supply fee

Giggles Learning Center in Pflugerville, TX features an enriching experience with the children’s interests and needs in mind from Mondays to Fridays. They offer a secured state-licensed environment where preschool children can grow and learn intellectually, morally, socially, physically, and emotionally. They teach using developmentally appropriate materials with a maximum capacity of 56 children.

In business since: 2014

Total Employees: 11-50

Care.com has not verified this business license.
We strongly encourage you to contact this provider directly or

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Monday :	6:00AM – 6:30PM
Tuesday :	6:00AM – 6:30PM
Wednesday :	6:00AM – 6:30PM
Thursday :	6:00AM – 6:30PM
Friday :	6:00AM – 6:30PM
Saturday :	Closed
Sunday :	Closed

Type

Child Care Center/Day Care Center

Preschool (or Nursery School or Pre-K)

Philosophy

Developmental (Play-Based)

Academic

Languages

English

Teacher/Student Ratio:

1-5

Program Capacity:

Costimate^™

^$176/week

At Care. com, we realize
that cost of care is a big consideration for families. That’s
why we are offering an estimate which is based on an average of
known rates charged by similar businesses in the area. For
actual rates, contact the business directly.

Class Type	Availability ^*
Infant	5
Toddler	2
Preschool	2
Pre-K	5

OFFERINGS

Full Time (5 days/wk)

Part Time (1-4 days/wk)

01/11/2019

I have been going to Giggles Learning Center for a while now last night when I was picking up my child I witnessed an angry parent using very bad language and yelling at the top of her lungs the director Dana,and two of her staff members Theresa and Sabrina both being yelled at handled the situation very professionally and kept calm the parent was just out of control this daycare is amazing not only does the staff handle stressful situations very well but are so loving, caring,and attentive to their children!

02/27/2018

I have work with Dana for over five years. She was my boss at Giggles Learning Center for all most two years . She work all ever day .She away made sure we fallow the rules of the center and the state and if we didn’t we got in trouble and remind on what to do . I had to leave the center this year in January or personal reasons and my health. So if You had a problem with Dana she probably was telling you to stop doing something wrong. PLEASE DON’T listen to the lies this is a great place and Dana is awesome.

02/23/2018

Awesome center, The staff works very hard and loves the kids. Dana the director is always there and is like a little energizer bunny working. The prices are fair and there times are better than most center being open at 6am and not closing till 6:30. They not only watch the kids but work on teaching them basics as well. Great place I give it a 10 out of 10.

02/23/2018

I Love this center, The director Dana is very loving and kind. They have worked with our kids and they have excelled in school. I have one that is in kindergarten now and he was ahead of most of the other kids when he started. My other child is doing great there ,we recommend them to anyone needing good care for their children.

02/22/2018

Worst experience I have ever had at a day care. The manager at this time Dana was very un professional not only with staff but parents and students being verbally aggressive towards the students and contains the younger students for long period’s of time at the table for infants little bucket seats. She is always out of ratio handling the kids roughly. This is just a horrible place to put you’re children at.

02/07/2018

The staff are very loving here they take care of the children well they accommodate the parents the best they can I would send my kids here in a heartbeat

10/11/2017

Dana is a wine and beer drinking cigarette smoking drunk. I wouldn’t let a alcholic take care of my kids

07/23/2017

Awesome family run center. Took good care of my son all the way through him starting kindergarten.

12/10/2016

Best center ever. Very affordable was forced to move but very sad to leave. The staff loved my boy and helped him feel very comfortable he never wanted to leave. At other centers he refused to go in and threw a fit , here after a few times he ran and hugged his teachers. Center may be small but its a great family

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Child Care / Preschools / Preschools in Pflugerville, TX / Giggles Learning Center

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All-Day Child Care and Preschool in Ontario, Oregon

We Provide Child Care For

Headstart

Learn More

Preschool Promise

Learn More

Private Child Care

Learn More

ERDC

Learn More

Are you looking for a safe, fun, and inclusive learning environment for your child?

Finding a reliable child care provider is no easy task for families living in Ontario and neighboring communities such as Nyssa and Vale, as well as Idaho towns across the Snake River such as Fruitland, Payette, and Parma. Just when you have found some stability, your child gets too old for the in-home program down the street, and suddenly you’re back where you started.

This is especially true if you have multiple children! After all, who wants to drop off their kids at multiple locations every morning?

