When Amber Unger (also known as the Cream City Teacher) began her career in education, she thought she'd be working with teenagers. As her path led her to a 4K public school classroom in the middle of a shift toward play-based learning, she discovered a new passion! Today, she helps other teachers on their own journeys to better understand and implement intentional play-based practices.

Get the show notes at :

https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode76

In episode 74, I introduced you to Michele Dineen-White, the creator of Play Smart Literacy in Chicago. Play Smart Literacy is a truly mobile outreach program, meaning that rather than hoping parents can overcome the burden of traveling to a specific location to receive services, Play Smart Literacy goes out into the community, particularly in vulnerable areas, to contact families and meet them right where they are – both literally and figuratively. They teach workshops at laundromats, gas stations, and standing in line at the market.

The passion for this program - and what it does for children and families - is contagious! In fact, many members of the team were once on the other side of the program – they were parents learning for the first time that talking and playing with their babies could make a meaningful difference in their development. They saw the benefits of the program with their own eyes and in their own homes and decided they wanted to share that message with other parents.

In this episode, I talk with members of the Play Smart Literacy team, about why they're so passionate about their work, what that work looks like, and how they've seen it change lives.

Michele Dinneen-White was working in an early education outreach program when she realized something. The program wasn’t actually reaching out to the families who needed it most. Those families were still required to find the time and the means to get their child to the center in order to receive services. And for many, that barrier was just too much to overcome. So Michele decided to create something new. The program is called Play Smart Literacy and it serves families in the Chicago area. It’s a fully mobile outreach program, one that actually reaches OUT and INTO the most vulnerable communities. And what is their mission? To build language and relationships through play.

Michele and her parent play leaders go to where the families are – parks, shelters, mobile markets, Head Start and early care programs, laundromats, gas stations – and they build real relationships with the families they meet, while at the same time building the families’ understanding of the connections between play, talk, and child development …AND building their confidence as parents as well. Their message is clear: EVERY parent has the ability to have a strong positive influence on their child’s future.