Neighborhood Villages Launches New Play-Based Toddler Curriculum Designed in Partnership with Boston Public Schools and the LEGO Foundation
Developed high-quality early education curriculum available for free to educators across the country
BOSTON, MA (May 14, 2024) - Today, Neighborhood Villages officially launched its new play-based early education curriculum designed in partnership with Boston Public Schools (BPS) and the LEGO Foundation. The curriculum (for children ages 15 months through 2.9 years old) called Learning Through Exploration: A Play-Based Toddler Curriculum, is a high-quality resource that is accessible and free for educators in Massachusetts and across the country.
“After more than a year of developing this critical resource for and with early educators through an inclusive, collaborative and iterative process, we are so excited to launch our new toddler curriculum,” said Sarah Siegel Muncey, co-founder of Neighborhood Villages. “This is a developmentally appropriate resource, rooted in the principles of anti-bias education, and co-created with the true experts on toddlers and their development — their teachers and caregivers. We are excited and proud to have developed this curriculum not for educators, but alongside them, with genuine appreciation for the value and expertise that they bring to the table. We are so grateful to the LEGO Foundation and BPS for their leadership in making learning through play a priority for every child and for their support of this ambitious project.”
“We are so excited for this new resource that will set our youngest learners up to thrive, while also supporting our dedicated early educators who nurture our children each day,” said Kristin McSwain, Senior Advisor to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Director of the Mayor’s Office of Early Childhood. “This play-based curriculum makes high-quality early education more accessible for children in Boston and beyond and we are grateful for everyone who made this a reality.”
“Play-based learning is critical for the development of all children, especially our youngest learners,” said Yerrie Kim, Head of Learning through Play at the LEGO Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Neighborhood Villages on this new playful curriculum that will help support early educators and give children an equitable and bright start to their future.”
“Education doesn’t start at kindergarten – it starts at birth. Early education and care educators are critical to ensuring our youngest learners receive the highest quality education they deserve, setting them up for school and lifetime success,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “I was honored to join Neighborhood Villages, Boston Public Schools, the Lego Foundation and more today to celebrate their new play-based, developmentally appropriate free toddler curriculum.”
“It was wonderful to be with Neighborhood Villages, Boston Public Schools, the Lego Foundation, educators, colleagues, and friends today to highlight their new toddler curricula,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw. “Critically, the curriculum focuses on play-based learning, which we know provides young children with engaging experiences that support their cognitive and social-emotional development, helping to close the learning gap before they enter kindergarten.”
Through its support of early learning centers with educator coaching and other teaching supports, Neighborhood Villages identified a major void when it comes to play-based curricula for toddlers. Early educators previously faced few choices for play-based, creative, and aligned curricula for this age group.
For the last 18 months, Neighborhood Villages has piloted and evaluated the “Learning Through Exploration” curriculum with partner early learning centers through its existing program, The Neighborhood. The Neighborhood is a network of five Boston-based early education providers for which Neighborhood Villages serves as a centralized hub of support: the program models the ways in which K-12 districts support individual schools. Presently, The Neighborhood serves approximately 3,000 people, including 900 children.
To design and develop the curriculum, Neighborhood Villages engaged infant and toddler educators across participating Neighborhood programs as well as other experts in early childhood education, including professors, researchers, and child psychologists to discuss, debate, write, review, and iterate what eventually became the “Learning Through Exploration” curriculum.
To access the curriculum and accompanying resources, click here.
###
About Neighborhood Villages
Neighborhood Villages, founded in 2017 by Lauren Kennedy and Sarah Muncey, is a Boston-based systems-change non-profit that advocates for early education and care policy reform and implements scalable solutions that address the biggest challenges facing providers and the families who rely on them. For more information, visit https://www.neighborhoodvillages.org/our-work.