Or maybe you’ve been on a waiting list for 18 months and you can’t wait any longer. Whatever the case, the search for a child care partner can be truly overwhelming.

But there’s good news…

Giggles & Grace was born out of a desire to meet the growing needs of Ontario and those residing in the Treasure Valley. We serve and educate children from the tender age of 6 weeks all the way up to age 12 in our after school programs. Because we are a private child care center that specializes in preschool, we have developed multiple financial paths to make preschool affordable for you and your family, including Head Start, Preschool Promise, ERDC, and private pay options.

Our Mission

As caregivers and educators, Our Mission is to provide a safe and developmentally appropriate learning environment that fosters a child’s natural desire to explore, discover, create, and become a lifelong learner. We currently serve the Western Treasure Valley by providing care for about 180 children yearly and employ 30 staff members.

HISTORY

We Grew Out of a Desire to Serve the Malheur County Community

Our center began as a small, private care option known as the Giggle Tree. Our educators developed 50+ years of combined experience at the Giggle Tree, which is essential to the core expertise of our organization today. The Giggle Tree eventually expanded as our vision increased, and Giggles & Grace opened its doors in 2013.

To date, Giggles & Grace is currently licensed for 99 children in our center and 32 children at a partner’s facility. We are a non-profit organization committed to serving preschool and child care services to children between the ages of 6 weeks to 12 years old. Giggles & Grace currently has infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms as well as a before and after school program.

total children served per day

Caring and Professional Employees

Children in our Early Head Start Partnership Program

What Sets Us Apart

We Serve Multiple Age Ranges

Frustrated when your child “ages-up” and no longer fits into a particular age bracket? Or do you have more than one child that are 5 or younger? Giggles & Grace has multiple classrooms that serve and teach different age-groups.

See Classrooms

We Get Kids

Outdoors

Outdoor play is incorporated into the daily schedule for both the morning and afternoon. Outdoor play is an opportunity for children to run, jump, climb and use their bodies to learn and develop social interaction skills.

We Care for Your (Very) Little Ones, Too!

Giggles & Grace has 60 available spots for infants and toddlers at any one time. We care for little ones starting at the age of six weeks in our baby room.

LEARN MORE ABOUT INFANT AND TODDLER CARE

Multiple Funding Paths are Available

We can work with your family to find an affordable child care option. Within our facility and partner location, we have slots for children that qualify for Preschool Promise, Early Head Start, and ERDC. And if you don’t qualify for any of those programs, you can simply enroll in Giggles & Grace by paying privately.

LEARN ABOUT MY OPTIONS

We Meet (or Exceed) All State Requirements

From USDA approved meal choices, to mandatory nap time/quiet time, to appropriate caregiver-to-child ratios, we meet all the necessary state requirements to keep your child safe and secure.

SEE OUR RESOURCES PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS

Our Cool App Helps You (And Us!) Stay on Track

Using the Smartcare App, we are able to ensure seamless pickup and drop-off, track your child’s attendance, send home daily progress reports, communicate with staff, and give you a place to easily pay your tuition and fees. No children left in the parking lot here! Yippee!

Open 5 Days a Week Year Round

We’re open Monday through Friday nearly every week. We are open for infants and toddlers from 7:30am to 5:30pm, Mountain Time. For preschool-aged children (3 and up), we are open at 7:30am Mountain Time with pickup at 6pm. There are very few days we are not open during the week. Those days include New Years, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (2 Days), Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

We Believe in Educational Advancement

We want to prepare your child to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Our providers use the Creative Curriculum to teach your children the reasoning, interactive, and cause-and-effect skills that will benefit them once they enter kindergarten and for years to come. In addition, we offer nondenominational Christian-based Bible Adventure Time to those that would like to participate beyond our preschool teachings. Giggles & Grace is inclusive of all cultures and backgrounds in addition to the abilities of the children we serve.

How to Finance Your Preschool at Giggles & Grace

Giggles & Grace is a private, non-profit child care center. What this means for you is that we may have multiple funding options available for different income levels. And if you don’t qualify for assistance, we are one of the only center-based options that offer private pay opportunities in Eastern Oregon for all income brackets.

Here are all the ways you can get your child care paid for at Giggles & Grace:

Preschool Promise

Preschool Promise is available to families at 200% or less of the federal poverty level and provides completely free preschool to those who qualify. To apply for Preschool Promise, visit the Eastern Oregon Early Learning Hub and look for the Preschool Promise Full Application Form.

