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OEC unveils 'Let’s Play' materials to help caregivers add low‑cost learning through play
Summary
The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood highlighted a 'Let's Play' campaign of posters, five handouts, educator pamphlets and family flyers explaining play types and adult roles; materials are available on the OEC website and hard‑copy distribution is being planned.
Dr. Michelle Levy, an education consultant at the Office of Early Childhood, presented the agency’s 'Let’s Play' campaign during the webinar, highlighting a suite of materials aimed at providers and families: a poster showing how different types of play activate parts of the brain, five handouts describing play types (construction, motor, sensory, social), an educator pamphlet, and a family flyer.
Levy cited the American Academy of Pediatrics’ characterization of play—self‑motivated, involving active engagement and joyful discovery—and noted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes play as a right (Article 31). She said OEC materials stress adults’ supportive role: providing prompts and materials and facilitating, while allowing children to lead.
Levy said all materials are posted on the OEC website and that the agency is finalizing plans to produce hard copies and distribute them to programs across the state. “Play is powerful,” she said, noting evidence that play supports executive function, language and mental‑health outcomes.
The webinar connected these OEC materials to partner resources—such as the Sparkler app—and to the keynote’s financial‑literacy suggestions, emphasizing low‑ and no‑cost activities caregivers and providers can use this summer.
