1. Introductory Letter
Play Adventures
Naomi Sukenik
3214 Brookdale Ct, Merced, CA
2176074902
[email protected]
I •• -1 ,,.,,2w • l
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
The Play Adventures mission is to create an environment that encourages children to access their innate curiosity and playfulness through creative play with a wide range of materials. Self-determined play in a rich, child-led environment, encourages creativity, artistic expression, resilience, and personal discovery. Children and youth in Play Adventures settings have the opportunity to think big, problem solve, resolve conflicts and be inspired by peers. Most importantly (since coming out of Covid) participants in Play Adventures get the needed time to socialize with a multi-aged group, helping to relieve stress, anxiety and depression.
Our short term goal involves continuing our current programming, which has garnered a degree of success in the area, with many families following our journey and their children benefiting from our work. Our midterm goal is to analyze past work and revive previous successful programming which COVID-19 forced to a halt, offering camps during school breaks and free community Pop Up Play Days. Lastly, Play Adventures dreams big; our long term goal is to open an Adventure Playground to the public. We would continue offering programming for children and youth, workshops for parents and professionals, high-value community collaborations and partnerships for organizations. At all times and through all things, we address the child care shortage in Merced by offering a variety of attendance options, based on different family needs.
Memberships, free play, subsidized or scholarship based, and sliding scale tiers are available based on needs of the family.
Play Adventures plans to use the funding for multiple purposes. Firstly, we would like to offer two additional Create Your Own Adventure day camps to the public at an affordable rate, competitive with camps offered by the City of Merced. (Create Your Own Adventure camps are 4-day Play Adventures opportunities that take place during school breaks to relieve the child care burden on working caregivers.) In addition to offering these additional day camps, we would like to begin one new program, called the "Junior Playworker Course," centered around youth ages 12-17. The goal of this program would be to teach Junior Playworkers vocational skills, instilling playwork as an approach to child connectedness, and of course returning efforts to the community by implementing Pop Up Play Days with an attached protocol for reflection and analysis. Through this program, we will be able to commit ourselves to providing 3-5 Community Pop Up Play Days at community events.
Reaching a diverse population is one of our highest held values. Our ideal programming would offer community, play and social interaction, learning through experiences for a wide range of ages and including their caregivers and significant adults through workshops and outings.
We have made many big strides in collaborating with Merced city and its community organizations. See Addendum A for our list of experience, past and current projects and their description.
We look forward to receiving Community Funding to build a playful, child-centered, city!
Best, Naomi Sukenik
2. Individual Staff Experience
Play Adventures' founder and CEO, Naomi Sukenik, MA in Nonprofit Management, BEd in Special Education,licensed site supervisor and is a certified Playworker. She will run the administrative aspect (scheduling, marketing, finances, grant writing, planning professional training), the professional development of the staff and model playwork in shifts with the Play Team. Naomi has been practicing playwork for 7 years and has worked in early childhood for two decades.
Our Assistant Director, Kimberly Jarrett, holds a BA in Child Development and is a multiple subjects credentialed teacher, with a background in Waldorf education. She has long proven her ability to keep the integrity and quality of our program to the highest standards. She is a competent leader and teacher while modeling playwork and best practices for the needs of our children. She has an integral role in our staff development. Kim has been practicing playwork for over two years.
Tania Martinez- Lead playworker- Tania has an incredible knack for playwork and has empowered many children to believe in their capabilities. She is a crucial part of our team for two years and leads other staff unequivocally. She is Spanish speaking, allowing our Spanish speaking children to converse in their mother tongue.
Our staff consists of 4 additional part time playwork employees that are still learning and earning experience. Our weekly meetings help support the triumphs and hardships of the daily events by reflecting, learning and discussing best practice together (i.e. conflict resolution, problem solving, encouraging agency etc). Play Adventures' proposed professional development and training, define a skill set and play based knowledge base for early childhood educators that will help improve the ways in which we observe, interact and reflect on the whole child.
