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MAINSTREAMING PLAY Tag
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Tag: MAINSTREAMING PLAY

EVENTSIMPORTANCE OF PLAYPLAY2LEARN
December 5, 2023

Spirit of volunteering: Toybankers talk about Play, why volunteering is essential

Our volunteers help us spread the message of Power of Play, while having a playful time themselves. They support us in play sessions and help us make them accessible to more children. Through the years, this support has helped us take play to more children.

On World Volunteering Day, we asked a few of them about their experience so far and how being part of the cause has changed their perception of Play. Here’s what they had to say: 

Play must not be a reward after studies, but part of daily education
Volunteering with Toybank has helped me reconnect with my childhood. It has inculcated in me qualities of patience, resilience and empathy and also helped me understand the importance of play. I now realise that play should not always be a reward after studies, but should be inculcated throughout the school day, as it is extremely educational. Volunteering can help us make a difference and put a smile on childrens’ faces, while playing with them and helping them learn simultaneously. 
Kriya

Play is a crucial tool for fostering creativity
Through Toybank’s play sessions, I have realised the power of play in the lives of children, especially those from marginalised communities. I have witnessed firsthand the positive impact it has on their development and well-being. I always thought play was a simple, recreational activity, but I now understand that it is a crucial tool for fostering creativity, social skills and emotional growth in children. By volunteering with Toybank, we can all be part of children’s development.   
Rhea

Every play session teaches you something new
Toybank’s Conscious Play™ approach is what drew me to the organisation. Volunteering has not only introduced me to the struggles faced by those from marginalised communities, but also the importance of Play in providing holistic development to a child’s mind. My perception of Play has gone past an object of entertainment – to me, Play can also be a way for people to learn, socialise and develop. Volunteering at Toybank is different, as one will always learn something new from every child and every play session.
Arav

Play helps children focus better
I used to think that play was a time outside studies, but volunteering with Toybank has changed my perception of it. I was not very confident of teaching and guiding children during play sessions really helped me.  I have played multiple games with children, thus helping them build skills of collaboration, independence, thinking and reflection. Play is a time when children can forget about the rest of the world, and just focus on the puzzle they are solving or the board games they are playing.
Diva

Volunteering has helped me achieve personal growth
Volunteering at Toybank has been a transformative journey, rooted in the belief that every child has the Right to Play. The essence of why I volunteer here is to witness the profound impact of play in shaping young minds. Toybank, an NGO championing play, resonates with me deeply, as it not only advocates for the joy of play, but recognises its pivotal role in a child’s holistic development. My journey with Toybank has reinforced the urgency for more individuals to volunteer with them. Through volunteering, one not only contributes to creating a positive impact but also experiences personal growth. It’s an opportunity to witness firsthand the transformative potential of play in shaping the future generation. 
Tishaa

Volunteering allows me to give and receive fun experiences 
Encouraging children to learn concepts in a fun and engaging manner helps develop their future understanding, as they are more likely to retain the information they learn if they can associate it with positive experiences and learning opportunities. Volunteering with Toybank has allowed me to tailor learning to children’s interests, as I haven’t necessarily played in a very long time. It provides me with the opportunity to both give and receive fun experiences in conjunction with the children.
Amit

Volunteering taught me the ability to interact, teach
Toybank’s idea is unique and what drew me to them is its interactive nature of the idea about playing games with young children and the ability to shape their minds. Volunteering has taught me the ability to interact and teach, while being caring and helpful. Play has subsequently changed my outlook on the way games can be used to increase the ability of learning in children. It has strengthened the idea that people should volunteer here so they, too, can get a perspective on the way play and games can be integrated into a child’s learning process
Dev

Play is a powerful tool for education and emotional well-being
Spending time with children during play sessions allows me to make a meaningful impact in the lives of children from vulnerable communities. By attending play sessions, I have learned that play is not just a form of entertainment; it’s a crucial part of a child’s development. It has taught me the importance of providing these children with opportunities to learn, grow, and simply enjoy their childhood. Volunteering with Toybank has changed my perception of play by showing me how it serves as a powerful tool for education and emotional well-being. It’s not just about having fun; it’s about fostering creativity, social skills, and resilience in these kids who may face various challenges in their lives.
Krisha

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYPLAY2LEARN
September 8, 2023

Toybank Turns 19: Volunteers engage in playful activities, origami workshop

It was heartwarming to see the smiles on those little faces, as they received their thoughtful games. 

