LET’S Play & Grow

Today, Ukrainian parents are raising preschoolers under very difficult circumstances: war, constant stress, power outages, and limited access to quality early childhood education. Many of them feel exhausted and anxious because they don’t always understand which skills children aged 3–6 need to develop and where to find reliable tools for this. For parents, it can seem like an overwhelming task, and the large amount of sometimes contradictory information makes it even harder. Where should they start? Which advice can they trust? Where can they find the time for it all?

A child’s development is built on 16 key skills defined by UNICEF and UNESCO, which form a strong foundation for physical, emotional, and social well-being. These include the ability to interact with adults and peers, regulate emotions, make choices, take care of health, understand the world and environment, learn mathematics, digital literacy, and even safety rules.

Together with UNICEF, we launched the national campaign “LET’S Play & Grow” and integrated all 16 of these skills into the campaign’s main product — the educational game “LET’S Play & Travel” — to give parents confidence and simple tools for raising children in challenging circumstances.“LET’S Play & Travel” was developed with experts and tested in families. To bring the game beyond homes, colorful play boards appeared in parks across 12 cities of Ukraine — from Kyiv to Uzhhorod. There, parents and children could play charades, invent stories, imagine superpowers, and complete tasks that nurture socio-emotional skills. Families could also join a contest and win the game as a gift.

“LET’S Play & Travel” was developed with experts and tested in families. To bring the game beyond homes, colorful play boards appeared in parks across 12 cities of Ukraine — from Kyiv to Uzhhorod. There, parents and children could play charades, invent stories, imagine superpowers, and complete tasks that nurture socio-emotional skills. Families could also join a contest and win the game as a gift.

It’s a real journey, where at every stop participants discover tasks designed to develop essential preschool skills.

The set includes: two decks of task cards, a game board, cards with Sparks of Superpowers, stickers, and an instruction guide. The game was developed together with UNICEF experts and educators, tested in focus groups, and eventually reached the hands of parents and their children.

The contest and the idea of the game were supported on social media by well-known bloggers and artists: Svitlana Tarabarova (Kyiv), Zhenia Bilozorov (Kharkiv), and Yuliia Komnatna (Kyiv). Their posts and stories helped spread the message to parents across the country, adding even more visibility to the campaign.The heroes of the campaign were the already recognizable Sparks of Superpowers — characters that help parents and children master important skills.

The heroes of the campaign were the already recognizable Sparks of Superpowers — characters that help parents and children master important skills.

The campaign ran from March to August 2025 and began with a series of three video spots highlighting the importance of developing socio-emotional skills in preschoolers.

The videos were produced by plusone social impact in collaboration with Bambuk production and director Dasha Shy.

Together with campaign partners, a nationwide outdoor advertising initiative, digital promotion, and a series of SMM posts were launched, offering practical tips and exercises from UNICEF Ukraine educators on skill development.

To complement the game with additional tools, a special landing page appeared on the NUMO preschool development platform, featuring a test to help identify a child’s strengths and key skills, along with a digital version of the game. Parents could download “LET’S Play & Travel” and, between June 13 and August 13, take part in the contest “Play, Record, Win the Game,” where winners received the game from UNICEF.

The campaign reached at least 10.6 million people, with around 347.6 thousand actively engaging with its products.

The NUMO platform, created by UNICEF Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science, has been supporting thousands of families in developing preschoolers’ skills for four years.

The national campaign “LET’S Play & Grow” combined online and offline tools to demonstrate that preschool development can be simple, engaging, and accessible for every family. Through partnerships, gamification, and creative formats, we managed to involve thousands of parents and children in a joyful shared game that became a powerful tool for building essential early childhood skills.