Project overview

Learn Through Active Play

Active for Life’s (AfL) Learn Through Active Play (LTAP) project aims to empower early childhood educators (ECEs) by providing a free program that includes professional development modules and ongoing support to enhance their competence and confidence in integrating Active Play into daily programming.

This project follows a pilot study (annex B) completed in 2020 in 39 childcare centres in collaboration with a research team from Mount Royal University. The study demonstrated a range of cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits for children and educators through Active Play programming.

We have adapted the approach delivered in the pilot study to meet the needs and demands of applied early learning and childcare settings to create the Learn Through Active Play project. Guided by the LTAP team, ECEs can build communities where their insights can influence their future workdays!

Our goal is to recruit 200 early learning and childcare centres and post-secondary institutions that educate ECEs in Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic region by the end of March 2025.

These centres and institutions will receive our program free of charge:

• Professional development (PD) modules. ECEs who complete our workshops acquire on average four hours of professional development credit. The modules can be delivered remotely or in-person, depending on location, and in different formats such as one half-day session, or broken into two or more sessions.
• Access to a dedicated web platform to support professional development activities.
• Ongoing access to educational resources, mentoring, and support from the LTAP team.

The Learn Through Active Play project is guided by an advisory board (see Annex C) that will use non-intrusive and confidential evaluations to measure the program’s impact on ECEs and children. The ECEs participating in the program will be invited to complete three 15-minute surveys. The data collected will be used to ensure that our program meets the needs of ECEs.

Our approach has one goal: Empowering ECEs

The ECEs that have collaborated with Active for Life over the years have emphasized the need for programs that respect and understand them, providing the tools for success. We listened. Empowering ECEs is central to how we design and deliver our program. Engaging ECEs in a co-creation process ensures they take ownership of the principles shared through our professional development modules. It also ensures that the principles are adapted to the cultural context of the childcare centres where the ECEs work. Additionally, once educators have completed our modules, we provide ongoing support to help ECEs seamlessly integrate Active Play into their daily programming. Through our collaborative approach, ECEs feel equipped to create engaging workdays that enhance their well-being. We aim to foster a culture of lifelong movement and well-being, both in the workplace and at home.

“We must take care of the professionals that educate our children.”

– Learn Through Active Play Team

What makes Learn Through Active Play unique:

• Ongoing support: Upon completion of our modules, participants receive essential post-workshop support, including access to supplementary resources such as printables, newsletters, and ongoing coaching from our Learn Through Active Play team.
• Empowerment and long-term benefits: We prioritize empowering ECEs through active play, underscoring its lasting benefits in their professional and personal lives.
• Adaptable framework: Our active play lens can be adapted for and adopted by any learning environment and cultural context.
• Co-creation and expertise: Our framework was co-created with ECEs and guided by an advisory board chosen for their extensive practical experience and academic backgrounds(see annex C).

Active for Life

Active for Life (AfL), a not-for-profit organization funded by the Canadian registered charity B2ten (see annex A).

AfL’s mission is to help parents and educators develop children’s physical literacy through active play, which is essential for their cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development. Our easy-to-understand content showcases how simple and achievable it is to include active play in a child’s day.

Active for Life’s motivation to support the early learning and childcare sector is based on these critical points:

• Supporting educators supports children.
• Active play improves the quality of early learning environments for ECEs and children alike.
• Early childhood education is the most impactful period of education we can invest in as a society.
• Quality early learning and childcare reduces social inequalities.
• Quality early learning and childcare includes well-trained and appropriately compensated educators, safe and stimulating environments, and play-based learning.
• Learn Through Active Play increases children’s school readiness by promoting their cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development.
• Active children can focus better, adapt to change, and self-regulate, providing a more positive childcare environment for educators.

The content of our Professional Development program

We distilled our framework into two guiding principles:

Integrate an active play lens by applying two guiding principles:

1A. Create Active Play Habits.

• Concept to engage the discussion:

1B. Make active play inclusive for all.

• Video to engage the discussion:
• Active play is inclusive when:
  1. Children of all abilities are creatively included in a diversity of play experiences.
  2. Every educator and child present is engaged in the active play experience.
  3. Every educator and child is represented in the environment and play experiences.
  4. You celebrate together.
• Discuss example:
  • How can you make active play inclusive for everyone, including yourself?
  • What might be some important factors to consider when planning for inclusivity?

1C. Set up environments to invite children to engage in activeP play.

• Video to engage the discussion:
• Educators have set up your environment for active play when:
  1. The children are actively engaged in the play materials.
  2. Educators are able to enter and exit the play, providing active play support to those who need it.
  3. You are able to enter and exit the play, providing developmentally appropriate support to those who need it.
  4. Celebrate together

• Discuss example:
  • From the video, how did ECEs set up the indoor environment?
  • What are some ways you would set up the environment for active play indoors?

1D. Facilitate intentional Active Play opportunities that are developmentally appropriate for your children.