On August 26, over 100 volunteers came together to distribute games to 1,674 children and conduct fun activities at a school in Malad. The day marked 19 years of Toybank – Development through Play, and was filled with learning, games, but most of all, PLAY!

We asked a few volunteers to write about their experiences and here’s what they had to say. 

Spreading Smiles: A heartwarming experience at the Toybank event

As a volunteer with Toybank, I have seen this organisation evolve over the years. What started as a simple initiative to collect toys for underprivileged children has now grown into something truly magical, where they promote play and the importance of play-based learning in schools across Maharashtra.  In August, we celebrated ‘Toybank Turns 19’ in a way that left us all with hearts full of joy and gratitude. 

This time, instead of just distributing toys, we, as volunteers, also conducted fun games and activities for the children. We spent quality time with them, played games, and created lasting memories. The celebration was nothing short of spectacular. 

Each volunteer was assigned a group of children, and we spent the day playing, laughing, and sharing stories. It was heartwarming to see the smiles on those little faces, as they received their thoughtful gifts. 

But what truly touched my heart were the beautiful and happy smiles on the children’s faces. Those smiles are like beacons of hope, lighting up our lives and reminding us of the importance of Toybank’s mission. It’s an honour to be part of an organisation that works tirelessly to bring joy to these children. 

In a world filled with so much chaos and uncertainty, the Toy Bank stands as a shining example of the power of kindness and compassion. After all, if children don’t deserve ‘toy-banks’, who does?

Origami workshop leaves children amused 

When I first decided that I would be teaching origami to an entire Grade 5 class for Toybank Turns 19, I admit, I was anxious. As I entered the classroom, I was so nervous that in the introduction, I ended up speaking in over three languages: English, Marathi and Hindi. However, the children did not even notice and smiled at me with their enthusiasm. 

When I started teaching them how to make a butterfly, they all laughed and had a jolly time, and my nervousness faded away, replacing it with happiness. When we started to make a bookmark, I was amazed that almost all of those children knew how to make one. And, when we made the origami box, it surprised me that these children could do such complicated folds so easily. 

I noticed that students were helping each other during the workshop and resolving each other’s doubts. This showed excellent teamwork between them. By the time we started making the tiny butterflies, I felt very relaxed as the children helped me ease into the class. 

I was intrigued when they started adding tiny details on the crafts that made them look more intricate. When the class ended, I realised that I ended up having much more fun than the children did. I realised that spending time with such energised children made me energetic, too. I had a great time playing and teaching children  origami. 

The above articles have been written by Sheetal Kulkarni and Sailee Nigalye, respectively. They are both Toybank volunteers.  

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYPLAY2LEARNRESEARCH
August 10, 2023

Playful Parenting: How Play enables parents to better connect with children

Play does not mean we need to go out or play with toys. We can do anything because Play is everything.

Play during childhood contributes to children’s development in significant ways. It is socially interactive and a way for children to adopt social norms needed to thrive in society: collaboration, empathy and self-awareness among others. Play is also a means for parents to enrich their relationship with their child. It allows parents to observe their children and understand their actions. When playing together, children are not just having fun, but are building skills of communication and collaboration that will benefit them in the long-run. 

Research has shown that Play causes the prefrontal cortex to become bigger and work faster. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for ‘higher’ brain functions such as intelligence, decision-making, problem-solving, and emotion regulation. It is also associated with the social skills and personality of humans. 

We spoke to a few parents on what different play methods they have adopted and how play has helped them connect with their child.

‘Letting the child explore surroundings is equally important as toys and games’

Meghna Pandit did not send her daughter, Myra, now six-years-old, to a playgroup, as she did not want to restrict her thoughts and learning at that age. “Instead, we focused on self-development through Play,” she says. 

