Welcome to The Playing Field!
Access to High Quality Child Care
The Playing Field offers the highest level of early care and education to children from varied socio-economic backgrounds.
A young child may spend 10,000 hours in a group child care program. These early years form the foundations for how the child views themself, relates to others, manages emotions, and learns. During these formative years, there is no place for anything less than quality care and early education. Unfortunately, only ten percent of US children attending child care are enrolled in centers that meet the standards for high quality.
The Playing Field has created a model for access in early education by offering the highest level of care and making that care available to all families.
Way to Go!
Way to go, The Playing Field! We received a grant from 100 Men of Dane County to help an additional 40 children gain access to quality child care and education. Cheramy Story Arts and Marketing produced several videos for the grant application process, but it’s the work of The Playing Field that won their hearts!
Sensory Play Path
Our dear friends at Cheramy Story Arts & Marketing have created a virtual tour of our sensory play path!
Our play path was custom designed and built to support the sensory needs of children. It is helpful for children impacted by trauma or sensory issues. It is also helpful for children on the autism spectrum.
You can view a three dimensional map of our play path. As you click on each stop along the path, you can view a short video explaining the benefits of the activity. You can also view the full video about the sensory play path.
Developing Early Educators
Our model is built on the understanding that early attachments form the basis for learning and provide the best buffer against early adversity.
The Playing Field believes that taking good care of teachers supports them in providing the best care to children. Through our intensive training, coaching, and mentoring program, teachers gain the skills needed to assist children impacted by trauma. We encourage teachers to stay with the same group of children through multiple years and our low turnover rates provide children with stability and allow them to form strong bonds with caregivers.
Our reach extends beyond teachers in our program to those in our community and beyond Wisconsin. We host onsite trainings and offer observation opportunities for other early educators.
Partnering to Support Families
As we break the barriers to access of quality early education, we have formed partnerships to support adult family members in breaking their own barriers.
We have long partnered with The Road Home Dane County to offer quality child care to families impacted by housing insecurity. We also partner with the Department of Workforce Development to offer paid apprenticeships in early childhood education. We are currently working with Plumbers Union Local 75 to offer onsite child care and training in the skilled trades.