• Video to engage the discussion:
• Educators know they have encouraged and supervised active play when:
  1. Opportunities are provided for children to engage in active play.
  2. Educators remain engaged as they supervise children engaged in active Pplay.
  3. Educators provide developmentally appropriate guidance as children engage in active play.
  4. Celebrate together after everyone engages in active play.

2A. Integrate active play to facilitate daily transitions.

• Video to engage the discussion:
• Educators know they have integrated active play to facilitate a transition when:
  1. Children are engaged in active play during the transition.
  2. The active play transition is meaningful for the time, place, and energy levels of the children.
  3. The intentional active play transition is celebrated.
• Discuss example:
  • Think about your worst transition and imagine how fulfilling these three criteria might make the transition easier.

2B. Develop stronger relationships.

• Video to engage the discussion:
• Educators know they have developed stronger relationships when:
  1. Children feel safe to engage in active play that challenges their comfort zone.
  2. All educators are engaged in active play.
  3. All educators model trust with one another in active play.
  4. All educators and children are playfully engaged together.
  5. Everyone celebrates together.
• Discuss example:
  • What did you notice about the ECEs’ interactions with one another? Interactions with the children?
  • How would you use active play to develop stronger relationships with your children and colleagues?

2C. Facilitate learning through active play experiences without disrupting play.

• Example:
• Educators have accomplished non-disruptive learning facilitation when:
  1. Active observation of the independent play choices of children takes place and the holistic knowledge (*contextually, physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially) of the child is used to determine how & when to enrich learning.
  2. Children are not disrupted when you enter the play.
  3. The right level of support is provided to enrich learning (scaffolding) based on observations.
  4. Children are not disrupted when you exit the play.
  5. Everyone celebrates when children demonstrate enriched learning.
• Discuss example:
  • How are the ECEs supporting active play without disrupting the children?
  • What are some examples of facilitating learning through active play?

About the Ongoing Support

Our Learn Through Active Play team recognizes the importance of ongoing support for ECEs working towards infusing an Active Play lens into their programming. LTAP’s overarching goal is to support ECEs and childcare centres by meeting them where they are in their professional journey. To do so, LTAP will provide ongoing support to participants by offering mentoring opportunities, additional resources and materials through our website, and connecting like-minded ECEs through developing communities of practice.

Mentoring:

• Registered early learning childcare centres and ECEs can book mentoring sessions with the LTAP team.
• Sessions can be booked based on the availability of the Learn Through Active Play team. Once you have completed the professional development modules you can create an account that will give you access to the form to request a mentoring session.
• Mentoring can take place through video-conferencing or phone calls. Depending on location, there might be opportunities for in-person visits.

Access to Resources on our website:

• General Access:

More resources will be available to all on learnthroughactiveplay.com. These resources include printables, articles, videos, and the opportunity to sign up for informative newsletters.

• Login Access:

Once you have completed the LTAP modules you will have access to additional curated resources to assist with daily programming and using an active play lens to support your workday. New resources, such as webinars and printables, will be created as topics emerge from the ongoing conversation with ECEs and centres engaged in the program.

Communities of Practice:

• Communities of practice will form as cohorts of ECEs are established. We aim to assist ECEs in nurturing an environment where they can exchange knowledge and learn alongside peers and experts in relevant sector subjects.
• If you are interested in being part of a community of practice, please contact the Learn Through Active Play team. Guided by the LTAP team, ECEs can build communities where their insights can influence their future workdays!

Annex A

History, purpose, and evolution of B2ten’s Active for Life initiative

B2ten is a registered charitable organization (# 83725 8250 RR01) which takes a systemic approach to positively impact sport and health in Canada.

Following our success in supporting Canadian athletes at the 2010 Olympics, B2ten recognized that sports alone do not lead to long-term positive change for children. This insight led to the launch of our social initiative, Active for Life, in 2012.

Before our launch, we analyzed the promotion of healthy, active living among children in Canada and decided to empower parents to help their children develop physical literacy. To do so, we provide clear, simple, and appealing materials demonstrating that engaging children in active play is crucial for their cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development. Most importantly, it is simple and affordable to do so.

To support new Canadians and the organizations that support them, many of these resources are translated into 12 languages. AfL also promotes the importance of physical literacy to professional associations, communities, and governments.

While B2ten began by helping elite athletes succeed, we identified the decline of play-based childhood and the rise of smartphone use by children. Recognizing the vital role of the childcare infrastructure and community in giving children a good start in life, B2ten is now taking a systemic approach to supporting this sector.

An example of our investment in the sector is the creation of ActivePlay.ca. This website was developed in response to a need identified by ECEs who participated in our pilot study. The site offers videos filmed in childcare centers to demonstrate how to integrate active play into childcare programs visually. To support ECEs working in diverse communities, the videos and materials are translated into four Indigenous languages (Plains Cree, Ojibwe, Inuktitut, and Mi’kmaq) and six international languages (Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, Tagalog, Spanish, and Urdu).

