Will You Play with Me ?
In 2001, with the aim of making the experiences and expertise acquired in the area of early childhood and adult education available to wider audiences, ACEV developed a television project entitled “Will You Play with Me ?” with the support of its academic staff*. Prepared as a 65-part series in collaboration with Turkish Radio and Television (TRT), the first series of the program was aired during the first half of 2002. Since then, new productions of “Will You Play with Me ?” have been broadcast on TRT channels every new broadcasting period. It is an educational and entertaining children's program similar to “ Sesame Street ” which is aired in many countries. But different from the aforementioned program, ACEV's program addresses and is geared towards both parents and children.

How was “Will You Play with Me ?” developed ?
This program targets was developed by ACEV's group of academic and artistic consultants and Tart's production team.*

Who does “Will You Play with Me ?” target ?
Television is an effective tool for reaching children; a channel of communication that especially preschool children follow carefully and allocate time to. As such, “Will You Play with Me ?” is a program that targets preschool children, especially those 5 to 6 years of age, and their parents.

What is the content of “Will You Play with Me ?”
“Will You Play with Me ?” aims to support the cognitive, physical, social and emotional development of preschool children as well as offering basic child rearing and educational support information to parents. The 30-minute program consists of studio games, animations, live shots and vignettes with puppets..

* The extensive academic staff includes Prof. Dr. Çigdem Kagitcibasi, Prof. Dr. Sevda Bekman, Prof. Dr. Ipek Gurkaynak, Prof. Dr. Ayhan Aksu Koc, Prof. Dr. Emine Erkin, Assoc. Dr. Deniz Albayrak Kaymak , Deniz Senocak, Ercin Kimmet, Serkan Kahyaoglu, and Nur Sucuka . Canan Me ray, Former Director of TRT's Programs for Children and Youth, provided consultancy to ACEV during program preparation.

Where is the program broadcast ?
The program is aired on TRT1, TRT INT, and TRT GAP, at different times. It therefore reaches all across Turkey , as well as, Turkish citizens living overseas.

How effective is the program ?
A scientific research study was developed to assess the effectiveness of the program. Conducted jointly by Koc University and ACEV, the study* showed that the program has positive effects on both children and mothers. Children who watched the program exhibited further development in the areas of basic mathematical readiness, shape interpretation and vocabulary, whereas mothers began to utilize positive discipline techniques more, provided more cognitive support and created environments where their children could express themselves more comfortably.

* Research Team: Prof. Dr. Cigdem Kagitcibasi, Assoc. Prof. Fatos Goksen, Assoc. Prof. Nazli Baydar, Asst. Prof. Aylin Kuntay.