He kohinga tākaro mō te ako
Play ideas for learning
We have developed a kete (basket) of play ideas cards for learning that offers suggestions for a wide variety of experiences and opportunities to support children’s learning and development. See materials that come with this resource to download the play ideas cards.
Play for learning and development
In Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, children are positioned as confident and competent learners from birth. They learn by engaging in meaningful interactions with people, places and things. This is a process that will continue throughout their life.
Providing a wide variety of positive experiences and opportunities supports children’s learning and development in the early years. You can do this by giving children time, space and support to explore, experiment and try things out. You can also offer an environment with interesting play materials and opportunities to try new things.
We have developed a kete of play ideas for learning that offer suggestions for a wide variety of experiences and opportunities to support learning and development. Each card is grounded in Te Whāriki.
The cards were developed for playgroups but will be helpful to other early learning kaiako and to whānau as well.
The play ideas cards offer suggestions for a wide variety of experiences and opportunities to support young children’s learning and development. They provide a simple introduction to key areas of play, with practical suggestions and links to Te Whāriki.
Play ideas kete
See Materials that come with this resource to download:
- Play-ideas-for-learning (.pdf).
- Adventure-and-junk-play (.pdf)
- Blocks (.pdf)
- Books-and-storytelling (.pdf)
- Carpentry (.pdf)
- Clay.pdf (.pdf)
- Collage (.pdf)
- Digital-technologies (.pdf)
- Family-and-dramatic-play (.pdf)
- Loose-parts-and-sensory-treasure-baskets (.pdf)
- Manipulative-equipment-for-play (.pdf)
- Maths (.pdf)
- Music (.pdf)
- Natural-resources (.pdf)
- Painting (.pdf)
- Physically-active-play (.pdf)
- Play-recipes (.pdf)
- Playdough (.pdf)
- Puppets (.pdf)
- Puzzles (.pdf)
- Sand (.pdf)
- Science (.pdf)
- Sensory-play (.pdf)
- Visits-and-outings (.pdf)
- Water-play (.pdf)
Order physical copies
If you are an education provider, you can order physical copies of these cards from Down the Back of the Chair.
About this resource
The He kohinga tākaro mō te ako – Play ideas for learning resource consists of cards that offer information and practical suggestions to support the learning and development of mokopuna. The play cards include a wide range of topics from sensory play to carpentry and music, with links to the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki. The cards have been developed for playgroups, but they will be helpful to other early learning kaiako and to whānau as well.