Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Family play experiences are essential to the health and well-being of Canadian children, however, the quantityand quality of these opportunities are diminishing in part as a result of hurried lifestyles.The proposed project with George Brown College's School of Early Childhood and Peekapak will examine thequality of family play experiences of families using the Peekapak story-play materials. Peekapak is aToronto-based SME that offers a creativity-focused activity pack for children ages 3 - 7 which emphasizesactive, collaborative play and learning while providing busy parents with a convenient way to connect withtheir child. Delivered to a family's home each month, each activity pack covers a new topic within aninteractive storybook and three educator-designed activities. In the proposed project, participants will use thePeekapak materials in a family play experience, and will be invited to complete an on-line survey examiningthe quality of the experience from their perspective, as well as reporting on behavioural indicators from theirchildren. Results from this study will inform Peekapak's product design and will validate the product to keyparent, educator and learning institution stakeholders. This will allow Peekapak to expand its distribution fromsolely e-commerce to parents, to directly to educators, schools and daycares in Canada and internationally. Thiswill ultimately provide a positive, enriching context for shared time and play experiences for Canadian familiesleading to stronger relationship-bonds, while at the same time reducing stress for busy Canadian parents.