Early Head Start

Early Head Start is a government-funded preschool option for children 6-weeks old to a maximum of 3-years old which covers all of a family’s child care expenses for the year beside a potential ERDC copay. Families at or below 130% of the federal poverty level are eligible for Early Head Start. Giggles & Grace currently partners with the Oregon Child Development Coalition to provide 32 spots and four classrooms available for Head Start at our satellite location. These classrooms are split into (1) The Baby Room, (2) The 1-Year-Old Room, (3) The Mobile Room for 1s and 2s, and (4) The 2s and 3s room. To apply for Early Head Start please call (541)889-5325 and ask to speak with the Giggles & Grace Family Advocate or Program Coordinator to inquire more about eligibility.

ERDC

The Employment Related Day Care Program (ERDC) is state-funded daycare assistance through the state of Oregon, available to income-eligible families while they are working. According to the state of Oregon, “Assistance can include the cost of registration fees, including annual enrollment fees, application fees, and initial registration fees.” In other words, ERDC will generally pay the majority of your child care expenses based upon your monthly income level. To apply for ERDC, please visit Oregon.gov or contact Giggles & Grace and we will help guide you through the process.

Private Pay

We strive to make our monthly rates affordable for our working families who don’t qualify for any of our income qualifying programs. Please check out our Parent Handbook to see our monthly rates.

Confused about your funding options? This is totally understandable! Give us a call during business hours (7:30am-6:00pm Mountain Time) and will share all known community resources that may apply to your family.

How to Finance Your Preschool at Giggles & Grace

Here are all the ways you can get your child care paid for at Giggles & Grace:

Preschool Promise

Early Head Start

Early Head Start is a government-funded preschool option for 6-week to a maximum of 3-year-olds which, covers all of a family’s child care expenses for the year beside a potential ERDC copay. Families at or below 130% of the federal poverty level are eligible for Early Head Start. Giggles & Grace currently partners with the Oregon Child Development Coalition to provide 32 spots and four classrooms available for Head Start at out satellite location. These classrooms are split into (1) The Baby Room, (2) The 1 Year Old Room, (3) The Mobile Room for 1s and 2s, and (4) The 2s and 3s room. To apply for Early Head Start please call (541) 889-5325 and ask to speak with the Giggles & Grace Family Advocate or Program Coordinator to inquire more about eligibility.

ERDC

The Employment Related Day Care Program (ERDC) is state-funded daycare assistance through the state of Oregon, available to income eligible families while they are working. According to the state of Oregon, “Assistance can include the cost of registration fees, including annual enrollment fees, application fees, and initial registration fees.” In other words, ERDC will generally pay the majority of your child care expenses based upon your monthly income level. To apply for ERDC, please visit Oregon.gov or contact Giggles & Grace and we will help guide you through the process.

Private Pay

We strive to make our monthly rates affordable for our working families who don’t qualify for any of our income qualifying programs. Please check out our Parent Handbook to see our monthly rates.

What People Are Saying

“Giggles and Grace has been a very large part of our family and the well being of our children. It all started when the facility was Giggle Tree and our two boys rode the bus there after school. When it came time for our daughter, who is a special needs individual, I didn’t hesitate to contact Giggle Tree. They took great care of our daughter and installed a wheelchair ramp to accommodate to her needs.

When the facility became Giggles and Grace, the office staff and teachers continued to care for Abby and adapt to her special needs. Shawn was a great resource for getting special meals and equipment for our special Abby. We were able to receive care for her past the recommended age due to her disabilities and Giggles and Grace cared for her beyond our expectations.

I would recommend Giggles and Grace Early Learning Center to every parent that needs care for their children.”

–Jennifer Forsyth

“My experience as a parent here at Giggles and Grace Early Learning Center has been nothing but amazing. I have two daughters and both have been coming here since they were 1 years old and younger. The fact that they are open 5 days a week and all day is a huge stress relief for my husband and I. We both work 8-5 Monday through Friday and knowing my
children are getting good quality care is such a blessing.

All of the fun activities they do in the class, having homemade food, and routines with schedules gives them structure. I love getting pictures of them in the day, or just getting a text saying, “Hey she is doing great!”, is something every parent loves to hear.

I would highly recommend Giggles and Grace to anyone looking for quality child care. The teachers are fantastic and do an amazing job with these kids.”