Like all children, Myra was more interested in the packaging of a toy, than the toy itself. When they stepped outside, the mud or sand in the garden would fascinate her more than the swing. “However, we did not stop her and allowed her to explore her surroundings, while keeping a watchful eye that she was not going overboard,” says Meghna.  

In her day-to-day activities, she ensures that Myra is allowed to choose what she wants to play, as this allows children to feel like they have the power and control over what they do. “It is important that parents allow children to explore rather than force toys and games on them,” she says. They also saw to it that there were times when Myra was playing independently, as playing by themselves helps foster children’s imagination and enhances their problem-solving skills. 

To help Myra develop certain skills, Meghna and her partner chose a few games strategically. “We chose games such as Mechanix and Tool Kit to help her develop fine motor skills, and puzzles helped her in developing strategy-based thinking,” she adds. They also ensured that Myra had games, which required her to play in groups in order to help her develop skills such as collaboration and communication. “We used the children’s bowling game for this purpose.” They also broke the barrier and did not differentiate between games based on gender. 

Meghna says that Play has taught Myra to be fair. She did not know that her daughter had developed this skill, until she noticed it during a play session with friends. “In a group game, she ensures that all her friends get equal opportunities.” 

Through her years as a parent, Meghna has realised that Play is vital in a child’s formative years. “It gives them an opportunity to explore and be creative rather than restrict their thoughts in the direction you want,” she says. “This in turn also brings out their character, personality and that’s important as they grow older.

Bonding is essential for a parent and child, and what better way to do that than Play?

‘Play is as important for parents, as it is for children’

Shalvi Mangaokar works from home and ensures that she removes some time every few hours to play with Snitika, her two-year-old daughter. She says that Play is an essential part of a parent’s life, just like it is for a child. “Most parents, including myself, do not always know how to play with a child, so it is important that we read up about the different ways of play and how it benefits the child,” says Shalvi. 

When a parent plays with a child, the parent’s attention is entirely on the child. “Play helps me bond a lot more with Snitika, and also allows me to distract myself from my everyday life,” she adds. 

Shalvi uses a lot of sensory play, as it encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem-solving and creativity. “I believe sensory play is a significant part of child development, especially because it works a lot on developing the sensory, cognitive and fine motor skills of children before we get into understanding their left and right brain inclination,” she adds. “It’s important to let them explore things for how they are and grow with them.” 

Play is the best way to learn and it brings out the child in everyone.

Shalvi also says that toys aren’t always a necessity for children to play, because for children everyday objects are also play. When she introduced her toddler to touch-and-feel and other books, her objective was not for her to learn the alphabets, but for her daughter to understand the world of books. “Reading to her is also a form of play, as it allows me to bond with Snitika,” she adds.

As a family, they ensure that they play together everyday. This could include involving her in the day-to-day chores or going outdoors. Together, they also turn everyday objects into imaginary things and role play. Research has shown that role play allows a child to exercise their brain and allow it to use imagination at an early age. It also enriches their language and enhances communication skills. Shalvi also ensures that Snitika is introduced to the traditional games such as hide-and-seek, among others. 

Play has helped her realise that Snitika is someone with sharp observational skills and quick thinking. “When she is involved in an activity, she does not get distracted easily,” says Shalvi. “I have enjoyed watching her be focused.”

‘Play does not mean we need toys, play is everything’

Sarah Stephanos’ eight-year-old daughter Ishani Basu is a play enthusiast and loves outdoor games. “Play is part of our every day, come what may,” says Sarah. Origami, lock-and-key, football, basketball and Brainvita among others are only a few ways they play together. Sarah accompanies Ishani in games such as Catch-And-Cook and Fire in the Mountain, too. 

Since Ishani is a lot into outdoor games, playing football is one of her favourites, and this has also taught her to think strategically, and teamwork. “She very easily becomes the decision-maker and tells the team who will play at what position, depending on their skills. I see that playing football with the team has helped her develop her leadership skills. 

