Why Play Spaces Matter and How to Fund Them
The role of funding and flexible capital in creating play spaces, and why investing in childhood joy and resilience matters, especially in challenging times.
Given the flurry of policy activity, I had a moment where I questioned whether writing about recess was important enough to continue. But then I thought about how children experience the world.
For them, everything is immediate. They live day by day, moment by moment, relying on the adults in their lives to create safe, steady, joyful tiny worlds regardless of what's happening in the bigger world.
That reflection reminded me why this work matters so much, especially now. Recess might seem small, but it’s foundational. It’s where children recharge, connect, and can just be.
In this week’s edition of Recess Digest, I’m exploring what it takes to create and sustain play spaces for children and how funding makes it possible.
Investing in Play Spaces for Early Childhood Development
Play isn’t just a break for kids; it’s a building block of development, a joyful outlet, and a tool for resilience.1 When communities lack access to safe, engaging places for children to play, the impacts ripple far beyond the playground.2
I’ve spent years visiting early childhood classrooms across the country, observing the resources available to children and educators and identifying what’s missing. During one visit to a childcare center in a small Georgia county, the owner described her challenges in meeting the growing community’s needs. Participating in the state’s quality rating program unlocked some resources, but space limitations and a long-delayed playground renovation still held the center back.
This visit was part of a larger project for a family foundation committed to the area. They sought our advice on where to focus their early childhood investments. Through conversations with parents, educators, and community leaders, we identified a major gap: many childcare providers, especially those serving children in low-income areas, lacked access to flexible funding for facility renovations and expansions.
We recommended the foundation create a fund specifically for facility improvements, including playgrounds. They acted on that recommendation and have since launched a program that’s enabling providers like the one we visited to create the play spaces children deserve.
If you're curious about how mapping childcare needs and supply could support your community, I’d love to connect. Learn more about my work at Bellwether and reach out here.
Policy in Play
Early care providers, many of whom are Black women or women of color, face systemic barriers to accessing capital for facility improvements.3 These challenges perpetuate disparities in the quality of environments available to children in marginalized communities.4 Addressing this inequity requires innovative grantmaking and flexible capital solutions tailored to meet the needs of these providers.
Here are some examples of how programs and policies are making a difference:
Low-Income Investment Fund: LIIF provides grants and low-interest loans to early care and education providers, often co-located with affordable housing developments. This initiative focuses on renovating and expanding facilities, including safe, engaging play spaces, to better serve children in under-resourced communities.5
Minnesota’s Child Care Facility Revitalization Grant: This program supports facility development, expansion, and renovation, and prioritizes providers in rural areas and communities with limited access to high-quality early care.6
New York State’s Child Care Deserts Grant: This initiative used American Rescue Plan Act funding to dedicate $100M to building and expanding childcare capacity in geographic areas with insufficient licensed childcare slots.7
State Quality Rating and Improvement Systems: Many states incorporate financial incentives into their QRIS programs.8 These incentives can include loans or grants for facility improvements, such as playground renovations, for providers who meet quality standards.
Quote of the Week
“There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don't expect you to save the world, I do think it's not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.”
― Nikki Giovanni
In My Sandbox
Here’s what I’ve been exploring this week:
Watching: Madison Keys for the win at the Australian Open. What a match. Her work off the court with donor-advised fund Kindness Wins refurbishing public tennis courts is an inspiring reminder of how physical spaces can foster community and opportunity for young people.
Following: Libby Rainey’s piece, For childcare providers, wildfires are just one more crisis, highlights how systemic inequities impact childcare providers and families.
Reading: One of my sons is deep into the I Survived series, and I Survived the California Wildfires, 2018 is a timely resource if you’re looking to help a child in your life understand the recent wildfires and their impact.
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Stay Connected
📩 Newsletter Archive: Catch up on past editions of Recess Digest here.
📚 My Books: On the Road to High-Quality Early Learning: Changing Children’s Lives and Disrupting Disruption: The Steady Work of Transforming Schools explore case studies of promising educational practices making a difference for children and communities.
🌍 Let’s Connect: Find me on LinkedIn.
💡 Learn More: See how we support leaders and organizations in the education sector with thoughtful analysis and strategic guidance at Bellwether.
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2018). The power of play: A pediatric role in enhancing development. Pediatrics, 142(3), e20182058. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2058; Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2003). Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn—and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less.
Vaughan, C. A., et al. (2017). Neighborhood inequalities in access to playgrounds and impacts on physical activity. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 52(1), 109-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.08.024.
Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. (2020). Early childhood workforce index 2020. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from https://cscce.berkeley.edu/; Low-Income Investment Fund. (2021, December 31). Building a better future: Early care & education in FY21. Retrieved January 25, 2025, from https://www.liifund.org/2021/12/31/air-fy21-ece/; Low-Income Investment Fund. (n.d.). Why early care & education is foundational to advancing racial & gender equity. Retrieved January 25, 2025, from https://www.liifund.org/perspective/why-early-care-education-is-foundational-to-advancing-racial-gender-equity/.
National Women's Law Center. (2021). State of child care for Black families. Retrieved from https://nwlc.org/.
Low-Income Investment Fund. (n.d.). $20 million partnership aims to co-locate child care with affordable housing. Retrieved January 25, 2025, from https://www.liifund.org/policy/20-million-partnership-aims-to-co-locate-child-care-with-affordable-housing/.
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. (n.d.). Child care revitalization grants. Retrieved from https://mn.gov/deed/..
New York State Office of Children and Family Services. (2022). Child Care Deserts Grant Program overview. Retrieved from https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/deserts/.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (n.d.). QRIS resource guide: Provider incentives and support. Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance System. Retrieved from https://ecquality.acf.hhs.gov/resource-guide/provider-incentives-and-support.