playbook
Reflections, valuable insights, hand-picked product recommendations, and so much more, all aimed at enhancing the everyday homes of families!
reading aloud
Reading aloud is the "single most important activity" an educator or parent can do to ensure future success in reading, according to Becoming a Nation of Readers. That's a lot of weight to put on a simple story!
When you read aloud, especially in an animated way, you promote emerging literacy and language development and foster a love of reading in young learners. Most importantly, it's never too early to start.
Now for the reality of it all: parents are exhausted by the end of the day, and sometimes, a book before bed can feel impossible to do. If you feel like you can't do it, pick a short, funny, entertaining book, zip through it, and say goodnight! (The @mo.willems.studio books are good for this.)
Pro Tip: You can demonstrate how enjoyable and entertaining reading can be using a silly voice, highlighting a word with a unique inflection, and creating a cozy, dedicated space for storytime to occur.
keeping chaos under control
The playroom is one of the areas of the home most prone to mess and disorder. The key to keeping the chaos under control is involving your child in the process of organizing the space.
A playroom in disarray, with too many toys and no clear system, is just as overwhelming for your child as it is for you (and they're the ones supposed to be using the space!).
Demonstrating how to pick up toys, where things go, and what the expected end result should be will go a long way when it comes to your child keeping their space in order.
If you could benefit from additional resources and support to keep your playroom in working order, give us a 👋🏻 in the comments below so we can see you!
keep things simple
One minute, your child is a firefighter saving a burning building; the next, they're delivering pizza to your front door. This happens thanks, in part, to the magic of a pretend play space.
When you provide a child with a designated space to imagine, they are able to make meaningful real-world connections and safely practice developing social, emotional, critical thinking, language, and problem-solving skills.
We encourage families to keep things simple in a pretend play space. This way, it has the ability to transform into:
• a house
• the post office
• a fire station
• a school
• the grocery store
• your favorite ice cream shop
• NASA headquarters
…the possibilities are truly endless❣️
If you're having trouble imagining this space in your own home, click the link in our bio to learn more about how we can help.
hands-on play
Children learn best through hands-on experiences and actively engaging with their environment.
Depending on the area of the playroom, there are different ways to encourage your child to experience their space. Oftentimes, these setups are called "invitations to play."
Our top three tips for creating a successful invitation to play:
•1• Keep things sweet and simple - when the options are kept to a minimum, you can prevent an overwhelming decision-making process and create more time for playing.
•2• Set the area up in a way that makes sense to your child - everything should be accessible and within eyesight.
•3• Let your child make the decisions - you are simply responsible for giving them options!
Encouraging your child to explore, create, and learn in an open-ended way supports their development in areas like language, social skills, and problem-solving (to name only a few).
Physical education
This week, I stood in front of the Board of Education to support our incredible PE teachers and defend our children's best interests.
This is what I said.
Physical education is a critical period of the school day that should always be on the schedule and should never be on the chopping block.
Good Evening. My name is Courtney Gault. I am a GPS parent to a kindergartener and a former teacher specializing in early childhood general and special education.
After moving to Riverside in 2017, I founded Greenwich Play, a company that designs playrooms for families who want to create meaningful play experiences for their children at home.
And a huge part of what we do is make recommendations to families who are eager, almost desperate, to offer their children more physical play opportunities. Not less.
Did you know that when a child climbs up a rope or throws a ball, they are working on improving their handwriting grip and overall coordination?
PE is not about freeze tag, ghost bowling, or any of the other fun activities our incredible teachers facilitate.
PE is about:
• problem-solving
• learning to focus
• testing out how things work
• learning independence
• enhancing communication skills
• resolving conflicts
• being cooperative
• exercising self-regulation
• interacting appropriately with peers
• learning to be flexible
• communicate feelings
• acknowledging personal space
• building friendships
• learning to use equipment
• building confidence
PE is on the chopping block because it’s seen as less essential to academic success, but the evidence and the research suggest otherwise.
As an educational professional, you can see why it’s so difficult for me to understand how you could reduce the amount of time our children spend in this critical period.
I implore you to reconsider where budget cuts are made and give PE the credit it deserves to remain a vital, constant part of the school day.
Thank You.
*The board voted against reducing the PE budget in a vote of 4-3-1. This means three board members voted to reduce time in PE. We must do better for our children.
the parent-child bond
Have you ever noticed that your child will go wherever you go?You're in the bathroom? So are they. Kitchen? They're there, too.
Kids want to be around their parents, and it really doesn't matter where you are. They will find a purpose in being there with you.
The parent-child bond is a fundamental aspect of human development, and it is partly nurtured through shared experiences facilitated by being in the same space!
It is literally your child's innate desire to be near you, they can't help themselves! So we feel pretty strongly that the play space accommodates grownups, too.
If there is nowhere comfortable for you to sit, you hate the wallpaper, it's too bright, has bad acoustics, etc., chances are you're never going to want to go in there and neither will your child.
How your child feels about the space starts with how much you enjoy being there!
happy new year
Our showroom is open after a much-needed holiday break, and some exciting things are happening right behind this door!
We're cooking up new projects, new products, and new offerings all geared toward supporting parents who want to inspire their children to create, explore, and play purposefully at home.
We can't wait to tell you more! In the meantime, it would help us tremendously if you could take a moment and reply to the following question:
What resources could we provide to help you create a play space at home in which your child will have meaningful, lasting experiences? Tell us in the comments below!
Thanks + Happy New Year🥳
clean up time
The other day a friend was over with her two boys, who are the exact same age as mine. When I exclaimed, “Clean up, let’s have a snack,” she just laughed.
play based learning
This may look like a fun and exciting basement (and it is!), but it is also a space filled with essential tools and materials that a child needs to develop critical life skills.
the labels have landed
Visuals offer children a fast and immediate way to grasp concepts and ideas. A picture can instantly convey a message, while words must be processed sequentially for comprehension.
designing for executive functioning
Did you know you can support your child’s development of critical skills - like planning, organization, memory, and impulse control - with the design of a space?
organization tips
Set your child up for success by starting with things organized in a way they can understand. Are the labels clear? Are the materials accessible? Is there a dedicated space inviting play?
love thy label
Every family and every home is unique, but there is always a consistent goal: for children to play in their own space with their own materials, in a purposeful way. So, how do you achieve this?