Te Whàriki

He Whàriki Màtaurangamò ngà Mokopuna o Aotearoa

Early Childhood Curriculum

Ministry of Education

Learning MediaWellington

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Published for the Ministry of Education byLearning Media Limited, Box 3293, Wellington, New Zealand.

© Crown copyright 1996All rights reserved. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.

ISBN 0 478 02980 2Dewey number 372.21Item number 02980

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E tipu e rea

Mò ngà rà o tòu ao

Ko tò ringa ki ngà ràkau a te Pàkehà

Hei ara mò tò tinana

Ko tò ngàkau ki ngà taonga a ò tìpuna Màori

Hei tikitiki mò tò màhunga

Ko tò wairua ki tò Atua

Nàna nei ngà mea katoa.

Sir Apirana Ngata (1949)

Early childhood is “…a period of momentous significance for all people growing up in

[our] culture… By the time this period is over, children will have formed conceptions of

themselves as social beings, as thinkers, and as language users, and they will have reached

certain important decisions about their own abilities and their own worth.”

Donaldson, M., Grieve, R., and Pratt, C. Early Childhood Development and Education: Readings

in Psychology. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1983, p. 1.

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CONTENTS

Foreword 7

Part A 9

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 9

The Purpose and Structure of the Document .................................................................................................. 10

The Curriculum Whàriki for New Zealand’s Children ................................................................................. 11Including Children with Special Needs 11Distinctive Contexts 12

The Principles, Strands, and Goals for the Early Childhood Curriculum .................................................. 14

Early Childhood Care and Education in New Zealand................................................................................. 17The Role of Early Childhood Education Services in New Zealand 17Links Between the Early Childhood Education Services 17The Special Identity of Each Early Childhood Education Service 17Links Between Home and Early Childhood Services 18The Changing Needs of Families 18Increasing Cultural Diversity 18A Rapidly Changing Society 18

The Context of Early Childhood Curriculum ................................................................................................. 19

Early Childhood Care and Education for Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children .................................. 20Development of Learning and Capabilities 21

Curriculum Implementation .............................................................................................................................. 27Adults’ Responsibilities in Management, Organisation, and Practice 27Planning, Evaluation, and Assessment 28Principles of Te Whàriki and Assessment 30

Part B 31

The Màori text is an integral part of the document and is designed to provideguidelines for kòhanga reo and other Màori immersion programmes

He Kòrero Whakataki .......................................................................................................................................... 31

Ngà Kaupapa Whakahaere ................................................................................................................................ 31

Te Reanga Mokopuna ......................................................................................................................................... 31

Te Tauira Whàriki ................................................................................................................................................ 31

Ngà Taumata Whakahirahira ............................................................................................................................ 32

Te Whàriki Màtauranga mò te Mokopuna ...................................................................................................... 32Whakamana 32Kotahitanga 32Whànau Tangata 33Ngà Hononga 33

Ngà Reanga Mokopuna ...................................................................................................................................... 33

Te Tauira Whàriki ................................................................................................................................................ 34Tinana 34Hinengaro 34Wairua 34Whatumanawa 34

Ngà Taumata Whakahirahira ............................................................................................................................ 35Mana Atua 35Mana Tangata 35Mana Reo 36Mana Whenua 36Mana Aotùroa 37

Te Tikanga o ènei Kupu ...................................................................................................................................... 38

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Part C 39

The Principles, Strands, and Goals of the Early Childhood Curriculum ................................................... 39Principles of Learning and Development in Early Childhood 39The Strands 44The Goals 44Learning Outcomes 44

Strand 1 – Well-being .......................................................................................................................................... 46Goals 46Relationships of the Strand of Well-being to the Curriculum Principles 46Adults’ Responsibilities in Management, Organisation, and Practice 47Continuity Between Early Childhood Education and School 47Goals 1, 2, and 3 48-53

Strand 2 – Belonging ............................................................................................................................................ 54Goals 54Relationships of the Strand of Belonging to the Curriculum Principles 54Adults’ Responsibilities in Management, Organisation, and Practice 55Continuity Between Early Childhood Education and School 55Goals 1, 2, 3, and 4 56-63

Strand 3 – Contribution....................................................................................................................................... 64Goals 64Relationships of the Strand of Contribution to the Curriculum Principles 64Adults’ Responsibilities in Management, Organisation, and Practice 65Continuity Between Early Childhood Education and School 65Goals 1, 2, and 3 66-71

