A Circle of Care

I’m grateful for the continued opportunity to collaborate with Sesame Workshop’s Rosemarie Truglio, PhD , most recently at the Hong Kong International School's Early Childhood Conference and again in Shanghai with Shanghai American School.

Across both engagements, we returned to a core idea we’ve built over years of shared work: belonging begins with dignity, and dignity is what allows play, curiosity, awe, inquiry, and collaboration to flourish. In our “Circle of Care” framing, the everyday moments across home, school, and community answer a child’s most important question: Do I matter here?

In Shanghai, we had the chance to work alongside parents as well as early childhood and lower school educators, exploring how belonging and well-being shape the way young children play, connect, and learn. Grounded in Sesame Street: Ready for School! and Sesame Workshop’s decades of research and learning design, our conversation translated evidence into practical, playful approaches that strengthen school readiness through ordinary routines: social-emotional skills, self-regulation, language, and early math.

Dr. Truglio and I first met nearly a decade ago when I delivered a keynote at the Wonderplay Conference at the 92nd Street Y. Since then, we’ve partnered through my work as Senior Content Advisor, helping shape content aligned to Sesame Workshop’s mission to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.

We look forward to continuing this work with international school communities around the world. If this resonates with the questions your community is holding, please feel free to reach out.