Sarah says that play allows her daughter to explore her creativity and thinking, rather than following a certain style or pattern. “When she was younger, I introduced her to origami as it helps with finger movement and developing certain cognitive skills.”

Through play, Sarah has taught her daughter that it is okay to lose. “Initially, when she played the game snakes and ladders, I used to let her win,” she says. “Since this became a habit, it made me realise that she did not like to lose. Following this, I started letting her lose and taught her that it was okay to lose, while associating the feeling to real life situations.” 

Play has made Ishaani very observant and helped her think out of the box. Sarah narrated one such incident, where Ishani pointed to a dry leaf and told her that the positioning of the leaf made it look like a bird. “Sometimes it fascinates me how children think and I also realised that Ishaani is always thinking out of the box,” Sarah adds. 

As a parent, she has noticed that people often say they have no time to play. “Play does not mean we need to go out or play with toys. We can do anything because Play is everything,” she says. “Bonding is essential for a parent and child, and what better way to do that than Play?”

‘Play brings out the child in everyone, helps us destress’

Priyam Agarwal is a mother of two: 10-year-old Sairah and three-year-old Sriihaan, and lives in a joint family. “When we go out on trips, we always ensure that we play together, even if it’s just cards.”

For Priyam, Play is a way to destress from her everyday life and at the same time, have her children learn constructively. “I ensure that we invest in educational games and toys such as those that help understand science and other subjects of their interest,” she adds. 

As a child, Sairaah was always interested in puzzles and Legos. While the puzzles allowed her to develop strategic thinking and problem-solving, Legos gave her time to explore her creativity. “Her current favourite is Magna tiles. And, Sriihaan is into cars. So, the two of them get together and build different structures such as car garages or a parking lot, using the toys they have,” adds Priyam. 

They also ensure that outdoor activity is part of their play, and since they live close to a beach, getting their hands dirty in the sand is a weekly activity. 

Priyam recalls the Covid-19 induced lockdown and while it was a difficult time for everyone to be locked in their homes, she spoke about how Sairaah was the one that took the lead and came up with games for everyone to play together. “Sairaah would engage us in her games such as charades, pictionary, or just the usual Name-Place-Animal -Thing. Sometimes, she would give us an alphabet and ask us to name countries, cities or food items beginning with that alphabet. Play made lockdown a little less stressful for us,” she says. 

Role play is another important aspect of child development, as it allows the child to develop social and thinking skills. It also helps them make decisions and practice and develop their physical skills. For this, Priyam had bought a doll house for Sairaah when she was five-years-old and today, both her children continue to play with it.  

While Sairaah is now old enough to play by herself or wants to play with her friends more, Priyam ensures that she always makes time to Play and learn with Sriihaan. She says that play is the best way to learn and it brings out the child in everyone. “Play is important because sometimes we are so serious in life, so stressed out, and play helps us destress,” she adds. 

Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning. 

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYOTHERSPLAY2LEARN
July 10, 2023

World Play Day 2023: ‘Play helped me hone my skills, elevate my mood’

I never knew doodling could be so fun and engaging. On June 4, 2023, as part of World Play Day, I attended an Ink and Doodle workshop organised by Toybank – Development Through Play.  

The workshop was organised in collaboration with Arzan Khambatta, renowned architect and sculptor. We also had Karan Shah, an artist, display his artwork called ‘Different Perspectives’.  The event included children from Toybank- Development Through Play’s centres, and those part of the Creativity Action Service (CAS) programme. It began with interesting and fun ice-breaking activities, where all of us children got to know each other and introduced ourselves. 

Arzan demonstrated different ways to doodle, and helped us draw easy shapes, while encouraging us to think outside the box. He displayed common doodling techniques with squares and rectangles, and other shapes, and helped us understand there was no right or wrong in our artwork. 

Being in Class 10, I often feel the pressure of studies, but I also realise that I need to remove time from my day to play. Being part of this doodle workshop helped me relieve my stress, and elevated my mood. The workshop kept me engaged till the very end.  We were also asked to name our doodles towards the end. Some of the creative names included, ‘An Infinite World’ and ‘The Unknown in the Known’.  

