The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who...
Why play matters – Family Lives
Family Lives provides targeted early intervention and crisis support to families who are struggling. The issues we support families with include family breakdown, challenging relationships and behaviour, debt, and emotional and mental wellbeing. Family Lives was formed over forty years ago by volunteers, with the aim of ensuring that all...
Outdoor Play Canada
Outdoor Play Canada is a national organization that brings together advocates, practitioners, researchers and partner organizations to promote, protect, and preserve access to play in nature and the outdoors for all people living in Canada. Outdoor Play Canada provides leadership to galvanize the outdoor play movement across Canada to promote...
ZERO TO THREE
ZERO TO THREE'S mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. At ZERO TO THREE, we envision a society that has the knowledge and will to support all infants and toddlers in reaching their full potential. During the first three years of life,...
Defending the Early Years
Our mission is to work for a just, equitable, and quality early childhood education for every young child, by informing educators, administrators, and parents about how children develop and learn best and advocating for the active, playful, experiential approaches to learning informed by child development theory and evidence-based research. DEY's...
Institute for Self Active Education
Mission The Institute for Self Active Education (ISAE) is a non-profit charitable organization established in 1980, founded by Dr. Walter and Kitty Drew. As a community of practice, it promotes self active play as a tool for encouraging and awakening the creative potential in children, teachers, parents and others to...
IPA – International Play Association – World
IPA is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961. It provides a forum for exchange and action across disciplines and across sectors. IPA member groups initiate a wide variety of projects that promote the child's right to play, with members in close to 50 countries. These include seminars, conferences, study...
IPA – International Play Association – USA
IPA-USA carries forth the mission of its parent organization, IPA World. To accomplish the Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles, IPA-USA does the following: Advocates for the ratification by the USA on the Convention of the Rights of the Child Acts as a resource for other national and international organizations and...
Kaboom!
Our Mission We unite with communities to build kid-designed playspaces that can spark joy and foster a sense of belonging for the kids who are often denied opportunities to thrive. Our mission: end playspace inequity for good.
Let Grow
We Are Leading the Movement for Childhood Independence Let Grow believes today's kids are smarter and stronger than our culture gives them credit for. We reject the idea that they are in constant physical, emotional or psychological danger from creeps, kidnapping, germs, grades, flashers, frustration, failure, baby snatchers, bugs, bullies,...
Play Like a Champion Today
Play Like a Champion Today is an independent 501(c)(3) dedicated to providing leadership in a worldwide effort to change the culture of youth sports through education and consultancy. Since 2006, Play Like a Champion has served over 130,000 coaches and parents through a network of 230+ partners across the United...
PlayBoard NI
PlayBoard NI is an independent charity and the lead organisation for the development and promotion of children and young people's play in Northern Ireland. OUR MISSION Leading the Play Agenda. OUR CORE VALUES 1. We believe that play is a fundamental right of childhood and is central to children and...
PlayWorks
Playworks has been helping educators re-think playtime since 1995 We help kids to stay active and build valuable life skills through play. Playworks brings out the best in kids, through play Playtime is kids' time. But schools can and should create play environments that help kids be their best. Studies...
Right To Play
OUR MISSION To protect, educate and empower children to rise above adversity using the power of play. OUR STORY For more than 20 years, Right To Play has worked in some of the most difficult and dangerous places on earth to help children to stay in school and graduate, resist...
TASP – The Association for the Study of Play
The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) is the premier professional organization in academia dedicated to interdisciplinary research and theory construction concerning play throughout the world. Presently the Association publishes a quarterly newsletter titled Play Review and an annual volume titled Play & Culture Studies. The Association's broad multidisciplinary...
The Alliance for Self-Directed Education
Imagine what would happen if, instead of sending children to conventional schools where their natural ways of learning are curtailed, we provided them with the resources that would allow their curiosity, playfulness, and other natural ways of learning to flourish. That is "Self-Directed-Education" (SDE): education that derives from the self-chosen...
The Homeless Children’s Playtime Project
The mission of the Homeless Children's Playtime Project (Playtime) is to cultivate resilience in children experiencing family homelessness by providing and expanding access to transformative play experiences. We do this by: - Creating ongoing play opportunities that nurture healthy child development - Challenging systemic injustice by advocating for policies and...
