Rhode Island Preschoolers Share "Places to Play"

While at first glance it may appear to be just another guide to a city, Places to Play in Providence — the first product of a newly-created peer teacher network cofacilitated by Project Zero’s Making Learning Visible and Ready To Learn Providence — is actually much more.

A network of 16 center-based teachers and family childcare providers worked with their young students to create the book which includes drawings, poetry, and descriptions of places to visit in the city as seen through the eyes of three-, four-, and five-year-olds. Among the book’s recommendations are the Providence Children’s Museum, the swing at Brown Street Park, the Providence Performing Arts Center (where you can see The Lion King and “kids can sleep because it’s a long show”), and Lippet Park (“where you can make new friends”).

The book, partially funded by a grant from the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children (RIAEYC) and Bright Stars (Rhode Island’s Quality Rating and Improvement System), became a centerpiece at the annual National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference in June, where Providence Mayor Angel Taveras praised the book and presented the 2,000 educators in attendance with their own copies.

Places to Play is an example of how early childhood educators can further children’s learning, while also furthering their own. To begin the project, teachers engaged children in discussions of what play is and where it happens. They introduced them to the ideas of creating drafts and receiving feedback. Additionally, the children’s families provided photographs of their children’s favorite places to play. Project Zero researcher Ben Mardell, who helped facilitate the teachers’ network, explains this helped children share their ideas and expertise with their classmates, and supported children drawing, talking, and exploring. The book also created an opportunity for professional development among the teachers dealing with how to engage their students and talk to them about projects.

Mardell thinks that the success of Places to Play provides an opportunity to advocate for the importance of quality early childhood education. “We can use this book can talk to politicians and policymakers about what children are capable of, and how good childcare can help them actualize their capabilities,” he says. “We need good teachers and when they are available, good things happen.”

Educators from as near as Cambridge and as far as Tokyo have expressed interest in creating versions of the book for their cities.

You can read Places to Play in Providence online at: http://issuu.com/r2lp/docs/places_to_play_in_pvd.