Supporting your child’s learning | Te tautoko I to tamaiti
The most valuable thing you can give your child is your time. Helping your child learn is easy, fun, interesting and extremely rewarding. There are hundreds of different things you can do, each and every day.
- Listen to them and hear what they say
- Talk to them and ask them questions
- Share stories and read to them
- Find out how they feel and what they think
- Play with them
- Enjoy music and songs together
- Help them explore the world around them
- Encourage them to try out new ideas, even if they don’t work out the first time
- Take an interest in their projects
- Involve them in your activities
- Help them look for different solutions to problems
Encourage your child to try lots of different activities:
- Adventurous play
- Using the natural environment and playgrounds for running, jumping, balancing, swinging, climbing and risk taking
- Playing with a variety of balls
- Using equipment – puzzles, threading, blocks
- Using utensils – pens, crayons, scissors, paintbrushes
- Feeling comfortable in the water
Help to increase their awareness of:
- Who they are – their family and culture
- Sharing and taking turns
- How to ask for help
- How to follow simple instructions
- How to be a friend
- The importance of knowing the people they can trust
- How to tidy up after themselves
- Why we have rules and limits
- The need to complete some tasks
- Self-care – hand washing, dressing, toileting
- Individual differences between people