Strand 4 – Communication ................................................................................................................................. 72Goals 72Relationships of the Strand of Communication to the Curriculum Principles 72Adults’ Responsibilities in Management, Organisation, and Practice 73Continuity Between Early Childhood Education and School 73Goals 1, 2, 3, and 4 74-81

Strand 5 – Exploration ......................................................................................................................................... 82Goals 82Relationships of the Strand of Exploration to the Curriculum Principles 82Adults’ Responsibilities in Management, Organisation, and Practice 83Continuity Between Early Childhood Education and School 83Goals 1, 2, 3, and 4 84-91

Part D 93

Te Whàriki and The New Zealand Curriculum Framework................................................................................. 93

Well-being ............................................................................................................................................................. 94

Belonging ............................................................................................................................................................... 95

Contribution ......................................................................................................................................................... 96

Communication .................................................................................................................................................... 97

Exploration ............................................................................................................................................................ 98

Glossary of Terms as Used in This Curriculum .............................................................................................. 99

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FOREWORD

Tènà koutou ngà kaiàwhina, kaiako a ò tàtou tamariki nohinohi.

This statement is an exciting new development for education in New Zealand. It is the first national curriculumstatement for the early childhood sector.

This curriculum statement provides the basis for consistent high quality curriculum delivery in the diverse rangeof early childhood services in New Zealand.

Over the past century, early childhood care and education services in New Zealand have been established tomeet the particular needs of children, parents, and communities, as well as those of society as a whole. Todayearly childhood services are jointly involved with families in the socialisation, care, and education of children.

It is especially significant that this curriculum has been developed in response to initiatives from the earlychildhood sector. While services are diverse in terms of structure and philosophy, early childhood educationpersonnel have worked together to develop a common curriculum on which to base their programmes. It hasbeen developed from, and builds on, experience of curriculum development within the different early childhoodservices, together with findings in research, international literature, and the shared knowledge and agreedunderstandings that have emerged in New Zealand over the past two decades. Feedback on the draft documenthas clearly demonstrated that the many and diverse services in the sector have accepted the central principlesand the framework of this document. This curriculum statement takes into account the many responses to thedraft statement that were received , as well as findings from exploratory studies and the pilot professionaldevelopment programmes.

This is the first bicultural curriculum statement developed in New Zealand. It contains curriculum specificallyfor Màori immersion services in early childhood education and establishes, throughout the document as awhole, the bicultural nature of curriculum for all early childhood services.

The importance of the social context within which children are cared for and learning takes place is one of thefoundation stones of the curriculum. It is clearly acknowledged that the relationships and the environments thatchildren experience have a direct impact on their learning and development.

This curriculum statement covers the education and care of children from birth to school entry age. Coverage ofthis age range is innovative and clearly reflects the concept of learning as a life long process that begins at thevery start of life.

I am grateful to all who have contributed to this exciting and challenging development, especially those whoacted as consultants, writers, members of reference groups, and members of the Minister’s advisory group, all ofwhom gave freely of their time, experience and expertise.

Kia kaha ki à koutou mahi

Lyall PerrisActing Secretary for Education

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INTRODUCTION

This curriculum is founded on the following aspirationsfor children:

to grow up as competent and confidentlearners and communicators, healthyin mind, body, and spirit, secure intheir sense of belonging and in theknowledge that they make a valuedcontribution to society.

This curriculum defines how to achieve progresstowards this vision for learners in early childhoodlearning environments. It is about the individualchild. Its starting point is the learner and theknowledge, skills, and attitudes that the child bringsto their experiences. The curriculum is also aboutearly childhood settings. Learning begins at home,and early childhood programmes outside the child’sown home play a significant role in extending earlylearning and in laying the foundations for successfulfuture learning.

Each community to which a child belongs, whether itis a family home or an early childhood setting outsidethe home, provides opportunities for new learning tobe fostered: for children to reflect on alternative waysof doing things; make connections across time andplace; establish different kinds of relationship; and

PART A

encounter different points of view. These experiencesenrich children’s lives and provide them with theknowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to tacklenew challenges.

This is an early childhood curriculum specificallydesigned for children from the time of birth to schoolentry, and it provides links to learning in schoolsettings. The learning environment in the earlychildhood years is different from that in the schoolsector. This learning environment, the constraints ofage, and the special nature of the early childhoodyears are elaborated on in this curriculum.

