Field Days January 2026
Dear Friends of The Playing Field,
The book by Dr. Becky Bailey, Creating the School Family, gave me the courage to begin The Playing Field.
I had witnessed firsthand how child cares were filled with families of similar socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. I wondered why we thought that children would grow up to live together, work together, and solve problems together when they had been separated from birth.
While I believed that all children deserved access to the same high quality early education programs, I was honestly unsure if privately funded families who could choose any childcare option would choose our mixed delivery model. We moved forward with the aim of creating a School Family where every child had their needs metâeven if those needs were very different.
This past few months have reminded me of the importance of the School Family Model. As you know, there was a disruption to families receiving their SNAP benefits. Knowing that many of our families rely on this assistance to feed their children, we started âGrocery Give & Gatherâ stations at both sites. The simple message was, âLeave what you can. Take what you need.â
Our hearts were warmed to see our families respond with generosity and quietly donating what they could. I was happy to see families take what they needed.
One of our moms brought in a frozen turkey that had been given to her. While her family was being impacted by the lack of SNAP benefits, she was still willing to give what she could. Another mom took the turkey but, when someone else mentioned they had a need for one, she insisted that person take it.
We were overwhelmed by the response from our community! We had donations of food, diapers and grocery gift cards. We had enough cash to provide every funded family with at least a $100 Woodmanâs gift card.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to these efforts!
As the new year begins, we are celebrating the power of the School Family and the generous support of people like you.
With gratitude,
Abbi
New Roles for the New Year
Michelle Henner has served as the Site Director at our midtown location since our very first day. Her passion and commitment to our mission have helped to build our program into what it is today.
Like our Executive Director Abbi, Michelle is a Conscious Discipline Certified Instructor. She has developed our teacher onboarding process and facilitates a reflective practice cohort for all new staff. Her leadership in this area has resulted in our teachers having the skills needed to support vulnerable children. In addition, it has resulted in much lower turnover rates of staff.
We are excited to announce Michelle will be stepping into a new role as Director of Development and Programming. She will be supporting The Playing Field in the area of Development and helping to tell our story in the community. She will also be assisting us with expanding our coaching model in an effort to help other educators replicate the success we have experienced.
This is something we had hoped to do for several years. However, replacing her as Site Director proved to be quite challenging. We were fortunate to find Paula Benson to step into that role.
Paula was with Southwest CAP for over thirty years. She most recently served as the Mental Health and Disabilities Manager. She came to us with a lot of background in Conscious DisciplineÂź as well.
Please join us in celebrating Michelle and welcoming Paula.
âTis the Season!
The Playing Field has amazing community partners who generously donated to assure our children had a happy holiday season!
Empty Stockings supplied Christmas gifts for all of the children at our east side staff. Our Family Services Manager, Julie Knade was able to visit their facility and choose specific gifts for each child in care at our east location. It was so fun for her to select items for individual children!
Exact Sciences chose The Playing Field for their volunteer activation. Volunteers assembled âChild Comfort Kitsâ which included stuffed animals, art supplies, coloring books and a toy in a drawstring backpack. Every child in our program (both sites) will receive one.
St. Annâs School in Stoughton has faithfully visited The Playing Field at midtown since our beginning. Their students and families provided two gifts for each child at our midtown location.
Thrivent Financial invited Board President, Betty Bergquist and Family Services Manager, Julie Knade to their annual holiday event. Their staff brought donations of hats, mittens and gloves for our little ones! These items are very needed this time of year!
UW Child Developmet Lab Parents conducted a toy drive. Their efforts provided a toy for every child enrolled at both our east side and midtown locations!
Baby, Itâs Cold Outside!
Our children are in need of winter gear including boots, snow suits, hats and mittens. Items can be new or gently used. We serve children from the age of 6 weeks to 6 years. Needed boot sizes range from 7 to 11. Needed snow suit sizes range from 4T through child size 7/8.
Please help us spread the word and keep our children warm this winter!
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Every contributionâbig or smallâhelps us build a stronger foundation for children, families, and educators. If youâd like to support our School Family, you can do so here:
