Learning through Play in Early Childhood
Scientific evidence shows that the biggest impact on a child’s trajectory through life takes place during the early years. The brain develops fastest during a child's the first three years. In addition, children between four and six are at a peak in the development of a range of critical functions related to the child's lifelong learning.
For every dollar invested in early childhood, there is a return of between 7-14 dollars, making it one of the public investment areas with the highest return. While the early years have gradually risen into the limelight and have now been included in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, play is often not seen as an essential part of early childhood development and parents are often overlooked as a key part of the solution.
With this programme the LEGO Foundation aims to establish learning through play as a critical component of early childhood development, enabling children to become creative, engaged lifelong learners and to shift adult behaviour towards engaging in learning through play at home, in communities and towards demanding quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes. The programme focuses primarily on driving change for children up to the age of six.
Our focus areas within this programme are:
- Home: We reach parents and caregivers directly through media, technology or home visiting programmes to convince them of the power of learning through play
- Public settings/communities: We work with partners that can provide learning through play experiences as temporary or permanent opportunities in public spaces or community centres
- ECD centres: We identify, support and adapt affordable, high-quality learning through play models for ECD centres. In particular, we seek to build the capacity of ECD practitioners and find effective solutions to build bridges between such centres and the home
Partners
a:primo
Co-funding the development of an early childhood education programme for children from 3 to 6 years of age to support the transitions from home to kindergarten to school in Switzerland.
Partners
Ashoka
Identifying play-based learning innovations around the world in partnership with Ashoka, the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide.
Partners
BRAC Play Labs
Developing an affordable, high quality, play based early learning model for children aged 3 to 5 year-old in Bangladesh, Tanzania and Uganda.
Partners
Harvard Center on the Developing Child
Advancing science-based innovation and learning through play in partnership with the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
Partners
New Profit
Supporting the establishment of the Early Learning Fund through a three-year partnership with New Profit to bolster reach of quality early learning models.
Partners
Sesame Workshop
Partnering to change parent and caregiver perceptions of play in Mexico, South Africa and India.
Partners
SOS Children's Villages
Supporting SOS Children's Villages to bring learning through play tools and activities to 12,000 children in Kenya.