Noelle Chandler- Board Secretary- Arts Program Specialist and County Arts Lead with Merced County of Education. She believes in Play Adventures' vision and with her support within the community, she is a vital asset to Play Adventures continual programming and awareness spreading.
Christie Hendricks- Board Treasurer, retired Superintendent for Early Childhood Education for Merced County of Education. Her knowledge and skills of developmentally appropriate practice for young children and her knowledge of the system is a benefit to play adventures.
Grace Paradis- Professor of Early Childhood development at California State University Stanislaus is mostly interested language development, parent-child relationships, attachment relationships throughout the lifespan, language development (including Deafness) and use in the context of parent-child interactions, influences of media on children, and how current technological trends affect various aspects of development.
She has been a staunch advocate for Play Adventures and our unique programming outdoors, loose parts, and play.
3. Proposed Projects and Scope of Service
Pop Up Community Play Days + Camp
Play Adventures is ready to be of even more support to Merced City families. The pandemic has had a significant effect on us all but has been particularly hard for children's mental health with quarantine and loss of social interactions. Through the Junior Playworking Course, Play Adventures will provide 3-5 Community Pop Up Play Days, enhancing events produced by the city or their partners. In this way, we provide children and youth with a place to "play their way," in a safe and supervised environment accessible to a much larger group of families. The multi-age group at our events allows children the confidence to interact with younger and older children, a rarely-seen benefit. The outdoor setting is a known and researched way to relieve stress. Exhibiting the Play Adventures approach at these events will help raise awareness and create community buy-in to the idea that children need a large allotted time frame to play freely and safely in order to socialize, problem solve and discover their personal interests.
During school breaks, in a predetermined Merced park or parks, Play Adventures will run two partially-subsidized Create Your Own Adventure camps, reaching a larger target children population within Merced and affecting the lives of even more children and families. With this grant we will be able to offer lower costs to the program participants in those camps. During the camp, children will have the opportunity to play with a multi-aged group using loose parts and materials to manipulate with trained, supportive adults as well as teens from our Junior Playwork Course.
Junior Playworker Course: Event Planning, Vocational Skills and Community Outreach.
Play Adventures will advertise, organize and facilitate a new afterschool course being offered to middle schoolers & highschoolers. During the course of the school year, participating Junior Playworkers will learn the playwork approach, while interacting with one another, preschoolers and elementary school aged children. The course will teach students the theoretical aspects of playwork and then provide opportunities to apply these concepts within our programs. ( The outline of our Junior Playworker Course can be viewed in Addendum 8.)
Once the playwork approach has been practiced in the field (may be used as volunteer hours for High School), we will begin teaching vocational event planning skills in order to produce our Community Pop Up Play Days, discussed above. These events will be led by our Junior Playworkers and supported by our Playworker Team (see Event Planning Course outline in Addendum C). There are many benefits to a semi-structured learning/work environment such as the Junior Playworker Course: increased work ethic, additional time management skills, a sense of purpose, CPR and first aid training. It also keeps Junior Playworkers socially interacting in a positive and safe environment, and gives them supportive, community-connected adult role models. In addition, the feeling of giving back to the community empowers youth to take responsibility for their surroundings.
These Community Pop Up Play Days will be free to the community, produced in partnership with an outside organization, and give ALL children the opportunity to self direct their own play with open-ended materials and supportive teens and adults.
These opportunities counteract changes like increased workloads at school, fewer in-school chances for creativity or physical movement, shorter recesses and an overload of adult-led activities. Our children rarely get a chance to investigate their own interests for an uninterrupted time. Large-scale free programming like this is crucial to our children's physical and mental health, and it is crucial that we give interested teens the opportunity to explore it and facilitate it as well.
Logistics:
Junior Playworkers will meet with us twice a week. One day a week will be for workshop-style "learn-by-doing" on-site playwork with time for education, analysis and reflection. (Later in the year, this weekly meeting will turn into time for planning and implementing Community Pop Up Play Days.) During their second weekly Junior Playworking afternoon, they will be doing field work with specific tasks to complete; collectively, we will offer a total of 6 hours per week learning the ways of the playworker and how to plan, initiate and facilitate a series of community events.