By deepening our understanding of the childcare sector, we have launched the ActivePlay in Childcare project to improve the quality of early learning and childcare through engaging a wide range of stakeholders.

Annex B

AfL’s pilot study

A proof-of-concept research study was completed in 39 childcare centers involving 600 children in both BC and Alberta. Daily physical literacy programming (in the form of active play) demonstrates a wide range of benefits for children and educators. Three years after the study was completed, 95% of participating centers continued to deliver the approach learned within the study.

Video

In this video, researchers, educators, and parents share their opinions on AfL’s pilot study in childcare.

Article for the general public

You can read this article to learn more about what the research says about the impact of physical literacy and active play programming in early childhood education.  It highlights the benefits of the study and includes some infographics.

Scientific peer-reviewed article

The study led to this research article published in the International Journal of Social Policy and Education.

Annex C

Advisory Board

An advisory board has been assembled to guide the project. Members were selected based on their practical experience and academic backgrounds.

Trish Tucker (Ph.D.) is a Professor and Faculty Scholar at Western University, specializing in measuring and promoting physical activity and outdoor play in early childhood. Dr. Tucker will oversee the project’s evaluation and reporting process.

Sylvana Côté (Ph.D.) is a trained psychologist, a full professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal and a Researcher at Ste-Justine’s Hospital. She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair on preventing psychosocial maladjustment in children and youth. She heads the Observatory for Children’s Education and Health, the Research Group on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment, and two multidisciplinary groups of researchers studying the biopsychosocial development of children from conception to maturity.

Gail Hunter is a full-time ECE professor at George Brown College and has been involved in the early childhood field for three decades. She has acted as an ECE, Program Supervisor, and Toronto District School Board Childcare Advisor while bringing the Early Childhood Leadership Degree at George Brown to fruition. Professor Hunter will assist with ECE in-training at Ontario and Atlantic Canada post-secondary institutions.

Véronique Pelletier is an Associate Director of educational services at the Association québécoise des centres de la petite enfance (AQCPE). Ms. Pelletier will call upon her front-line experience as an ECE, including her work with new Canadians, to adapt our materials to the needs and requirements of Quebec childcare.

Katie Hodder is the Executive Director of the Golden Family Center in B.C.  With extensive ECE experience and post-graduate work in early learning and childcare legislative/licensing processes, she will ensure that successful elements from the AfL proof of concept study are incorporated into this new phase.

Jim Arsenault holds three decades of experience in the public sector, childcare services, and adapting Indigenous languages, cultures, and traditions into childcare programming.  Jim retired this past summer from Aurora College in Yellowknife, where he was Head of the Early Childhood training program. Mr. Arsenault will assist with ECE in-training at post-secondary institutions in Western Canada while advising on Indigenous matters.

Annex D

Curated references

• Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (2024) “Quebec’s child care program pays for itself – proof we can do it here.”
• Canadian Paediatric Society (2024) “Position Statement: Healthy childhood development through outdoor risky play: Navigating the balance with injury prevention.”
• Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation (2024) “Early Years Study – Thriving kids, Thriving Society.”
• Boston Consulting Group (2023) “Moms First – The employee benefit that pays for itself.”
• Heckman, the economics of human potential (2023) “The Heckman equation.”
• TD (2023) “The space between us.  The Availability of Childcare will Define Canada’s Workplace.”
• The British Association for Early Childhood Education (2023) “Physical development in early childhood.”
• Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University (2023) “In Brief: Executive Functions.”
• NAEYC (Spring 2023) “Planning to Play: Empowering Teachers to Empower Children”
• Pierre Fortin (2022) “Quebec Childcare: An Economist’s View.”
• World Health Organization (2021) “WHO reviews the effect of physical activity on enhancing academic achievement at school.”
• International Journal of Social Policy and Education (2021) “Benefits of Daily Physical Literacy in Canadian Child Care.”
• Active for Life (2020) “How physical literacy in childcare benefits children, parents and ECEs.”
• Encyclopedia of Early Childhood (2019) “Active Outdoor play.”
• Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (2019). “CMEC Early Learning and Development Framework.”
• College of early childhood educators (2019) “The Importance of Early Childhood Educator Mental Health & Well-Being: A guide to supporting educators”
• UNICEF (2018) “Strengthening learning through play in early childhood education programmes.”
• Journal of Journal of Research in Childhood Education (2017) “Early Childhood Education: The Long-Term Benefits.”
• Early Childhood Education Blog (2017) Podcast episode & transcript: “Leading for Children by Empowering Teachers”
• Forbes (2015) “The Sooner, The Better: Early Childhood Education, A Key To Life-Long Success.”
• Pan-Canadian Public Health Network (2015) “Active outdoor play statement from the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health.”
• The Aspen Institute – (2014) Excerpt from “Project Play Report.”
• BMC Public Health (2011) “Children’s active play: self-reported motivators, barriers and facilitators.”
• American Academy of Pediatrics (2007) “The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development.”