Kathryn Wilkins is a consultant, a play mindset mentor and coach, an ambassador of happiness, and a thought leader in the value of play as a tool for positive change. She is a member of the U.S. Play Coalition, an advocate of the American Journal of Play and is currently working with The National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector to transform staff school culture through the power of play.

Using playfulness and the latest research in positive psychology, Kathryn developed Adult Recess and Wingo to make achieving work, health and wellness goals simple, fun and inspired.

My Story

I’ve been some form of a teacher, coach, mentor and guide for my entire life.  Yup I mean literally. my. whole. life. Mostly because I love to talk and share about the things that excite me, the things I’ve learned and the things that I think will help you in some way... at as loud of a volume as possible, because, you know, it’s JUST SO AWESOME! (My husband and friends will attest to this). 

Teaching is also a profession that plays to my strong suits. It requires passion (see above), playfulness, creativity, curiosity and of course a love affair between strong planning skills and the ability to fly by the seat of your pants. 

Not only do my innate personality traits make me extremely qualified for this type of work, I get incredibly energized from the side effects of guiding others through the learning process. Let’s see...designing a community of people who are curious about the EXACT SAME THINGS that turn me on? Um YA! Being in on moments of pure joy, that flow when tasting the sweet nectar of success? Delicious, juicy happiness at its best.  Actually getting paid for this? Does it get any better? 

I’ve truly been teaching my whole life. As all good stories start, once upon a time... on a windy Chicago afternoon, I started Little Saints Preschool at the ripe old age of three. My first students, Care Bear, My Little Pony and Barbie raptly watched as I instructed them in the fine arts of painting, cutting and great mysteries of letter sounds, all conducted from the pulpit of my chalkboard. 

Since then, I’ve moved on to more lucrative teaching positions. Elementary school competitive swimming turned into a community of friends that turned into a job teaching swimming lessons that turned into a job as a swim coach. My deep love for rowdy songs, firelight storytelling and sailing the seven seas (well maybe just half a sea in a saltwater pond) under the summer sun at camp logically lead me to the teaching position of camp counselor... aka instructor of anything fun that I maybe had tried once or twice or was able to rustle up enough interest in. I credit my time as a camp counselor for honing my flying by the seat of my pants skills. 

I’ve always found a way to teach my latest passions. You might say my college side jobs illustrate the point nicely. A love of language, reading and writing > writing center instructor. A passion for creating wearable art, clothing & costumes > teaching sewing lessons. My happy hoop dancing to live music obsession > hoop aerobic classes. 

It should come as no surprise that when I finally “figured out what to do with my life”, as in I needed a full time job that offered health insurance, I ended up as a Montessori teacher. Every day I got to be a Professional Talker on such a wide variety of subjects that when I list them it’s like the grand titles of a European aristocrat from the seventeenth century. 

Did I mention that I’m incredibly talented at finding ways to combine my personal passions with teaching? Take, for example, the story of how I convinced the school I worked to add skiing, swimming, dance, horseback riding, golf and yoga to our yearly curriculum. Alas, a tale for another time. 

This all leads to the most profound moment I’ve ever experienced in knowing what comes next for me. It was a warm muggy May evening, as can only be experienced in the backwoods of New England. I was away at a summer camp (notice a theme?) with my school students on a week long Nature’s Classroom trip. Not being responsible for teaching all of their outdoor adventure lessons, I had a bit of free time to read about my newest interest, how to create your life on purpose. 

The more I thought, the more I realized that I have such a fun life. I make time to play every day. With my students, with my family, with my friends and by myself. Up until then, I wasn’t doing it on purpose. I’ll never forget the exact moment when a wave of energy so intense that I have no words to describe it, washed over and through me. I am meant to teach other people (adults really because children have this mastered) how to play. With purpose. On Purpose. Life is meant to be fun and full of adventure. I see so many people around me who have lost the spark that makes life worth living. 

So here I am, ready for the next generation of my teaching career and ready to share the wisdom I’ve gained from my lifelong commitment to play. I’ve always taught ways to play. Next comes why we play and how to harness its power on purpose. 

Play is the vehicle through which we push beyond our current boundaries, limits, and perceptions. It is the link between what is and what can be, between the finite and the infinite. Play is jubilant expansion to a larger, laughter filled life. 

Through all of my work guiding people on their own journey, regardless of the subject matter, I’ve realized that the joy is in the journey. It’s such an overused saying, but it’s a deeply profound one, and more important- true. Achieving success with ANY outcome depends upon how much you enjoy the path to get there. All of the things we want in life (to loose weight, to find our perfect mate, to make more money, ...) are out there waiting for us and it’s WAY easier to attain than we think.

Here are the key points (pretty simple)

• It has to be easy

• It has to be fun and feel good

I’ve discovered that when we set goals and make changes (take health for example) in ways that are fun, and feel good- they bring REAL results. Imagine what it would be like to feel amazing on each step of the way to loosing 20 pounds. No more sacrifice, no more deprivation, no more discomfort or misery. 

My Mission is to provide the tools, education and support to make the journey so enticing that the results sneak up on you.

The tools we’ll use are play and playfulness, both skills that we can intentionally practice and improve. Play is an act (something we do) and playfulness is a mindset. They are the instruments of expansion, inspiration and transformation.

We are all here experiencing this thing called life. Generation Joyful isn’t about when you were born, but what you choose to do with the time you are given. 

Welcome to Generation Joyful. A community of people that want to experience more fun, more happiness, more laughter AND as a result, more SUCCESS, people who know a bigger, better life is possible.