We will recruit participants in August/September and work with said participants from September- June. We expect to have anywhere between 2-10 participants. The Junior Playworkers will be paid for their work at the Community Pop Up Play Days they arrange, assuming they are of legal age to receive funds. After the year, if there is a good fit between Junior Playworkers and the Play Adventures team, we will offer them a part time job to get started on the right track for successful employment.
4. Program Budget
Line item Description Total Total
communit other
y funding funding
Pop Up 3 Community Pop Up Play Days in $3,000 $5,000
Community conjunction with city or partnership events
Days (to be scheduled)
Play Play Adventures "Create Your Own $10,700 $7,500
Adventures
Camps
Adventure" camps in Merced park(s)
Junior 10-month partially-subsidized course to $26,000 $2,000 Playworker teach teens the essentials of playork, event Course planning and positive employment skills
Total $40,000 14,500
See Addendum D for full operation projects budget. Additionally, we run multiple programming with multiple income sources like First Five Mini Grant, Tuition based, Government subsidization from Access and Play Adventures Scholarship Fund. The graph above represents these programs alone.
5. References ( Attached separately in Email)
6. Addendums Attached separately in Email
Addendum A: Past and Present experience
Addendum B. Playwork Approach Training
Addendum C. Vocational skills- Event Planning
Addendum D: Full Operational Budget for review
Addendum E: Community Funding Timeline
Addendum A: List of Grants
Date Grant received from: Description Amount
1 12/3/2018 First Five Merced- Series of Pop Ups $3000
Scott Waite-
2 12/6/2018 MCOE- Caring for your Child care provision along hired Black Children series with AFRO
workshop
Samantha Thompson
3 3/2/2019 Parent Institute Speaker donated
4 Feb-June, 2019 Merced Parks and 5p op ups and pop up series $3000 Recreation (first five?) 12 events
Jennifer Arrellano
5 October 5 & 19, 2019 Merced Parks and Movies in the Park Hired Recreation with
Lam Kindavong symbolic
pay
6 October 24, 2019 First Five Community Pop up Play Day 1,000 engagement Grant-
Lights on Afterschool
Xee Lee
7 November 6, 2019 First Five Community Library Pop Up Child book 1,000 Engagement Grant- party
library event
Alicia Heim
8 October, 2019 Spanish Heritage Fair- Pop UP Play Day One staff united Way hired
Sol Rivas $150
9 November, 2019 Dias de la Muertos Pop Up Play Day donated Celebration
MAC
Colton Dennis
10 January, 3, 2020 Merced Parks and 2 Camps with subsidized $2500 Recreation tuition
Jennifer Arrellano
11 Feb 2020 MCOE- Celebrating the Pop Up - child care provision hired African American Child
conference
Samantha Thompson
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
November, 2019 Community District 2 Series of Pop Up Play Days 3000 Grant
Lee Lor
Summer 2019 MCOE Assets Workshop donated
March, 2019 Rural Justice Summit at Pop Up Play day donated the MAC
Joody Marks &
Colton Dennis
March 20, 2019 Youth to Youth Workshop Presenter donated Chis Jenson
August 2021 People's Budget.City of Covid relief funds $3000 Merced
June 2021-2022 First Five Mini Grant MGM and Scholarship $10,000 Scott Waite funding
November 2021 First Five Covid relief Covid relief $3000 funds
January, 2022 Arts Now- Advocating for Arts, $2000
Noelle Chandler Workshops, Materials for
process art
May, 22, 22 Mercado- Sarah Herrara Pop Up Play Day Hired-sy mbolic
pay
January, 2022 California University Field Work Training for Stanislaus State- Child Development
Grace Paradis students in Partnership
with California University
Stanislaus State.
Total $32,500
Play Adventures began with the goal of creating a community of free, child-led pop-up opportunities in and around Merced County. We wanted to increase early childhood resources in the area, so we partnered with local organizations and entities to raise community awareness of the importance of children's play as instrumental to learning, socialization, development, and self-discovery. We have collaborated with Merced County of Education; provided activities for children during Week of the Young Child; gave workshops and presentations to ASSETS educators, Parents Institute, and Youth to Youth; collaborated with Merced Parks and Recreation for multiple events; received grants from First Five, The City of Merced and Merced Parks and Recreation.
We have collaborated with UC Merced, Merced College and have provided thousands of children with an opportunity to explore, be inspired, problem solve, self discover, and connect with one another and their environment.
At the onset of COVID19 in 2020, Play Adventures opened a Family Child Care facility that strictly adheres to all State of California and Federal guidelines. The emphasis was on a program that focuses on child-led play while being operated completely outdoors, rain or shine. We received a license to open our program in the backyard of my residence. In this initial offering, 12 children explored their natural tendencies with supportive adults and multiple materials to manipulate based on interests and motivations. In 2021 we became a part of ACCESS, hoping to attract a wider variety of families and provide for a more diverse population. We continue to be an outdoor program hoping to limit the spread of COVID, while promoting the idea that children are capable, curious, part of a culture and the environment. We spend all day outdoors unless the weather does not permit (i.e. heat index, unhealthy AQI levels).
Currently, Play Adventures houses multiple programs that operate throughout the day at different hours, serving different age groups. This home-based operation offers a 'My grown up and Me' program for kids ages 0-5 (subsidized by a First Five Mini Grant), a Forest Preschool Program for kids ages 2-6, and an afterschool program for kids ages 3-10. We offer camps during school breaks, and free workshops for families with kids aged 0-5 with free childcare. We serve approximately 35 families with these various programs. We also recently began working with California State University Stanisalus to provide students with field training experience.
Play Adventures is capable of managing and fulfilling contractual agreements as shown on multiple accounts throughout the 4 years we have been in service with the Merced County community. In Merced County we have collaborated multiple times with various entities to expand knowledge of the importance of play in our community.
We have received multiple grants to provide free or subsidized services to the children and families we serve. Our collaborations and grant records are described below:
Addendum B. Junior Playwork Approach Training
Adventure Play Philosophy -Four Hour Workshop/Seminar
1. Introduction (1 Smin)
a. Names
b. Play experience as a child
I. Who was there?
Ii. Who wasn't there?
Iii. Risky or messy play
2. Play -(one hour)
a. Play Time
I. In the middle of the room there are loose materials- take 15 minutes to play
Ii. chose two observers to take notes of what they see. What play types did they see, was there an outcome, an obvious start middle and end ....
Iii. (Plant five kids to come and play- those who will do it naturally/not do it) - then discuss what happens when a child doesn't have this opportunity b. Discuss play in today's world- What happens when they don't get self directed play?
I. facilitated (directed and supervised)
Ii. in front of screens
Iii. amount of play/no recess
liii. nature deprived
liiii. Lack of Peer learning
liiiii. Lack of Multiple age playing
liiiiii. Lack of exploration
c. Discuss Play Types- Bob Hughes
d. Define Play- in small groups of 3 in one to two sentences.
I. Listen to definitions
Ii. Give playworkers definition.
BREAK
3. Playwork Principles- (30min)
a. Pages 4-10 in Reflective playwork work well to get the message across I. Hand out playwork principles- discuss what they mean and then using the stories show how they are implemented
ii . Stories from Fraser Brown's book, show how playwork principles are implemented.
Iii. ask them to tell a play experience and then implement playwork principles
b. Differences of play through a teacher's lens and through a playworker lens I. Show clip of children playing and interpret it in both ways Ii. Show diagram of differences- one would do this, one would do that- ( this might be hard and perceived as judgemental- need to think on how to do this ... )
4. Play Environments (30)
a. Choose a play environment and describe iUsketch it
b. What types of play types does it allow?
c. How would you change the environment to allow more play opportunities? d. Show regular playgrounds (slide from Morgans with the prison) vs adventure playgrounds or playscapes. Evaluate the different play opportunities possible.