This curriculum emphasises the critical role of sociallyand culturally mediated learning and of reciprocal andresponsive relationships for children with people,places, and things. Children learn throughcollaboration with adults and peers, through guidedparticipation and observation of others, as well asthrough individual exploration and reflection.

This is a curriculum for early childhood care andeducation in New Zealand. In early childhoodeducation settings, all children should be given theopportunity to develop knowledge and anunderstanding of the cultural heritages of bothpartners to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The curriculumreflects this partnership in text and structure.

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THE PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE OF THE DOCUMENT

The purpose of this document is to provide acurriculum framework that will form the basis forconsistent curriculum and programmes in charteredearly childhood education services. This curriculumapplies to all children in chartered early childhoodeducation settings. It sets out the principles, strands,and goals which are distinctively appropriate for theearly childhood years, and provides examples of thelinks between early childhood education and theschool years.

The term “curriculum” is used inthis document to describe the sumtotal of the experiences, activities,and events, whether direct or indirect,which occur within an environmentdesigned to foster children’s learningand development.

These experiences, activities, and events may be basedon forward planning or may evolve in response to aparticular situation.

The document is divided into four sections. It isimportant, however, that it is read and used as anintegrated whole. The principles, strands, and goalsare common to all early childhood services. The waysin which they are put into practice, however, maydiffer from service to service.

The English and Màori texts parallel and complementeach other. The Màori curriculum is designedspecifically to provide a basis for appropriate practicein ngà kòhanga reo. It is also applicable within otherMàori immersion programmes. The Màori curriculumis an integral part of the document and provides abasis for bicultural early childhood education in NewZealand.

Part A of this document describes the curriculumwhàriki and the early childhood context in NewZealand. Part A outlines the importance of meetingthe needs of specific groups, such as children withspecial needs and those in Tagata Pasefika earlychildhood centres. It also outlines the background tothe development of this curriculum.

There is a summary of the principles, strands, andgoals of the curriculum in Part A. These are furtherdeveloped in Part C. Part A includes some indicatorsof broad stages in children’s learning anddevelopment, and identifies processes of planning,evaluation, and assessment and the ways in whichthese are related to the principles of the curriculum.

Part B establishes the particular emphasis forcurriculum in ngà kòhanga reo. This section will alsobe of use to other Màori immersion services.

Part C expands on the principles, strands, and goalsand forms the framework for implementation. Thefour key principles are described. The strands areexplained, both in general terms and in how theyrelate to the principles of the early childhoodcurriculum. Implications for adult responsibilities formanagement, organisation, and practice in earlychildhood settings are set out for each strand. Some ofthe expectations for children as they move from earlychildhood settings to school are also described.

Each strand has associated goals, which in turn havespecific learning outcomes. These learning outcomesare identified in Part C. Examples of experiences thatwill help to meet the needs of, and achieve thenecessary learning outcomes for, infants, toddlers, andyoung children are suggested in this part. Theseexamples are intended to promote discussion andassist services in developing programmes that areclearly related to the principles, strands, and goals ofthe curriculum. Examples of reflective questionsdesigned specifically for each goal provide a furtherbasis for discussion. Supporting resources willprovide further assistance in planning, evaluation,assessment, and implementation.

Part D demonstrates the links each strand has with theessential skills and essential learning areas of The NewZealand Curriculum Framework for schools. Terms usedwith specific meanings in this document are defined inthe glossary, which is also in Part D.

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THE CURRICULUM WHÀRIKI FOR NEW ZEALAND’S CHILDREN

The curriculum is provided by the people, places, andthings in the child’s environment: the adults, theother children, the physical environment, and theresources. The curriculum integrates care andeducation and includes both specifically plannedexperiences and activities and interactions that arisespontaneously. The early childhood curriculum hasbeen envisaged as a whàriki, or mat, woven from theprinciples, strands, and goals defined in thisdocument. The whàriki concept recognises thediversity of early childhood education in NewZealand. Different programmes, philosophies,structures, and environments will contribute to thedistinctive patterns of the whàriki.

Distinctive patterns will come from:

■ cultural perspectives, such as in kòhangareo or various Pacific Islands early child-hood centres;

■ structural differences, such as in sessional orfull-day programmes;

■ organisational differences, such as inkindergartens or child care centres;

■ different environments, such as in home-based or centre-based programmes;

■ philosophical emphases, such as inPlaycentre, Montessori, or Rudolf Steinerprogrammes;

■ different resources which are available inurban and rural settings;

■ the ways in which the local communityparticipates;

■ the age range of children in the programme.

