“Play is really the work of childhood,” Fred Rogers once said. How delightful to find that lots of learning can happen at the same time too!

Friends from long-time development partner, The Learning Child School (TLC), lovingly put together SMART Learning Kits that engage children in learning through play and shared them with Cartwheel’s partner indigenous learners residing in Parañaque and Zamboanga.

The kits are handmade and thoughtfully designed by TLC’s Preschool and Special Education Teams. It is a learning packet of age-appropriate and teacher-approved activities, targeting multiple intelligences through art, play, science, and literature. It contains engaging, tactile, and kinesthetic activities designed for young children.

The parents’ guide, originally in English, has been translated to Tagalog and contextualized by Cartwheel for ease of use of the Sama-Bajau teacher as she guides the learners through the activities. The activities included in the modules explore the themes of self-awareness, body awareness, health and mindfulness through art, play, science, and literature. These are shared with the indigenous learners in combination with other existing indigenized learning curricula developed and validated with their respective communities and IP support groups.

The contents of the learning kits encourage the use of various art forms. Apart from helping achieve the children’s academic goals, the arts make way for creative play. Much scientific research shows that play helps develop imagination, dexterity, as well as physical, cognitive, and emotional strengths. Continued growth in these areas are beneficial to any child, whatever their context may be. SMART Learning Kits have become effective home-based learning resources for indigenous children, especially in this time when alternative delivery modes of education are necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic.