Playground: Child Care App

After School Development

About this app

Playground is the leading early childhood management system used by hundreds of thousands of child care providers, teachers, and families. It is an all-in-one platform for child care operations & family connection
From classrooms to the front office to families at home, Playground gives everyone the tools they need to stay in sync, reduce administrative overhead, and create better child care experiences. Get real-time access to daily activity updates, billing, enrollment, compliance, messaging, and more. Directors save hours of admin work per week. Families get a window into their child’s day. Teachers spend less time on paperwork and more time teaching.

FAMILY EXPERIENCE
Engage families with a single platform that makes communication effortless and meaningful.
Real-time activity feed (meals, naps, diapering, potty, sunscreen)
Daily reports with photos, videos, and notes
Personalized calendars and newsletters
Digital paperwork and e-signatures
In-app messaging, announcements, and RSVPs
Mobile check-in/out with ETA sharing
Tuition billing and payment in one place

CENTER OPERATIONS
Manage daily workflows across every area of your program, from check-in to licensing reports.
Digital attendance & live ratio tracking
Staff clock-in/out & timecards
Pay staff and file payroll taxes
CACFP and subsidy tracking
Paperwork automation and custom packets
Late pickup fee automation
Allergy alerts and food program tracking
Licensing-ready reports

LEARNING & OBSERVATION
Support child development and curriculum planning with tools that work for teachers and families.
Lesson plan builder and internal curriculum bank
State standard alignment or custom domains
Developmental milestone tracking
Child development reports
Activity observations with media
Easy family sharing

ENGAGEMENT & COMMUNICATION
Keep families informed and staff aligned—with minimal lift.
Messaging, daily student feed, branded email newsletters, and SMS announcements
Staff <> family communication
Scheduled posts and approval settings
Media gallery and downloadable content
Engagement dashboard with classroom and student-level insights

REPORTING & COMPLIANCE
Replace clunky systems with one fast, customizable reporting suite.
Customizable, real-time reports across billing, attendance, staff time, food, and more
Exportable and printable reports for licensing and audits
Ratio alerts and missing signature flags

Whether you’re a parent checking in from your phone or a director running a multi-site operation, Playground brings clarity, connection, and control to every part of your day.

Download Playground today and experience the difference.

Ratings and reviews

I love this App so much! Pure Awesomeness to keep up with my Lil one during the day as well as veiw any school activities and notices and see the postings of what she did each day. I love I can sign my baby in and out and pay her fees on the app. I can also send messages to the teacher/school..the photos are amazing as well..

The interaction isn't as intuitive as with Brightwheel. My bank advised me to NEVER give out my login information and password to ANYONE! Surrending complete control of your bank account is the only way to avoid ridiculous fees. I'll pay the extra almost $20 a month to preserve security because I'm not being given an option. DEVELOPERS- FIX THIS. GIVE US A SERVICE THAT ONLY REQUIRES THE ACCOUNT NUMBER AND ROUTING NUMBER LIKE EVERY OTHER BILL PAY SERVICE.

its great for keeping up with my son. Teachers post beautiful pictures. He's learning exploring. I get to have access and knowledge of what his day was like. there's many communication features. also his dad is able to see his progress

What’s new

– Added the ability to share photos easily
– Performance improvements and bug fixes