–Tara Rodriguez

“For the past 5 years or so, Giggles and Grace staff have gone above and beyond for my family and I! I have 4 kids all under the age of 11 and they love going there! They are always so happy when I pick them up! All the wonderful staff are so caring and truly listen to our needs. I love receiving daily update pictures of my baby girl and my toddler, especially. All of the staff are so knowledgeable and have given me such helpful tips and are always there for us.

We even received a new jacket for my toddler last year, when we were in need, and when my hubby and I were sick with Covid this past year, and through all the sicknesses we’ve battled this past year, Giggles and Grace worked with us on the billing/payment arrangements. The kids are so well taken care of and the staff is always so friendly and are all always willing to help any way they can! We will stay with you for as many years as we can!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything that you do, for providing the best service possible, and for keeping our kids happy, healthy, and safe every day!”

–Jessica Tolman

Start the Enrollment Process Today!

Take the first simple step towards a more seamless child care experience by scheduling an after-hours tour, virtually, or by phone consultation. When you discover that we are the right fit for your child(ren) and family, you can then begin our enrollment process.

Parents often save for their children’s college; however, the first five years of a child’s life and education are the most critical in terms of brain development and dictate opportunities throughout adulthood. Make an investment today that will last a lifetime!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What days are you open and what are your hours?

We’re open Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 6:00pm, Mountain Time. Infants and Toddlers need to be picked up by 5:30pm, and preschool aged children or older need to be picked up by 6pm. [Failure to pick up a child on time, within a reasonable amount of time or without making necessary accommodations, may result in the local police department or DHS being called with regard to neglect as we are Mandatory Reporters].

2. How do I know my child is going to be safe and cared for?

The SmartCare App will inform you when your child was checked in as well as when your child was picked up. For babies, you will get you a daily “babygram” about the progress of your little one during pick up. We also provide Incident Reports as applicable to be read and be signed during pick up.

3. Do My Kids Have to Go Each Day of the Week?

No, we are flexible! In fact, we have different monthly and daily pricing options based on how often you plan to have your child attend Giggles & Grace. The full monthly rate is a good option if you plan to have your child attend more than 3 days per week, while our intermediate option offers a reduced rate where you pay for 13 days of the month at a time (then you simply tack on the daily rate if you happen to go above that). We also offer daily and half-day fees. Some programs such as Early Head Start, Preschool Promise, or ERDC have attendance requirements.

See our price list for more detail.

4. Does My Child Have to Participate in Nap Time?

The Oregon Office of Child Care requires that all children must be given time daily to nap or rest. Children will not be forced to sleep; however, they will be expected to lie or sit quietly during nap time so as not to interfere with the nap or rest time of other children. The length of time a child sleeps is dependent upon each child’s resting needs; furthermore, children shall be provided alternative quiet activities if unable to rest after 45 minutes.

5. How Does Your Before & After School Program Work?

This Explorers programing is fairly mobile as our before and after school program utilizes field trips, trips to the park, outdoor spaces, and indoor spaces to a high degree. The program is available for 5 to 12 year-olds and is offered during the same regular hours as the center. In the mornings you may drop off your child as early as 7:30am. In the afternoons you may drop off your child whenever they finish with school; pick up must be completed by 6pm. Please see more on the Explorers page.

6. Do You Help with Potty Training?

Yes, we do. Although, we want to see children potty trained by the age of 3. If your child is over the age of 3, a potty-training fee will be incurred and increased monthly as this is outside the general scope of work that we perform from age 3 and up. Please note that this does not pertain to the need for assistance in utilizing the restroom or otherwise due to a disability or for medical reasons.

7. How Do I start the Enrollment Process?

You will first need to complete the Child Enrollment Authorization Form and Financial Agreement, then pay a one-time registration fee per child with the second being reduced. See our resources page to get started.

8. How do I pay my enrollment tuition?

Most parents pay through the SmartCare App, which needs to be installed on your Android or Apple Device.

You may also mail a check to:

Giggles & Grace
1260 SW 8th Ave
Ontario, OR 97914

Giggles & Grace is a Certified Child Care Center; licensed by the state of Oregon.

Newslab checked the safety of schools, kindergartens and universities in Krasnoyarsk / News of the Society of Krasnoyarsk and the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Newslab.

Ru
After the tragedy in Kerch, where a college student made a real massacre, the authorities of the region announced that security measures have been strengthened in all educational institutions: security is on the phone, surveillance cameras are on target. We decided to check for ourselves how it works and tried to get into four educational institutions in Krasnoyarsk.

