Connect Learn Play

You’ll always know how to support a young child’s development with a laundry basket, a cardboard box, or a dishtowel!

A new resource for parents/caregivers of young children, and practitioners working with 0 - 5 years

Grab Connect Learn Play Now!

Digital / Printable infant, toddler, and pre-school aged ideas to provide simple, enriching ways to support early development through play, language, music, and movement - using everyday items - helping you Learn With Less®!

Here’s your invitation to stress less, need less, and spend less (of your time and money) so you can feel more confident, be more responsive, & create more connection.

Picture this...

🤔 You’re sitting on the floor with your tiny human, trying to figure out what to do to maximize the 20 minutes between the time you’ve gotten home from the store and the time you’ve got to start getting ready for the next meal.

📱 You take out your "devil device" and start scrolling through Tik Tok / Pinterest / IG / whatever latest idea rabbit hole where you're currently following the latest parenting or early childhood influencer...

😫 Everything requires materials that aren't within arm's reach. Everything requires time you don't have. Everything requires pre-planned brain space that you. don't. have.

And in the meantime, your child has found the curtain above them...

What do you do next?

💭 Pull your child away from the curtain (again and again)...

💭 Distract them with one of the 5 toys you got suckered into buying from this year's "best toys to buy for kids under 5!"...

💡 Join your child at the curtain after recalling the idea about using long fabrics on the Learn With Less® Connect Learn Play prompt yesterday

➡️ ➡️ ➡️ Play peekaboo / talk about the color, texture, what you see outside the window / sing a song about hiding and seeking / follow your little one around as they move behind the curtain

You get to decide!

But Here's The Button To Grab Connect Learn Play!

Connect Learn Play Cards are a classic resource from Learn With Less®: designed to prompt you to start thinking about ways to connect the dots

  Between what a child is showing interest in

  Between the relationship between caregiver and child

  Between the literal neurons in a young child's brain that enable them to grow, learn, and thrive

... Without being prescriptive, overly structured, or requiring of any specific toy.

These cards help parents/caregivers make the connection between a child's interests & the strategies used to support development (whether that child is experiencing a delay, is right on target, or is ready for more!)


If you're a parent, caregiver, or provider of developmental services, then Connect Learn Play is for YOU!

Digital / Printable infant, toddler, and pre-school aged ideas to provide simple, enriching ways to support early development through play, language, music, and movement - using everyday items - helping you Learn With Less®!

As with all the resources we create here at Learn With Less®...

We use the 4-pillar framework of the Learn With Less® Curriculum (play, talk, sing, and move)

To address 4 major areas of early development (cognitive, communicative, motor, & social/emotional)

Click Here to Get Connect Learn Play Today!

Toys & more materials take up extra space, cost more, and sometimes prevent us from following a young child’s lead and responding to what they're interested in at the moment!

Let's get real: as a mother, a pediatric speech-language therapist, and as a coach for practitioners using the Learn With Less® developmental curriculum, I'm certainly not "anti toy." I say do what works for YOU - but the idea that you need to buy anything in particular to support a tiny human is not only flawed, but also deeply inequitable.

Supporting development & connection for young children can be simpler than we think...

Families need to know how to make use of the natural routines and everyday interactions!

The idea that there’s an inherent developmental value in an object classified as an “educational toy” is, quite frankly, a delusion.

The truth is:

😮 You already have the resources to give young children the “right” stimulation, play, & interaction to thrive (whether or not your toy closet is bursting at the seams).

🤯 The items in our homes – that we already have, often hidden in plain view – are powerful learning tools that can support all areas of development.

Just Imagine...

Connect Play Learn Cards from Learn With Less®

Providers & Practitioners

Instead of spending your precious time pre-planning sessions, hauling that big ol’ therapy bag around, wondering HOW to do bagless therapy, routines-based intervention, and center parent education in your work with young families… you feel:

  • Confident responding to the parent and child in the moment
  • Rooted in the routine you step into, using what the family already has, and relying on your own set of skills, knowledge, and observations... instead of a particular toy
  • Relieved to have a quick reference guide to use an object the family already has on hand (in either printed or digital format) so families can generalize and carry over what you practiced in the many, many days and hours when you’re not there!
Connect Learn Play Cards from Learn With Less® funnel boxes containers

Families

Instead of the constant, looming guilt that you're not doing enough, or that you don't have that special toy or specific material in order to support your kid's brain / language / muscles / emotional needs (I'm looking at those $$$ toy subscription boxes in your social feed!), you have:

  • Ideas for play and interaction using what materials, time, and energy you already have
  • Confidence you're doing "enough" for your young child's physical and mental development each day
  • More valuable interactions using the tools at your fingertips to play and engage in enriching activities that support the connection between you

Access to ideas on the go, wherever you are, with a digital download. 