5. Loose Parts (30)
a. What is loose parts theory?
b. Why is it beneficial to children?
c. Split up into small groups and make together a list of loose parts that can be incorporated in your play environment. We write them together creating a master list.
6. Importance of Risky Play (30)
a. Risk/Benefit Assessment
b. Rough housing
c. Climbing
d. Fire
7. Play Cycles and Intervention (30)
a. The different play cycles- look at play experiences and show when play terms are being used .. framing, cues etc
b. Levels of intervention
c. Problematic behavior
8. Reflective Practice (15)
a. The difference between reflection with playworking and regular reflections b. The importance of reflection
9. Summary and Feedback/Reflection
a. Questionaire or open ended questions for feedback
Addendum C. Vocational skills- Event Planning
1. Brainstorm the event
a. What is the event? How will it look? What Marketing needs to be done? b. Where will the event take place?
c. When will the event take place?
d. Who is sponsoring the event? Who is participating in the event e. How will it work logistically?
i. What Materials?
ii. How will the materials get there?
iii. Who is staffing the event?
iv. Where can we unload materials?
v. Creating a contingency plan!
vi. What marketing materials need to be there?
vii. What signage?
f. Why are we doing this?
i. For the children in the community
ii. Raise awareness about self directed play to the community iii. Marketing for Play Adventures programs
iv. In field training for Junior Playworkers
2. What are criteria for a successful event?
3. Plan 5 Community Pop Up Play Days- using what was learned above
4. Organize 5 schools for individual or series of Pop Up Play Days
5. Implement Pop Up Play Days
Addendum D Opertaional Programs Budget
Jr Playwork Course
Expenses Planning Weekly Course Months/tlm Rate Amount of Rate Amount of Jr Total hours per month es playworkers playworkers
(theory and field
work)
Personnel Break Down
Curriculum Building 15 1 30 2 900
Marketing 15 30 1 450
cost analysis, &
implementation
Securing Jr Playworkers 15 30 2 900
Program Start 25 10 25 1 6300
Implementation of 4 10 25 2 15 2 1004
Community Pop Ups
Total Personnel 9554
Expenses
Material Per month Per event
Icosts
Moterlo/ Expenses
Materials 250 10 2 5000
Total Material Costs 5000
Unit Cost per month amt of
months I
Over head Expenses
Vehicle (60 cents per mile-
ten miles) 6 1 10 60
Office supplies/marketing
supplies (225$/1000
flyers) 0.23 200 10 450
Utilities 100 10 1000
Uniform (25 shirts, 20
Staff+ Jr Playworkers) 25 20 500
Snacks 20 8 10 1600
Accounting (partial cost of
accounting for program) 20 1 10 200
CPR and First Aid Training
(10 kids) 35 10 350
Program cost 200 10 2000
Pop Up cost 500 10 5000
:rouil OWrhffd Expenses 1111G 111.0
Total Gross Expenses $25,714
Unexpected 2% of total
expenses $502
S26.216J
Community Pop Up Play Days
Expenses Staff Materials Event Total amount of even Total Planning and implementation
'"■
Rate 25 200
Staff per event 3
Hours {Set Up, Event & Cit 6 3
Total 450 200 350 1000 3000
Play Adventures Camps
Personnel Break Down amt of people rate hours per day hours per week Total Marketing
1 30 10 300
Playworker 4 25 8 40 4000 Staff 8-4 Camp runs 9-3
Jr. Playworker 2 15 5 25 750 I
Amount of Camps 2 5050 I
Total personnel expenses 10100 I
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Addendum E Community Funding Timeline -
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VENTUl�:�S
............
Item Goal Description Action items
Curriculum 1. Teach an Interactive
Building( 10-15 hours) course to youth for
understanding and
knowledge through the
lens of the child.
