The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (CMNH) is excited to share that they have been awarded two grants this month to support the expansion of their Play-Based Learning educational outreach programming. A grant from the Dobles Foundation has been awarded to fund Play-Based Learning (PBL) efforts for at-home childcare providers and a second grant from the Kennebunk Savings has been awarded to collaborate with 25 public libraries in the area. With this funding, CMNH will provide all participants with play-based learning kits of materials, 10-months of activity guides and training with a goal of advancing knowledge and utilization of PBL in children’s rooms and childcare centers.
“Investing in early childhood development is an area of particular focus at Kennebunk Savings. It sets a foundation for lifelong learning and skill-building. The social and economic impact is huge,” said Lex Meagher, President and CEO of Kennebunk Savings. “There are a lot of parents and grandparents who work here – and believe it or not many bankers at one time were, themselves, children – and we can all see that there’s something special about the important work that the Children’s Museum of NH is doing to inspire children and improve the quality of education via play-based learning.”
The Museum has led several initiatives over the past five years to expand the use of play-based learning. “Our goal in working to increase utilization of play-based learning is to deepen learning experiences and help children be better prepared for success when they enter kindergarten classrooms,” said Jane Bard, president of CMNH. All kindergarten classrooms in NH are required to be play-based. “In addition, our work with public libraries, family resource centers and others working with young children has led to more enriching activity offerings at their sites, provided additional support for these educators in their work and created meaningful networks of connections.”
The play-based kits provided in this project include 20+ quality play-based toys, tested for durability and able to be used in multiple ways by various ages, accompanied by 10 months of ongoing activity guides on ways to utilize those toys in play-based activities. Also provided in this project are access to online workshops highlighting various PBL topics, and to a private Facebook group that serves as a forum for sharing ideas and collaborating with other participants. An invitation to an in-person event at the Museum to observe play-based activities in person and network with other participants is also part of this effort.
“We are very grateful for these grants supporting this important work,” said Bard. “We have had such positive feedback from participants in earlier PBL initiatives, and we are pleased to be able to continue this successful program.” Any at-home childcare provider or public library that would like to learn more or is interested in participating in this project should reach out to CMNH asap by contacting Meredith@childrens-museum.org. You can learn more about the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire and their play-based learning resources online at www.childrens-museum.org.