So, What Exactly Do I Get with Connect Learn Play?

Hose Wheel Connect Learn Play Cards from Learn With Less®

"I'll never look at a hose wheel the same way again!"

- Speech-Language Pathologist, Attendee of American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, visitor at the Learn With Less® booth

WHAT THIS IS:

  • Access to over 100 ideas for play with 25 “everyday items” 
  • A simple, digital download!
  • Easy to print - you'll be provided with both postcard sized and full page handouts, in case you want to print a physical copy for easy use or easy sharing with families
  • Families: easily save to a folder on your phone, print it out and place one on your fridge!
  • Providers / Practitioners: text or send an idea to a family with whom you work. Cards can be utilized during sessions, or provided as supplemental material after!

HOW YOU GET & USE CONNECT LEARN PLAY:

  • You’ll receive a link to a digital download with all 25 cards in English (Spanish and Arabic directly forthcoming)
  • As a parent/caregiver or a provider, you can save these to a folder on your device, or print them out for quick reference
  • Just as you’d refer to a cookbook for a recipe, check out what you might do with the “ingredients” you have on hand!
  • Once you’re using these ingredients regularly, you’ll start to see the power of everyday items
  • Connect Learn Play can go alongside materials you might use as a clinician (mental health or developmental therapist), early childhood educator, home visitor, and/or licensed Learn With Less® class provider

WHO IT’S FOR: 

  • Families with / expecting infants, toddlers, preschoolers
  • Individual providers serving families in a home based, clinic based, school based, and/or medical setting
  • Organizations serving families

❌ No more scrolling Pinterest trying to find the perfect activity to set up for your child.

❌ No more digging through your therapy bag to find the perfect toy to invite playfulness into a session.

There is a simpler, more equitable way to support tiny humans - without needing the fancy toy subscriptions

“Learn With Less® harnesses the power of play, music, movement, and language, and uses what you have to empower families’ confidence in their ability to connect with their children.”

- Rebecca Weiner, M.Ed., Educational Consultant, Learn Play Grow

The perfect, simple resource that allows you to offer a perfect blend of child-led and structured play for tiny humans to thrive.

🎉🎉🎉 Early Bird Pricing! 🎉🎉🎉

  • Single license - for families $25 $20
  • Single license - for providers $40 $30
  • Group license - for organizations (up to 10 providers) $125 $100

Available NOW!

Connect Learn Play is a Collaboration Between:

Ayelet Marinovich Founder of Learn With Less®

Miranda Zoumbaris Learn With Less® facilitator

Ayelet Marinovich, M.A., CCC-SLP

I'm a pediatric speech-language pathologist and parent educator, and I've been running "caregiver & me" classes using the Learn With Less® infant & toddler curriculum since 2014.

I've served thousands of families all over the world, both virtually & in person, helping new families feel confident they can support and connect with their babies & toddlers, without having to buy a single toy.

Since early 2020, I've helped dozens of educators & therapists do the same by creating lasting impact leading, marketing, and filling "caregiver & child" classes to supplement their income, and to provide education & support families in their communities.

Miranda Zoumbaris

I’m an early interventionist, parent coach, play studio owner, and licensed Learn With Less® facilitator. I've served families through early intervention parent coaching & parent child interaction groups since 2008. I became known for creatively using what families already had in their homes, infusing strategies into daily routines, long before “bagless” therapy became best practice.

In 2021 I became a Learn With Less® facilitator after finding Ayelet’s wonderful framework & feeling immediately connected to her mission of helping facilitators and families find joy and connection through everyday materials. Ayelet’s mentorship through Learn With Less® became the  bridge to help me shift from working full time for organizations to building my own business.

Now I run a community based play studio in Michigan called The Emerging Parent, we infuse the principles of early intervention, early childhood education, and infant mental health into everything we do.