2. Offer vocational
event planning skills
3. Implement
Community events
Marketing 1. Create Marketing
(10 hrs including materials offering
prepping materials, the course training.
cost analysis, & 2. Introduce the
implementing ) program to Youth
organizations,
schools & parents.
3. Market the program
with easy
registration options
Securing (15hours) 1. Secure registration
Applicants/participants of 6-10 applicants in
2022-2023 pilot
year.
Our Play Team creates a course
filled with knowledge and
experiential learning. The course
has a curriculum that is geared
to implement flexibility. We
encourage the children to take
the lead and support their lead,
no matter the outcome. This
course is true learning through
trial and error as making
mistakes is part of the learning
experience.
Our Play Team will market
through social media, signage,
email marketing through
connections with
influencers/services, youth
organizations and Peach Jar
Our Team will pursue
registration of Middle School
and High School Students
through city youth council and
related professionals and
1. Dive deep into the outline by
creating the curriculum fully.
2. Pilot on a few children that
have previously been in our
programs.
3. Advertise program to High
School students, Youth
Council and other
organizations representing
youth
4. Create Calendar
1. List possible connections or
parties of interest.
2. Reach out to High Schools
and the youth council.
3. Propose Play Adventures'
Junior Playwork Community
Program
1. Gain Information regarding
how middle and high school
students pursue after school
activities and/or volunteering
options.
timeline
Beginning August
2022
Late
August-September
2022
September
1� 4.0 _ ..'..l�I , � t, t.
PlflY\ Au.JVENTUI� S
organizations 2. Contact liaisons in MCSD for
student affairs
Program Start 1. Begin Playwork The Jr Playworkers will begin 1. Create an agreement with the October 2022 (8 hours*rate Theoretical and learning the ins and outs of participants about the scope of *10months) Field work training Playwork while experiencing work. simultaneously to through observation and 2. Begin Training learn directly from reflection practice.
doing. Later the Jr Playowrkers will
2. Introduce Junior take an active part in supporting
Playworkers to the the children based on the
career of child playwork approach.
education.
Field work 1. Encourage Experiential learning is the key 1. Support the field work with November 2022 experiential to deep, successful education. journaling and daily reflection learning. The Jr Playworkers will learn to practice.
2. Empowering the see younger children in a 2. Discuss issues that may occur youth to lead with different light, support children and allow personal and group their ideas. The Jr. and their play, learn to reflect in problem solving.
Playworkers will the playwork manner and have a 3. Become a community of Junior learn through trial good time being outdoors in a Playworkers that are passionate and error methods. safe supportive environment. about childhood.
Implementation of 1. Support and Teach The experiential learning, 1. Planning and executing the Pop January 2023-June Community Pop Ups event planning and theoretical learning, building the Up Community Play Opportunities 2023 1 O pop ups* 4 hours community building Junior Playwork Community and each*2 Jr playworkers, 2. Implement implementing programming for 2 Playworkers*rate) Community Pop Up the whole community is a Play Days and lifelong positive experience.
in-school Pop Up
Play Days
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Noelle D.W. Chandler
Arts Prog,om Sµcc,o/1s1
7.09 386 604 7
632W 13th�IIC?l'l
Merced, CA 95341
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing in reference to Naomi Sukenik of Play Adventures, who put forward time and attention this year into establishing an additional Arts Now Community at the Play Adventures Clubhouse, specifically for the benefit of her (and all) students.
After Arts Now MCOE (a County-Wide arts community through Create CA, a stateward arts advocacy partner) was established in 2021, I began searching for leaders interested in bringing the benefits of a process-based arts opportunity to their students while obtaining additional professional development in the arts, advocacy and community-building for themselves. With the establishment of an Arts Now Community comes a grant for funding in the amount of $1,500; she developed a series of workshops offered to the community with free childcare at her Clubhouse location and was a wise steward of the funding offered to her by Create CA. Naomi's workshops were well-facilitated and well-advertised, and parents who attended walked away with a new appreciation for the Playwork philosophy and how it interweaves with creativity and art.