10/23/2018

Alarm signal

A week ago, two dozen people were killed at the Polytechnic College of the Crimean city of Kerch, and even more were injured. The killer is one of the college students who came to class with a gun and a bomb. The details of the tragedy are still being sorted out, but the fact remains – a man entered the building with a whole arsenal and committed a crime.

Words of mourning are placed on information boards in Krasnoyarsk schools

Photo: Facebook Evgeniya Timasheva

“In connection with the tragic events, from today, additional checks have been launched everywhere, there will be instructions, classes with children. All schools, kindergartens, technical schools and universities have telephones. All large schools have video surveillance, fences, fences and security,” the Ministry of Education of the region reported.

We decided to personally check how things are with security in the field, and tried to get into a kindergarten, lyceum, college and university in Krasnoyarsk.

Lyceum No. 7, Oktyabrsky district of Krasnoyarsk

There is a turnstile at the entrance to the lyceum on Menzhinsky, 15, you can get inside strictly with passes. I have no such pass, of course. It remains only to persuade the guard. But even when asked to let me into the hall “to wait for my niece, who promised to come out, but is delayed”, I was politely asked to stay in my place:

“I can’t let you in without a pass. Wait for her at the entrance, ”the female guard ended the conversation with me with these words.

The “negotiations” on the phone with a fictitious niece did not save either. The guard remained with her, and this pleases. Move on.

Krasnoyarsk College of Radio Electronics and Information Technology, Zheleznodorozhny District

The college at 67 Svobodny Ave trains future radio engineers, programmers and accountants. To get into the academic building, you need to present your student ID to the security guard. He was asked from me. The answer is “I forgot”. After that, I was allowed to go only up to the schedule, but not further. Formally, the task was completed – I got into the building. But all the time that I was photographing sheets on the wall with a schedule of classes that I didn’t need, a man in uniform was monitoring the situation from his place. After that I was asked to leave.

Inspired by two successful (for institutions, of course) security checks, I moved on. Alas, I was completely disappointed…

Astafiev Pedagogical University, Central District

similar answer and… just keep walking down the corridor. Why they didn’t ask me anything, I don’t understand. Maybe the standard “there are a lot of you, I’m alone – I can’t remember everyone”, or maybe the woman just relaxed on Saturday afternoon.

My walk lasted no more than seven minutes, I would have walked further through the beautiful building, but there was no point in it. I managed to notice several open rooms, and on the second floor I even listened to a rehearsal of some band.

I leave in English, the watchman leaves the building with me – goes for a new book from the bookcrossing cabinet at the entrance.

Kindergarten No. 50, Sverdlovsky district of Krasnoyarsk

Kindergarten at 173, Shipbuilding, surrounded by a fence with a pass system. To get into the yard, you either need to have your own chip or, by pressing a button, call the kindergarten administration. Morning, 8.30, almost all the children are already in groups, so it’s impossible to go with one of the parents for the company. For the sake of the purity of the experiment, I try to confuse the staff and arouse more suspicion: I press the button and leave without waiting for an answer. I make a circle along the fence and return again, this time waiting for an answer.

– Who?
– Let me in, please, I need to go to the head about placing a child in a kindergarten.
– Come on in.

It’s that simple. I pass, a woman in a cleaner’s apron meets me, gives me boot covers, says: “wait.” After that, he immediately leaves. I had the opportunity to walk along the corridor where the manager’s office is located, or even go up to the second floor. This is enough for the verdict – getting into kindergarten is not difficult.

Total – school and college (with a stretch) passed the test, university and kindergarten – failed. But it is in these places that our children, relatives and friends are daily from morning to evening. There are about four hundred schools and kindergartens in Krasnoyarsk alone. We are sure that control over them should be constant and not depend on checks or instructions “from above”. By the way, how is the security at the educational institution where you were recently?

Anastasia Shchepetova especially for online newspaper Newslab. ru

Game practices

March 12, 2017 Business, Interview, Interesting, Business psychology

Every day we perform hundreds of different actions that add up to certain processes. Before taking any action, we make a decision and do it, as a rule, with the help of logic and common sense. We act as it is customary to act in a given situation, and forget that the result will be true and unique, will correspond to reality and take into account all the participants, if this decision contains our deep individuality, our “realness”. But how can we hear ourselves and understand that it is our Self that speaks to us, and not attitudes collected from the outside, imposed by other people and taken for our own? Since spring is already outside, we decided to move away from serious approaches a little and invited a specialist who practices creative approaches to solving complex problems and tasks to visit. Meet Valentina Gabysheva, the creator of gaming insight-oriented projects to find yourself and your business.