A few people who can vouch for Learn With Less®:

"Thank you so much! I think I honestly have focused so much that he has been bored with his toys and thinking about all new ones when the reality is there is so much we can do with what we already have...just in new ways. And focus more on going off of what he plays with and follow his lead. It was very helpful and insightful!" - (Parent of an infant)

"I had a tendency to plan each activity for my babies, and I understand now how important it is to let them wander and pick things by themselves." (Parent of an infant)

"I learned that I can be creative when interacting with my son. I don’t have to get books for him to look at pictures and words. A bag of chip or cereal box are great alternatives. I will look at stuff at home differently because now they will have multiple purposes!" (Parent of a toddler)

"I needed the reminder that it doesn't have to be Pinterest-worthy or earth-shattering to be an engaging learning opportunity. I feel more empowered to sing and talk along with what my kids are interested in, and feel more engaged and enjoy my time with them more." (Parent of multiple young children)

"It helped me remind that children have huge creativity and they find playing and learning opportunities in simple objects. Now, I will create more ways to play and be creative with my daughter. I know that as she plays she learns." (Parent of a toddler)

Here’s the rest of the fine print, which I’m making quite large because I always want to be up front with you:

No refunds for Connect Learn Play will be granted for any reason. Due to the instant-access nature of this digital resource, There are absolutely, positively NO REFUNDS under any circumstances. We will not be able to process any refunds for any reason.

This resource is for parents/caregivers with/expecting infants & toddlers and for professionals supporting new families / in the perinatal space (e.g., early childhood educators, developmental therapists, doulas, mental health practitioners, etc.).

If you’re not really sure whether this resource is right for you, reach out to us at admin@strengthinwords.com and we will get back to you ASAP!

➡️ ➡️ What if I want a more in-depth training that provides me with knowledge and support integrating these concepts into everyday life?

We highly recommend you pair Connect Learn Play with our Learn With Less® Family Enrichment Fundamentals Workshop, also for both families and professionals.

If you want even more in-depth training, mentorship, and support, here's what we recommend:

➡️ For parents/caregivers ⬅️ - participate in Learn With Less® "caregiver & me" classes in your community (virtual or in-person) led by a licensed Learn With Less® facilitator

➡️ For educators/therapists ⬅️ - create lasting impact leading "caregiver & me" classes with a high quality, evidence-based, "plug & play" program

When you learn to recognize the tools you already have to boost your child’s development,

You’re able to maximize the time you have with a young child…

You’re empowered to “get it right…”

And you’re able to unlock the power of everyday routines and everyday objects to figure out how to play with your tiny human.

  • Single license - for families $25 $20
  • Single license - for providers $40 $30
  • Group license - for organizations (up to 10 providers) $125 $100

Got Questions? I’ve Got Answers!

⁉️ What if I don't have access to a particular item featured on Connect Learn Play?

The objects featured on Connect Learn Play are all the types of objects found in various rooms in a home, garage/shed, dollar store, or recycling bin.

Some of the prompts are defined by shape - for instance, "rectangular objects" (like an egg carton, a box, or an envelope) or "circular objects" (like a coaster, a bowl, or a colander).

Still don't have an item handy? How can you use something similar - or better yet - who in your community might have something like it in their recycling bin that you can borrow?

⁉️ Does Connect Learn Play help support a child's attention?

Connect Learn Play is a GREAT way to support attention span!

  • You get to explore how to respond and expand within an activity to keep your child's interest if your child(ren) are super interested in it...
  • The ideas presented constantly allow you to “level up” - you don’t need the next stage of TOY… you need the next stage of PLAY!
  • Connect Learn Play helps both families and practitioners engage in a mindset shift / reframe of what it means to support both development and connection

⁉️ If I'm a professional working with families, can I share Connect Learn Play with families freely?

Yes! As a single provider, you are welcome to share these ideas with families with whom you work directly, using the single license.

If you represent a private practice, a business, or organization and would like to share Connect Learn Play with your colleagues, please purchase the group license!

And of course if you're a parent or caregiver, this resource is wonderful for home use on your own.

⁉️ What if I’m not happy with Connect Learn Play? Can I get my money back?

Because of the immediate nature of this digital resource, no refunds will be granted.

⁉️ What if I want to find a licensed Learn With Less® facilitator in my community?

We'd love that! At its heart, Learn With Less® is a local, community-based program for families to connect, where they are. We would love Learn With Less® to be accessible to every infant/toddler family who wants to participate, around the world.

If nothing else, the pandemic we're (still) living through has shown us that we can't parent, work, or survive in isolation.

Check out a list of licensed Learn With Less® Facilitators here.

Want to become a licensed Learn With Less® Facilitator (or know someone who does? Apply here!