In addition, Karan Shah, whose art focuses on looking at everyday objects through a different lens, left us amused with his presentation. He showed us everyday objects and helped us think from different perspectives, something we had never thought about before. I realised that imagination has no limits. A non-living object can be transformed into a living one just by the  powers of creative imagination. 

Jiya Gada is a  Class 10 student, who attended the workshop organised for World Play Day 2023. 

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYRESEARCH
June 13, 2023

Play helps children build skills to become creative, engaging adults

Play is the primary way in which young children connect and engage with the world around them. Through play, children may imagine and explore a world they can control, thus overcoming their fears. When playing together, children are not just having fun, but are building skills of communication and collaboration that will benefit them in the long-run. As we move into adulthood, our definitions of play change, but many motivations remain the same, which help us form a framework of play across ages. 

Beginning in the first year of life, play becomes an infant’s primary mode for engaging with others and with the world, setting the bar for interactions with the world to be as pleasurable as play throughout the life-span. Attuned play encourages a child to grow up to be a playful adult who experiences life as a playground. This is not only an expression of healthy development, it is also an inherent characteristic of homosapiens. Unfortunately, not every child is so lucky. According to the original research on attachment styles conducted by psychologist Mary Ainsworth, up to 50 percent of individuals do not have secure attachment experiences. Without attachment security, these children are much more likely to grow up seeing the world as a proving ground, a battleground, or a prison. These worldviews can become self-fulfilling prophecies, establishing feedback loops that engender the world the child expects. 

In the past few decades, research has repeatedly shown that play experiences are not merely fun, nor just a way to pass the time along the way to adulthood. Instead, play has a central role in learning and in preparing you for challenges later on in childhood and through adulthood. The Russian developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky says that play is essential to the growth of what is referred to as “symbolic representation”. The ability of humans to use different types of symbolic representation for culturally significant purposes is the foundation of human thought, culture, and communication. 

Psychologist Sigmund Freud has also correlated early-childhood experiences with mental health in adulthood; but only in the last half century has play been included as one these formative childhood experiences and a factor in healthy development. 

Today’s world is uncertain and constantly changing. Children need skills and mindsets allowing them to step into this uncertainty, create opportunities for themselves and their communities, and learn throughout life. Using the simple, yet compelling words by researchers Golinkoff & Hirsh-Pasek (2016), realising children’s potential in the face of this uncertainty means supporting them to be “happy, healthy, thinking, caring, and social children who will become collaborative, creative, competent, and responsible citizens tomorrow”. 

In playful experiences, children tap into a breadth of skills at any one time. A game of hide-and-seek helps them to manage feelings about the unknown, while also helping them to think about what other people know and see. Beyond enjoyment, playful experiences have the potential to give children the skills they will need in the future that go beyond facts. Playful experiences appear to be a powerful mechanism that help children not only to be happy and healthy in their lives today, but also develop the skills to be the creative, engaged, lifelong learners of tomorrow.

The benefits of playfulness in adults overlaps in many ways with those for children, including enhanced creativity, humour, motivation, and positive effect. In addition, playfulness predicts numerous health benefits in both children and adults. Research shows that playful adults live an average of 10 years longer than their less playful peers. Perhaps most significant of the benefits conferred by a playful approach to life is its relationship to stress reduction and coping strategies in adults.

The real world, in any case, is often a politically violent and an economically insecure place—anything but a playground. Is it possible that the condition of our world both reflects and reinforces a prevailing degree of attachment insecurity. If so, the greatest hope for interrupting this dangerous feedback loop is to support and restore a basic sense of security generated, reflected, and reinforced by attuned play. Not only does play provide critical resources for dealing with stress and engendering well-being as adults, but repeated play can also rewire the brain, establishing and reinforcing the neural pathways that lead to the development of playfulness.

