There’s a non-profit organization in Washington state that has produced a really cool social venture project. The Children’s Home Society of Washington has created a set of books called PlayBright Guidebook, which consist of guidebooks (one for each year ages birth to five) and a keys to learning book that gives parents detailed information on how your child grows and develops.

Before I tell you more, I wanted to explain what a social venture project is (this term is relatively new to me, so I’m thinking it might be new to some of you). When a non-profit or a business has a social venture project, one of the aims of the project is to make a profit. One of the other aims is to make a positive difference in society. The Children’s Home Society of Washington is a non-profit organization whose mission is,” to develop healthy children, create strong families, build engaged communities, and speak and advocate for children.”The PlayBright system gives parents tools to provide brain-boosting activities for their growing children, and the money generated by selling these books goes back to the Children’s Home Society of Washington to help them support kids and families in various ways. Pretty cool, huh?

Ok, so back to the PlayBright system. We were sent the book for 12-24 months, and it is stuffed with information that I’m already finding so helpful. In addition to have dozens of pages of fun activities to help your child learn and grow, it also has great information about developmental milestones for this age range, types of toys that are especially stimulating, and songs and nursery rhymes to teach your child. But the book is not at all overwhelming. I think they have cut out a lot of the fluff you find in many developmental books, and stuck with the essentials. As a busy person with not enough time to read much, I really appreciate this!

We also got to check out the PlayBright Keys to Learning book. It was totally fascinating. This is another example of a resource that cut out the fluff and left only the really important and helpful information on the table. I want to provide play time for Darah that is fun, that creates a bond between us, and that also helps her to learn and grow. When I’m left on my own to figure out how to do that well, I have some successes, but I often come up short. This book has given me so many ideas to use, and also gives me a better understanding of the types of stimulation that Darah needs now (and why!). Now that I understand this information, I can create more opportunities for learning fun on my own.

I’m thrilled to have these books, and I know I’ll be buying the books for the next few years, as well. Thank you, Children’s Home Society of Washington, for developing a resource that is so useful!