Playnovo: storytelling for social-emotional well-being

Over 20 million children in the US need help with mental health as stated by the RAPID project 2022 (Stanford University)

* 21.8 % of U.S. children ages 3 to 17 have been assessed and found to have one or more mental, emotional, or behavioral health challenge

* 43% of families in the US report struggling with well-being and emotional distress

* Only about 20% of children that need help receive it from mental health providers

Immigrant families face even more challenges as stated by the American Academy of Pediatrics

There is a high risk for immigrant children to develop symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress

Playnovo is an eco-friendly, hands-on  multifaceted toy, combined with a digital platform that provides personalized prompts for play and storytelling. 

Story telling promotes social-emotional development and develops language and creativity. Independent play reduces screen time. Play reduces stress.  

The platform provides personalized content for each child and family

* Prompts for play and story telling ideas, personalized for each user, based on the child's age and development needs; developed from incorporating ChatGPT into a guidance system for social emotional development, and adding data science to create more relevant content

* Videos from specialized teachers enacting story prompts and providing clear instructions

* Feedback and reporting tools for therapists and educators on wellbeing and social emotional skill building journey

The flexibility of the hands-on materials allows children to create and enact specific stories + play

Story telling materials can be used to:

• teach balanced emotional response
• promote resilience
• improve communication
• understand social cues

Once children are comfortable with the materials, they are happy to return to them for independent play

We are building a digital community, which creates systemic change where:

Families and children share successes

Users come up with problem solving games, which are shared with the greater Playnovo community

Educators share successes/experiences, which help with challenges in other communities

We serve children, under 5, and their families in the USA and Colombia. We focus initially on migrant and vulnerable families in the New York area and around Bogota, in Colombia. At the same time we are introducing Playnovo in educational and therapy environments in New York, Texas, and California. 

We aim to serve children at risk of a social-emotional crisis. Mental Health is a critical factor for general well-being. Data shows a severe increase in symptoms of anxiety, and depression in the USA and all over the world. According to a study of Stanford University, 43% of families in the US report struggling with well-being and emotional distress, over 20 million children in the US need help with mental health, but only about 20% of children receive it from mental health providers. Immigrant families face even more challenges, and according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, in their minutes "Mental Health of Newcomers", there is a high risk for immigrant children to develop symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. 

It has been proven that the brain functions in stories, so storytelling is crucial for development, having a very important role in social-emotional development, as it provides the space and tools to understand life, develop resilience and handle stress, while it encourages creativity, and also develops language. Playnovo generates social emotional wellbeing through Play, with a hybrid storytelling tool: an eco-friendly, hands-on, multifaceted toy, added to a digital platform that provides personalized prompts for play and storytelling, that adapts content and cultural language to the needs of every family. The platform provides personalized content for each child and family with prompts for play and story telling ideas, personalized for each user, based on the child's age and development needs, videos from specialized teachers enacting story prompts and providing clear instructions, and feedback and reporting tools for therapists and educators on wellbeing and social emotional skill building journey. 

With Playnovo we build a community, were families and children share successes, users come up with problem solving games, which are shared with the greater Playnovo community, educators share successes/experiences, which help with challenges in other communities. 

Playnovo is a partnership between disruptors of the Toy and Early Childhood Education industries.

Toynovo is a circular economy toy company, B certified, Top Innovator of the World Economic Forum´s Uplink initiative, centered on human development. After 3 years of R&D, Toynovo developed Joynovo, based on the understanding that play is more about quality relationships than about materials. As all innovations, the concept resulted from joining the needs and ideas of different angles and areas of work: Therapy, Education, and Family needs, with a design team. Toynovo partners with foundations that work with migrant population in Colombia. 

Playgarden is an expert in early childhood education. Over the last 15 years, it has developed an innovative and award winning curriculum for the youngest learners, ages 2 years to 4 years in its New York City preschools. Three years ago, they created Playgarden online, an early childhood education digital platform with proven outcomes by hundreds of families across the US. Playgarden has a program for migrant populations. This experience has resulted in the development of an APP for billinguism among children and their families.

Maria Jose Rubio is the Chief Play Officer. She  has +25 years experience in education and microfinance foundations, and decided to cofound Toynovo to promote Human Development through play. She also cofounded Colombia Cuida a Colombia. She has a BA in Business from Universidad de los Andes, and has advanced studies in MA in Human Development, from Universidad del Norte. Maria has experience in social projects for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. 

Marcella Rossen, is the Chief Education Officer. She has worked as an international educator for 25 years, specializing in middle school. She has written multiple curricula, led several teaching teams and always embedded play in her teaching. She has a BA in Economics, from Yale University, and an MA Ed, from the Teachers College, at Columbia University.

Carlos Corona is the Chief Storytelling Officer. He has developed, launched, and led multiple businesses, including Playgarden. He has over 20 years of experience in investment banking, consumer products, and education in blue chip firms. He has a BS in Engineering, from Universidad Panamericana, and an MBA, from INSEAD. Carlos has been leading the migrant programs in Playgarden.

Playnovo needs asessment on monitoring and evaluation, as well as on developing the technology to make sure we add value to child development and social emotional well-being

The combination between 

* A classical game, that incorporates 3 innovations in the material: everything can be erased and repainted, has a connecting material to build and make characters, has a board as a scenario.

* A digital tool full of inspirations, that also invites families to interact and be creative, becoming a "Trojan Horse" to come into family routines through digital media, and invite them to connect deeply on a human level

Ww include migrant families, with all types of backrounds and race. 

We plan to sell Playnovo to families, after introducing the game on educators and therapists, so they can become validators and influencers of the solution. To do so, we are launching it in the Toy Association Fair on Sept 2023 in New York.