Source: Origins of Play and Playfulness, Gwen Gordon; Lego Foundation, learning through play, nov 2017; Guided Play:Where Curricular Goals Meet a Playful Pedagogy, Deena Skolnick Weisberg, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, and RobertaMichnick Golinkoff, 2013; Learning through play, Lego Foundation, February 2019; The future of play, Lego Learning Institute

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYPLAY2LEARN
June 12, 2023

Play sheets keep children engaged during Covid-19 pandemic

Vinay, a student of Class 3, had a tough time keeping himself engaged during the Covid-19 lockdown. He had to share his cellphone with his younger brother Raju, studying in Class 2. Their single room dwelling in the Malvani slums did not make life any easier. Clashing classes made it hard for Vinay to continue studying. Some days, when they could settle on a manageable time schedule, the boys would struggle with the internet connection. Their parents were quite worried, as the gap in their education kept widening and they both grew restless at home. 

When they were introduced to Toybank’s playsheets, they started by solving them together. They would download the sheets from the internet and sit for hours engaged in learning through the playsheet-based activities. Their parents were relieved that both the boys were happy and learning together. Vinay would help Raju read big words and both grew fond of puzzles, word searches, and playsheets that developed their problem-solving skills.

“We like learning new English words through these playsheets,” said Vinay enthusiastically.

IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
June 12, 2023

COVID-19: Play made learning easy for students during pandemic

Although an eager learner, Ritu couldn’t concentrate in her virtual classes, as she lives in a joint family. The Class 5 student especially struggled with the English and Science syllabus, and sought help from her classmates, but was unable to completely grasp everything. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, teachers could give her special attention but doing that with every child virtually was nearly impossible. 

The teacher asked Ritu to speak to our Programme Officer and she confided how she missed being outdoors and playing games like Kho-kho, Kabaddi, Pakadapaki and Langdi. Our Programme Officer suggested that Ritu solve English and Science-based playsheets to motivate her and keep her on track with the syllabus. 

Ritu loved the playsheet ‘Short-Cuts’ which taught her English abbreviations, and the math-based playsheet Crack It. She was relieved by how easy it was to learn through Play, and was at par with her classmates uninhibited.

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYPLAY2LEARN
June 12, 2023

Play helped Sahil build confidence, taught him teamwork

Children would not mingle with Sahil and gradually, he grew averse to group activities. He would only mingle with his best friend Devika and no one else. When Play2Learn Sessions resumed at his school, Sahil was very excited and beamed at the thought of all the games he could play with, but revolted when he was asked to play together with his classmates. Knowing that teamwork is a crucial soft skill, the Programme Officers insisted that he had to share his games but allowed him to select Devika as his partner.

 

Instantaneously, he grabbed a game and began playing—completely engrossed in finishing all the puzzles in Match It. He became the first to complete a game amongst the rest of his class. Excitedly, he went ahead and even asked his classmates if he could play with them, building his fine motor skills through Curly caterpillar, and pattern recognition through the game ‘Pair of.’ At the end of the session, Sahil confided in the Programme Officers that he avoided the other children, as they would often tease him about being a slow learner. Now that he was able to solve the puzzles before them, it gave him the self-confidence to know that he was still good at learning and applying the concepts taught to him. 

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYPLAY2LEARN
June 10, 2023

Building a world of Play at Toybank

I dream that Play integrates into our way of life. That ‘Play is food for the child’s mind. Let it not go hungry’, becomes something to live by. 

– Shweta Chari, Co-founder, CEO, Toybank

It’s been a while since I wrote something first hand so I thought I would give you an update of all the ‘play’ful things’ that we have been up to at Toybank! 

I kept trying to write and wanted to let all of you know of all the prodigious happenings at our end and how the lives of all the children and teachers we have been working with, are getting transformed, but somehow I couldn’t write. But rest assured, our work is running literally in 5th gear, like there’s no tomorrow!

As always, in the earnest need of wanting to stay authentic to my feelings and wanting to bring out my best to share with you, it was getting hard! The last few years have been tough, challenging and extremely overwhelming to say the least. (as it has for most of us that have walked through this tough pandemic phase). But here I am now, steadily emerging, maybe a tad bit wiser and definitely fully charged up, with a sense of determination like I have never felt before!

Here goes, brace for impact as I always say! 

