Parents act as teachers at Playcentre by engaging with children in meaningful ways. Some key things parents can do include getting to know the children and environment, setting up open-ended activities to invite play, observing children to understand their interests and skills, playing alongside children to model and support learning through play, asking open-ended questions to encourage thinking, responding to children's questions thoughtfully, sharing stories and experiences to help children learn, and assisting and encouraging children in their play and activities. The goal is to help children feel welcome and supported as they learn and develop.

1. Parents as teachers
at Playcentre
It takes a village to raise a child.
- African proverb

2. 14 things to do
when you are on
session at Playcentre
The difference between a good-enough session and a great session lies in what the
parents on session do. As parents we are the teachers on session. The better we
understand that role the better we can do our job.

3. Know your tamariki and their
whanau on session.
1
Great sessions are all about great relationships. The best Playcentre sessions are the ones where
a visitor can’t tell who belongs to who, because everyone is whānau. Get to know new tamariki by
learning their names, passions and interests.
-

4. Know your environment
inside out.
2
Your environment is part of your team. Make sure you know it well. Find out what resources are available
on session and where it is kept. Respond to tamariki interests observed on session by setting up the
environment to extend on current interests.

5. Set up invitations to play.
3
An invitation to play is arranging open-ended interesting materials so that it invites tamariki to explore,
investigate, transform, question, examine, participate, touch, feel, and manipulate through as much
independent play as the materials can possibly allow. Set up invitations to play at the beginning of the
session and represent the play areas throughout the session.

6. Slow down and observe.
4
Get into the business of kid watching. Observe tamariki carefully to learn about their strengths, what
they are working on and how you can help them to achieve their goals.

7. Be playful.
5
Get in boots and all and play. Remember play is serious business. It’s the mahi of our tamariki.
When they play, they learn. Tamariki of this age use play as a vehicle to learn. Playing alongside
them values their play and helps you to build stronger relationships with them.

8. Ask questions.
6
Asking open ended questions is your super power. Be genuinely interested in what they are doing and ask
questions to find out more about what they’re thinking. Open-ended questions require more than a yes or
no answer – it encourages tamariki to think about their world and how things work. Open ended questions
start with with how, why, what … The most powerful phrase in Playcentre is “I wonder how …?”

9. Answer questions.
7
Listen to their ideas find out what they feel and what they think. It’s not about knowing the right
answer, but about engaging in a conversations. When you respond to children’s questions with your own
thoughts or questions, you show tamariki that curiosity is valid. Respond to those endless questions…
where do rainbows go when we can’t see them? Where do the fairies live? Where do babies come from?
Why do spiders have so many legs?

10. Think out loud.
8
Thinking out loud is about sharing your internal self talk with them. Most things that you know and
take for granted they still have to learn. By thinking out loud you provide them with a whole lot of
information about how their world works.

11. Share stories.
9
Listen to their stories and share your stories. Tamariki learn heaps from us through the stories we tell
about our lives. They learn about how the world works and connect ideas and understandings together
to make sense of things.

12. Role model.
10
Children do what they see. Help children to do things by demonstrating and role model. Help them
to learn compassion, kindness, playfulness and more by showing them compassion, kindness and
playfulness.

13. Guide, nurture and protect.
11
Guide children’s behaviour positively and safeguard the needs and rights of individual children.

14. Assist tamariki.
12
There are many ways you could assist – hold the paper, pass the glue, roll the playdough, dig that hole,
push the swing… just do as you’re told. Help them to achieve something they can’t quite yet master on
their own.

15. Encourage.
13
Help them to pluck up the courage to try new things… going down the slide for the first time or jumping
off the box or getting messy in the sandpit or joining in with a
group of kids. Encourage them to try out new ideas, even if these don’t work out the first time.
Encourage them to look for many different solutions to problems

16. Do real work.
14
Tamariki love doing real work … baking, cleaning, gardening and beyond. When they do real work they
build relationships and learn how their world works.