Inside Learning Through Exploration: A Play-Based Toddler Learning Curriculum
In 2024, we proudly launched our free, play-based toddler learning curriculum, Learning Through Exploration, designed for educators, caregivers, and parents. Neighborhood Villages developed this free resource over the course of a year through an inclusive and collaborative process, in partnership with educators, curriculum experts, community members, the LEGO Foundation, and the Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood.
The result is a developmentally appropriate tool co-created with the true experts on toddlers and their growth — their teachers and caregivers. We’re proud to have designed this curriculum not just for educators but in partnership with them, honoring their expertise and invaluable contributions.
Since its official public launch, Learning Through Exploration has seen remarkable reach, with over 900 downloads across 6 continents, 13 countries, and 41 U.S. states. It has been embraced by a wide range of professionals, including educators, coaches, consultants, caregivers, state agencies, and those in the higher education sector. Importantly, we’re proud to offer this as a free, open-source resource to ensure accessibility for all.
Learning Through Exploration features five explorations — All About Us, How Things Move, Our Bodies, Nature All Around Us, and Playing with Materials — each designed to foster development in children ages 15 to 33 months old with an anti-bias lens to promote inclusivity and individuality.
This innovative resource was piloted and evaluated across 24 toddler classrooms in Boston-based early education programs. The data and feedback we’ve collected show that it is a uniquely valuable resource that significantly increases the quality of interactions and experiences across classrooms.
The curriculum allows educators to transition from one exploration to another based on their children's interests. Explorations are also tailored toward literacy, creativity, and critical thinking, with suggested read-aloud books, highlighted vocabulary, and open-ended questions.
“This curriculum has been amazing. It's been so fun actually seeing what my kids' interests are,” said Rashad Smith, an educator at Horizons for Homeless Children, who participated in the pilot program and continues to use the curriculum.
Students and educators at Horizons for Homeless Children in Roxbury using the Learning Through Exploration curriculum.
“It's absolutely wonderful. It [always] felt like toddlers never had it right. It was either watered down preschool curriculum, or they kept them as babies as long as they possibly could. And so this is just perfect. It's really geared towards where they are,” one of our participating pilot early education program leaders shared.
Findings from our evaluation partners at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Boston Children’s Hospital reveal the effectiveness of the curriculum. Data shows that it has helped foster positive environments, enhance teacher sensitivity, improve behavior guidance, and strengthen regard for the child perspective.
Teachers piloting Learning Through Exploration also reported more positive experiences than teachers who were using different curricula.
There is a critical need in the early education space for accessible, high-quality curricula specifically tailored for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, alongside ongoing instructional coaching and implementation support. Learning Through Exploration addresses this need and equips educators with the tools to nurture our youngest learners effectively.
Neighborhood Villages is also working to develop an aligned infant curriculum to address another critical gap in resources for early education providers. Through a similar process, the infant curriculum is being co-created with educators, and early childhood experts. Once completed, our Learning Through Exploration curricula will create a continuum of novel, high-quality instructional supports for early educators and the children and families they serve. And importantly, these resources are accessible and available for free for everyone!
Learn more about the impact of the toddler curriculum in our latest case study here.
Download your copy today and bring Learning Through Exploration into your classroom!