Valentina, tell us what game practices are? For many, it is completely incomprehensible how it is possible, being a serious adult, to play in business, at work, in life .

In modern realities, the game is perceived as everyday idleness. Now they have begun to rehabilitate it through gamification, they are introducing the game into work, educational, and business processes to increase the interest of employees and students.

I am not in favor of using the game in a manipulative format. Gamification is essentially a tool to stimulate something. It forces you to do what a person does not have an internal resource for.

My game practices are game projects, events for personal and professional self-determination. They allow you to use active imagination, creative and mental strategies: a person plunges into a certain game frame, into a certain game situation and receives an answer from himself. In this sense, these practices can be called insight-oriented.

How long have you been doing this and how did you get there?

Long enough. For a long time I was looking for who I am, what I am for, what I should do, so at the age of 30 I already had a colorful work book, where completely non-intersecting activities were collected. I tried different self-determination tools, went through various career guidance programs, self-discovery trainings, psychological tests with different approaches – from academic to alternative ones. Each time it brought me some piece of knowledge. And this knowledge, issued in the form of a transcript of a test or an expert external opinion, has always not suited me with its one-sidedness. As a result, I came to game practices that are built on internal metaphors. Where the answer “from the material of the customer” comes from within, as new knowledge about oneself.

W What does playing practice give people?

Practice creates a certain space in which a person plunges in his imagination and receives answers from himself in the form of images, metaphors, personal symbols. Elements of game approaches are actively used today in various types of helping practices: art therapy, symbol drama, narrative practice, emotional-figurative therapy, psychosynthesis, and others.

Such practices help adults understand themselves, define themselves, expand the halo of knowledge about themselves, understand what is his and what is not in this world. In the words of M. Foucault, this is how a person “saves himself for his own sake and through himself, … in order to find himself.”

Moment of the gameplay

How does a person understand that this image came to him from his intuition, and not he himself thought up, fantasized? How to understand that he was not deceived?

This question is often asked of me.

My clients are well-educated people, well-read, intellectuals, with honors, gold medals and successful career stories. And these are people who live a lot with their heads. It is they who have the question: “Maybe I am deceiving myself, maybe I am playing along with myself? Customize to what you want?

I always say that I give only stimulus material, and the images and interpretations are yours, and nothing but yours can come to you.

Total distrust of oneself, distrust of the images and answers that come from within – this is a huge problem for adult successful people. Often, by the age of 40-50, their external career has taken place, but they have not learned how to make an internal career. Nobody ever taught us this.

When I ask the question: “How often do you talk to yourself?” I often hear: “What is it like talking to yourself? What to talk about? And is that okay at all?”

You know, there is a method of 16 associations, when you need to look for an answer to a question, focusing on the first answers that come associatively. My friend, a socially accomplished person, trying to pass the test, exclaimed: “The Cheshire Cat came to my mind! What the hell?! Why should I be guided by this?!”

With such people, first of all, it is necessary to create a play space according to special rules. Prepare them. For a person, as I call it, with a swollen seriousness, a pragmatic entrepreneur, a reasonably rational person, of course, the question arises: “How can I believe this?” Therefore, without setting up, without proper immersion, you should not let a person with a pragmatic mindset into the game. He will get answers, but he will also devalue them. Therefore, first you need to transfer a person from everyday life to the gaming space, set up for the game.

To do this, a person must “drop out” of his usual social roles.

A special case where people associate themselves very strongly with the roles they perform. A person believes that he is a mom or dad, that he is a good worker, a successful entrepreneur, that he is a great friend, and so on. And through this role set, he perceives and explains himself, builds his behavioral strategies. There is a mask growth effect. And the more rigidly a person associates himself with a set of roles, the narrower this set of roles, the more difficult it is for him to improvise in life, to be included in game processes.

To get an intuitively correct answer, you need to get away from your social roles

For example, someone has been working in a trade union all his professional life. And he has become so merged with the fact that he is the leader of the union that when retirement happens and the role conditions change, he has a crisis. The person can no longer fulfill his successful role with which he has identified himself. And who is he now, the person does not understand. Such an “amputation” of a significant role, with which a person has firmly connected himself, leads to sad consequences.

