About
Taking the Fun Cup Seriously is a playful, research-informed workshop that explores why fun, joy, humour and playfulness are essential – not optional – for children’s wellbeing, engagement and development in early childhood settings.
Grounded in the Phoenix Cups Framework and enriched by contemporary research on play, schematic patterns, social play, engagement and flow, this workshop reframes fun as a basic human life need. Educators explore what fills the Fun Cup®, why it so powerfully drives motivation and regulation, and how joy supports stress reduction, relationships and cognitive growth.
Through reflection, discussion and practical examples, educators are supported to reimagine routines, environments and interactions as opportunities for fun-filling, choice and sustained engagement. Participants leave feeling reinvigorated and confident to embed spontaneity, laughter and playful connection into everyday practice, recognising fun as a fundamental ingredient for children to thrive.
Download the full workshop brochure
See workshop overviews, learning focus, and delivery options in one clear, printable PDF.
We will
- Explore the Fun Cup® as a basic human life need and examine how joy, stimulation, humour and play support children’s motivation, relationships, wellbeing and engagement.
- Investigate the six types of social play and a range of schematic play patterns, using practical examples to build confidence in recognising and supporting play in action.
- Connect theory to practice through real scenarios, reflective prompts and discussion that reimagine routines, environments and interactions as opportunities for fun-filling, choice, engagement and sustained flow.
- Examine evidence-informed research and practical strategies, including flow theory, intrinsic motivation and agency, to intentionally design programs where fun is embedded, valued and understood as essential.
Participant outcomes
By the end of this workshop, you will:
- Develop a clear understanding of children’s fundamental need for fun, and why joy, humour and playfulness are essential to children’s emotional, social and cognitive wellbeing.
- Build confidence in identifying, valuing and supporting different forms of play, including schematic play and social play.
- Deepen your understanding of the theoretical perspectives underpinning fun, play, engagement and flow, and how these relate to children’s wellbeing and development.
- Gain practical, context-relevant strategies to intentionally embed fun-filling moments into everyday practice, interactions and program decisions.
- Feel renewed professional energy and inspiration to embrace spontaneity, creativity, humour and shared joy as powerful elements of quality early childhood practice.
Theoretical underpinnings
Phoenix Cups Framework
Sandi Phoenix
The Phoenix Cups Framework positions fun as a core human need that shapes children’s motivation, energy, and engagement. It supports educators to interpret play, humour, and stimulation-seeking behaviours through a needs-based lens, guiding responsive and intentional fun-filling practice.
Schematic Play
Jean Piaget & Chris Athey
Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Athey’s schema research explain how repeated patterns of behaviour help children construct meaning, explore ideas, and deepen learning through play; central to understanding Fun Cup filling and types of engagement.
Six Types of Play
Mildred Parton
Parton’s social stages of play provide a framework for observing how children engage socially, from solitary to cooperative play, informing how educators respond, scaffold, and design environments that support joy and connection.
Flow Theory
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow describes the deep immersion, joy, and intrinsic motivation children experience during sustained, uninterrupted engagement. It offers a powerful lens for understanding how children enter states of absorption that naturally support Fun Cup filling and high-quality learning.
National alignments
QA1 – Educational Program and Practice (Elements 1.1.1, 1.2.1, 1.2.2): Strengthens intentional, play-rich programs that foster engagement, agency, and joyful learning.
QA5 – Relationships with Children (Elements 5.1.1, 5.1.2): Enhances positive, playful interactions that build trust, enjoyment, connection, and shared humour.
QA6 – Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities: Supports conversations with families about the importance of play, fun, and joy as fundamental developmental needs.
Standard 1.2 – Know learners and how they learn: Deepens understanding of how joy, motivation, play, stimulation, and flow influence wellbeing and engagement.
Standard 3.2 – Plan, structure and sequence learning programs: Strengthens the ability to design play-based, engaging programs that incorporate schemas, fun-filling strategies, and purposeful joy.
Standard 4.2 – Manage classroom activities: Encourages flexible, playful routines that support sustained engagement and minimise unnecessary interruptions.
Principle 1 : Child safety and wellbeing are embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture: Reinforces environments where play, joy, and fun support emotional safety and belonging.
Principle 3: Children are involved in decisions affecting them: Builds agency and choice through playful, child-led experiences.
Principle 5: People working with children are suitable and supported: Promotes reflective practice that values children’s needs, rights, and playful ways of learning.
Principle 8: Physical and online environments are safe and accessible: Encourages environments that support safe, stimulating, joyful exploration.
Social & Emotional Learning
- Strengthens understanding of how fun supports stress reduction, connection, and emotional regulation.
- Builds educator capacity to foster joyful interactions, trust, and secure relationships.
- Encourages playful rituals that support emotional safety and belonging.
Language & Literacy
- Promotes playful communication, humour, storytelling, and social interaction.
- Enhances language development through shared joy, imaginative play, and conversational play.
Mathematics & Numeracy
- Utilises schema play (positioning, rotation, connecting, transforming) as rich foundations for mathematical thinking.
- Encourages playful problem-solving, patterning, spatial awareness, and reasoning.
Access & Inclusion
- Ensures all children can participate meaningfully in a wide range of playful, joyful learning opportunities.
- Supports educators to recognise and remove barriers to participation in play and engagement.
Communication (Language Development)
- Enhances conversational language, humour, expressive communication, and social interaction through joyful play.
Wellbeing (Social & Emotional)
- Strengthens children’s emotional wellbeing through fun, connection, laughter, and shared enjoyment.
- Reduces stress and supports co-regulation through play, humour, and flow experiences.
More on taking The Fun Cup™ seriously
Interested in taking The Fun Cup ™ seriously? You can read all about it in our blog.