Naomi was the ideal first establishment of an Arts Now Community additional-to and umbrella-ed by my own at the County level. I am proud to work with such a fierce advocate for children and brilliant, innovative educator.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with additional questions.
Sincerely,
Noelle D.W. Chandler, Arts Program Specialist
Merced County Office of Education
[email protected]
www.mcoe.org/arts
SAMANTHA C. THOMPSON� MBA
1434 SANTA NELLA COURT
MERCED, CALI �'Ol{NJA 95348
PHONE: (209)777-1771
[email protected]
July 1, 2022
RE: Naomi Sukenik & Play Adventures
To Whom It May Concern:
I met Naomi Sukenik in 2017-18 when she relocated to the Merced County community. At the time, I was the Early Education Program Manager with the Merced County Office of Education. I was immediately impressed with Naomi's eagerness to engage with the early learning community and the passion she shared about Play Adventures. She demonstrated expert knowledge in early learning and care and a commitment to play-based experiential learning, which Play Adventures has become known for in the community.
As a result of our initial interactions, I was motivated to contract with her to offer an innovative option of child care as part of a series of parenting classes for a grant I was overseeing from 2017-2020, "Caring for Our Black Children" funded by First 5 Merced County. Naomi demonstrated a high degree of cultural competence and was attentive to integrating culturally responsive practices and activities that celebrated Black culture, into the Play Adventures model. Subsequently, we invited her to provide child care during our day-long conference, "Celebrating the African American Child" in February 2020.
Participants who utilized the care during the conference provided highly favorable feedback regarding their child's experience. I remember one parent being extremely appreciative to the strategies Naomi suggested to support the curiosity in her child with special needs.
Not only is Naomi Sukenik, an educated and knowledgeable early education professional and business owner, she is a kind and considerate person. She has a disposition that makes it easy for children and adults to connect with her which I believe is instrumental in her success. As I have transitioned away from the Merced County Office of Education, Early Education Department to a statewide advocacy position focusing on early learning and care policy for the Education Trust West, I remain a Merced County resident and I have continued to see Play Adventures thrive and grow in the community. It is with great respec_t_and h_onor to recommend Naomi Sukenik and Play Adventures for grant funding to .:--- ' conti
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Resp�ctfully,
w�
/Samantha
( __
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
BERKELEY • DA VIS • UlVINE • LOS ANGELES • MERCED • RIVERSIDE • SAN DIEGO • SAN fRANCISCO DANIELLE WAITE, E.d.D.
DIRECTOR
July 1, 2022
To Whom It May Concern,
SANTA BARBAN.A • SAN1A CRUZ
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTER
UNJVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED
5200 N. LAKE ROAD
MERCED, CALIFORNIA 95343
(209) 228-4655
This is a letter of recommendation for Naomi Sukenik and her program Play Adventures.
We hired Play Adventures to provide activities for our I 0th Anniversary celebration of our program. We serve infants, toddlers, and preschoolers daily, but at this event we knew we'd also have school aged siblings and alumni attending. Ms. Sukenik provided a play space and opportunities for children (and some parents) to explore and create. Our university is very much on reduction of waste, as is our early education program. We re-use discarded items in all our daily classroom activities and it was a natural fit to hire Play Adventures to provide added interactive activities for the families attending our anniversary event.
Ms. Sukenik also presented at our last Symposium of Children and Families (2020) to early child professionals and other interested individuals who work with young children and families. Her talk on Playwork and her program Adventure Playgrounds was excellent and informative. She clearly relayed theory and studies around risk taking in young children. She gave many anecdotal stories from her own experiences in her pop-up program and her program prior to moving to California.
Her program is based on the need to allow children to be children, to take risks, and be creative. Child play has been changed over these past many decades and it's wonderful that she is encouraging children to be problem solvers, negotiators, inventors, and creators.
If you need any more information that I did not share here, please feel free to reach out to me directly.