Play has the power to rebuild childhoods affected by COVID-19!
A resident student of the Sainik Vidyalaya Hostel in Sagroli village for three years, Dev (name changed) did well as the in-person curriculum included training in self-defense, swimming, martial arts, and so on. Being active at the Toybank Play2Learn Center kept him interested in learning, too. With the abrupt and big shift from offline to online learning, Dev struggled to understand and retain concepts, as well as, stay motivated to learn. However , Toybank’s Play2Learn activities drew back his interest in studies. The Std 8 boy gradually developed his language skills with playsheets such as ‘Effect or Affect’ and ‘Create Words'. As school reopened, Dev is back at the hostel where play sessions have restarted. The digital divide and difficulty in understanding lessons may lead to long-term absenteeism in at-risk children. Another aspect is the difficulty in grasping lessons, which discourages them from paying attention to what they are learning. These, in turn, greatly increase t