The years 2020, 2021, 2022 and now 2023 and 2024 are historically going to be defined as the landmark years for us in the foundation. More on that will follow in my subsequent writeups, but for now, let’s focus on June 2023. 

Quick data to contextualise:

  • We are now working with close to 75,000 children and 5,000+ teachers
  • Across 7 active districts in Maharashtra
  • Our current team size is 44 members
  • And we have close to 600 active volunteers engaging with us through our various play programmes

In June 2023, I was able to represent our organisation at the International Play Association conference held in Glasgow, Scotland. This was a magical experience, listening to people talk about everything Play for a whole week! We had conversations and discussions that were far beyond ‘Why Play is important’ and instead directly focused on, ‘How can we build entire programmes, communities, cities and even countries with Play at its central core?’ I felt at home with all the beautiful ‘Play People’ all around me. I realised how ahead of our times our foundation is in a way when we think about Play, and how we have been driving for Play centric programmes for the last almost two decades. I felt proud, humbled and super excited through this entire experience at the conference!

Read about it here.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, as part of World Play Day, on May 28, we organised an Ink and Doodle workshop in collaboration with our dear Play Ambassador, Arzan Khambatta, renowned architect and sculptor. Our children were left in wonder and amusement, when the workshop helped them think outside the box. Witness their excitement here. We also made a new friend in the foundation, Karan Shah, whose art focuses on looking at everyday objects through a different lens. 

He left the children in wonder, and showed them how to think from different perspectives, to think beyond their imagination when looking at everyday objects. This workshop was held at a one-of-kind store called the Turn Around Shop that allowed us to use their space for free and not only that, but supported the entire event end-to-end for us, thus marking the start of a gigantic partnership with these amazing folks.

And something else happened, too! Our foundation has been listed on the Charities America Foundation platform! This is super exciting for us, especially when we are bang in the middle of a massive growth trajectory. Now, folks in America can make tax exempt donations to us till November 2023.  It would be amazing if you could champion this for us: Share this news with your friends and people you know and invite them to support us.  

Thank you for guiding us, being with us and quietly pushing our cause through all this time.

I dream that ‘Play’ integrates into our way of life. That “Play is food for the child’s mind. Let it not go hungry,” becomes something to live by. 

And that we realise the ‘Right to Play’ in India, well within our lifetime. 

Much Love,
Shweta Chari 

Shweta Chari is the co-founder and CEO of Toybank – Development through Play 

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYPLAY2LEARNRESEARCH
June 8, 2023

Toybank’s Play2Learn programme benefits children in Mumbai’s Govandi settlements

In a study conducted in 2012, it was found that Toybank’s Play2Learn programme sessions brought about improvements in children living in informal settlements of Govandi, Mumbai in India

The study was conducted over a period of three months with 28 children. Through the play sessions, these children were closely monitored over a period of three months by the teachers at Apnalaya’s centres. The teachers were provided sheets, which were based on international play therapy indicators, and the data was divided under the categories: social and emotional skills, life skills, motor skills, fine motor skills and language skills.

The findings of the study revealed that three months after the play sessions, the children showed a 23.46% rise in social and  emotional skills; 25.95% rise in life skills; 33.33% improvement in motor skills; 29.03% improvement in fine motor skills and 21.17% rise in language skills. 

In addition, Toybank also conducted a quick and easy measure of attendance levels in government schools in Mumbai. After our Play2Learn programme sessions were introduced, there was an increase in attendance. The attendance increased by 45%. Children, who were missing school on Saturdays started attending their classes owing to these play sessions. 

It was also noticed that there was a 50% increase in the number of children who performed well in English, in their scholarship exam. The games that helped them the most were: Opposites, Similar word, Word builder, Sentence maker.

While India assures children of their right to education, health and protection, another basic right — Right to Play — remains unrecognised, undervalued and unadopted. Over the years, Toybank has focused on ensuring children have access to play through its Play2Learn Programme. 

Source: 3-month preliminary assessment study by The Opentree Foundation’s flagship project, Toybank – Development Through Play with Apnalaya  in August – September – October  2012