Or another example: someone associates himself with the role of “Ideal Wife” or “Great Husband and Father”. And suddenly something happens that such a person cannot understand and accept, for example, a divorce or other dramatic circumstances that lead to the loss of an actual role. And it becomes a life catastrophe.

A sincere misunderstanding of what kind of creature I am without this biography of mine, without my social role, confuses people of a fairly large scale. These people are very successful, very famous and often confused. You ask them a question: “And if you do not take into account your biography, your role repertoire at work and at home, who are you?” And the person has a stupor.

This is a problem, and game practices work very well with it. And a person begins to understand that he is not only a mother, father, an excellent specialist, a highly qualified accountant, but he is also a little dragon, a little the same Cheshire Cat. And he is also the one who initiates change, or the one who cuts off what is no longer living, or the one who restores what has been damaged, or the one who catalyzes processes.

Outside their social contexts, a person discovers in himself knowledge that is important to him.

It comes with insight, it comes as some kind of new knowledge that restructures the human world, divides it into “before” and “after” insight. These are very deep existential things. A person acquires some meanings that are important for himself, which support him and allow him to increase his role flexibility. And it becomes easier for him to rebuild during life collisions.

From an applied point of view, this knowledge is superfluous. Often people after practices say: “God, I learned so much about myself! It turns out that’s what I am! What should I do about it?!”

People want to immediately use the acquired knowledge!

Yes, people are used to the hands-on approach.

Nassim Taleb in his book “Antifragile” studies fragile systems: financial, economic, business systems – any. He says that the system becomes fragile when the excess is removed – something that does not seem to help in the application plan. And when the “extra” is removed, then the system becomes optimal, and it operates at the limit of its capabilities. Such systems become fragile and suffer in a crisis, and “surpluses” – they help the system to rebuild in times of crisis.

In the case of a person, game developments in understanding oneself are superfluous, it seems, not applied knowledge, but in difficult times these inner meanings help a person cope with a difficult situation and at the same time evolve, save himself and move to a higher and deeper level.

That is, at the time of the crisis, it is better not to engage in gaming practices?

Usually people come just in a crisis. Just like that, from a good life, people will not go to explore themselves. If a person is all right, if he is happy, calm, satisfied, if every morning he wakes up in joy, if life brings him pleasure, if he is in harmony with himself and the world, then he does not need special games.

Most often, people come when they have fulfilled a certain scenario that seemed to promise a harmonious state (graduate from a university, become a specialist, start a family, get a professorship, become a top manager of a company, travel around the world, and so on).

A person has a certain prescription, a meta-scenario. He believes that when he does this and that, he will be happy. This is how the present is devalued. Everything goes to the glory of a happy future that must come, and the present is only a preparation for it.

And when he executes this scenario, the question arises: “Now what do I do?” After all, the set of achievements and facts that he aspired to and that he collected does not in fact guarantee the enjoyment of life. A person lives in a “this is when” mode: when he moves to another country, when he reaches a certain position in a company, when he gets a house, a family and has five children. When all this is done, and the person does not live in the present, a crisis arises.

That is, basically, people come when they are already “not feeling well”. They do not understand why it is not good, because outwardly everything is in order on all fronts.

What task should a person solve for himself when he comes to game practice in a crisis? Does it make sense for him in this state to seek his mission, his professional purpose?

For us, the work of self-realization is tied to a certain professional viability. It is necessary to find that the most profession, to take place in it – and everything will be fine. But the work of incarnating oneself is not being done. A person in crisis is a person who is not doing this work, he is not self-fulfilling, something in his beingness is going wrong.

He may be busy feeding him, but he is not busy feeding him.

Game practices, like any creative strategies (art therapy, right hemisphere methods), help a person who rationalizes everything, and life seems logical and predictable to him, to hear some irrational answer, to see some things that excite. Excite the images that come from within when he goes through this practice. There is such a sense-making and a very strong emotional response to it.

But we don’t have the skills to work with our own metaphorical world, the skills to decipher our images, to understand them. And in creative practices – in art therapy, in the game – there is a conversation with oneself. This is useful not only in a crisis, it is useful in general. It is useful to study yourself, study your metaphorical landscape, and this helps later, especially when a person has difficulties, when he suddenly realizes that his life is not quite what he wanted.

The hardest thing to play is socially accomplished people

And then there is this moment. Everyone knows how to play. But the more successful a person is, the more successful he is socially, the longer the distance for him, along which he needs to return to this state. Serious enough people have to work longer so that he can basically imagine something. People with game intelligence immediately enter the “as if” state.

Let’s talk more about the professional purpose. In your blog, you say that “purpose is a verb.” Tell me what does that mean?

“Purpose is a verb” – a lead to a game quest to find a destination. In the early 2010s, I had the experience of running self-determination games with hundreds of people. And I’ve seen how it works, seen things happen. And the main problem that became clear to me: when a person is looking for a certain vocation, he tries to find himself in a certain profession, in a certain professional occupation: a teacher, a sales manager, a yachtsman, and so on. In fact, if we are talking about a vocation, it lies in the field of the verb.

Someone’s destiny is to let die what must already die. Professionally, a person can be an accountant. But one accountant works very well with something that must die, which means that he sees some kind of non-viability that no one has yet guessed about. Another accountant works great with outsiders, with outcasts, and his verb is to restore, rehabilitate.

I had a director of an accounting firm that has been operating on the market for a long time. The crisis at the director: she became bored, uninteresting, she began to give clients to colleagues, there was talk of closing. We started to figure it out. It turns out that she enjoys when a company comes to her, which turned out to be strongly outside the legal field – in the tax sphere. To take and wash, clean up such a company to a white state – this was the activity for her that brought personal strength, energy. And all her most devoted clients are exactly the companies that she restored in this way. But with the growth of her reputation, those who are doing relatively well began to come to her service. And there was nowhere for her to take energy from. As soon as she figured it out, she realized that her specificity was to take on difficult cases that other accountants would not take on.

Another person may have a similar history of overcoming, with a challenge. He can understand this and do it consciously – take on things that others seem impossible. Either a person will not understand this, and he will “throw himself into an embrasure” unconsciously, creating situations for himself when he needs to make a breakthrough. And this is only because he does not understand that his personal strength grows in such processes, when he takes and courageously overcomes obstacles.

The question is to understand the processes that feed you, that are important to you, that bring you personal strength. Once you understand this, it doesn’t matter who you work with.

It is important to understand that you must organize your processes in a way that is authentic to you. Find what brings you energy, resources. People don’t feel like this so much, they are so switched to the search for professional niches and have the illusion that, having found a professional niche, they are realized there – and often this leads to disappointment.

It is important to look at what a person does in any place of work, when he is asked and not asked – these are calling markers. And no matter what tasks are set for him, no matter where he finds himself, he carries out these actions. Even if he was urged not to do so. Then you can see his inclinations, his needs, which he somehow satisfies. See how he does it. Especially those actions for which he was not asked and did not pay for it. And it can lead to thoughts about what you need to do.

Or is it possible to find out with the help of gaming practices?

It all depends on the request. Game practices can show some uniqueness. There are practices that will show your calling, purpose, your own algorithm, in which you always act. They can reveal your flaw and make it clear what function his flaws can perform in his system, what role they play, what lies behind them. These weaknesses make sense, they can protect a person.

Game practices help you find your true self

With the help of practice, you can find out your superpower. If the task is to find out what is the meaning of some kind of fear, then with the help of gaming practices, this can also be done. Everything depends on the request, on the task that the person sets. Such practices are now in demand in business (the same metaphorical cards or tabletop transformational games, for example). When, say, sales fall in a company, the manager understands that, from the point of view of a rational approach, the first, second, third, fourth action must be taken. But there is an inner feeling that for some reason this will not help, that this is not right. And in some other way to understand what to do, he cannot. From game practices, he receives answers that cannot be reached in a rational way.

Can a person’s professional purpose change during his life?

This is a debatable question.

In my picture of the world there is a certain predestination, a deposit, a potential of a person’s abilities, which manifest themselves already in childhood. And I am glad that some specialists who work with career guidance confirm the hypothesis that a child under 5 years old shows these inclinations very well, they are very clearly played out. But in the process of socialization in kindergarten and school, the child is built into other systems (for example, according to the principle – either you are a humanist, or you have a natural-scientific mindset). And they teach either a biologist or a journalist. And the first inclinations that were visible, they become irrelevant, because a person needs to decide on completely different tasks.

Working with adults, I suggest remembering not what they played with all the children in their childhood, but what was their personal game.