Decisions about the ways in which bicultural goalsand practices are developed within each earlychildhood education setting should be made inconsultation with the appropriate tangata whenua.

Including Children withSpecial Needs

Care and education for children who have specialneeds is provided within the diverse range of earlychildhood services. The curriculum assumes that theircare and education will be encompassed within theprinciples, strands, and goals set out for all children inearly childhood settings.

Activities will be age appropriate anddevelopmentally appropriate and will enable childrenwith special needs to be actively engaged in learning.An Individual Development Plan or IndividualEducation Plan (IDP or IEP) will be developed for anychildren who require resources alternative oradditional to those usually provided within an earlychildhood education setting. Objectives for an IDP orIEP will be realistic, useful, and of value to the childand family. The programme will provide activities tomeet the specified objectives, and the equipmentnecessary to promote independence. Te Whàriki isdesigned to be inclusive and appropriate for allchildren and anticipates that special needs will be metas children learn together in all kinds of earlychildhood education settings. The programmes ofeach centre will incorporate strategies to fully includechildren with special needs.

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Distinctive Contexts

There are many distinctive contexts representingparticular kinds of early childhood care andeducation, each with a specific identity and focus. Allthe principles, strands, and goals set out in thiscurriculum are designed to apply in each context.

Two distinctive contexts specifically identified in thisdocument are:

■ Màori immersion programmes;

■ Tagata Pasefika programmes.

Màori immersion curriculum

The idea of a Màori immersion curriculum hasemerged, grown, and been nurtured through kòhangareo and is now developing for school-age Màorichildren in kura kaupapa Màori (Màori languageimmersion) schools and in bilingual units and classes.This document recognises the distinctive role of anidentifiable Màori curriculum that protects Màorilanguage and tikanga, Màori pedagogy, and thetransmitting of Màori knowledge, skills, and attitudesthrough using Màori language.

Tagata Pasefika: Pacific Islandsearly childhood centres

Some groups of migrants from the Pacific Islands haveestablished early childhood centres to keep theirdifferent cultures and languages flourishing in theircommunities in New Zealand. Because of thediversity of Pacific Islands cultures, there is no singlePacific Islands curriculum, but there are historic linksin language and culture, and there is a commongeographic heritage. Examples suggested in thiscurriculum, while focusing on Pacific Islands earlychildhood centres, also demonstrate possible modelsfor other ethnic groups who wish to support theircultural heritage within the early childhoodcurriculum.

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THE PRINCIPLES, STRANDS, AND GOALSFOR THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM

THE PRINCIPLES

There are four broad principles at the centre of theearly childhood curriculum.

NGÀ KAUPAPA WHAKAHAERE

E whà ngà kaupapa whakahaere kua whakatauria heikawe i tènei tikanga i roto i ngà kòhanga reo. Ko temahi a ènei kaupapa he whakatakoto huarahi mò ngàtaumata whakahirahira me ngà tùmanako mò ngàmokopuna. I tua atu i tènà ko te àrahi i ngà mahi ako,à, ko te àwhina hoki i ngà mahi tàtari.

Ko ngà whakamàrama mò ènei àhuatanga katoa kawhai ake.

Empowerment

The early childhood curriculum empowers the child tolearn and grow.

Whakamana

Mà te whàriki o te kòhanga reo e whakatò te kaha kiroto i te mokopuna, ki te ako, kia pakari ai tana tipu.

Holistic Development

The early childhood curriculum reflects the holisticway children learn and grow.

Kotahitanga

Mà te whàriki o te kòhanga reo e whakaata tekotahitanga o ngà whakahaere katoa mò te ako a temokopuna, mò te tipu o te mokopuna.

Family and Community

The wider world of family and community is anintegral part of the early childhood curriculum.

Whànau Tangata

Me whiri mai te whànau, te hapù, te iwi, me tauiwi,me ò ràtou wàhi nohonga, ki roto i te whàriki o tekòhanga reo, hei àwhina, hei tautoko i te akoranga, i tewhakatipuranga o te mokopuna.

Relationships

Children learn through responsive and reciprocalrelationships with people, places, and things.

Ngà Hononga

Mà roto i ngà piringa, i ngà whakahaere i waenganui ote mokopuna me te katoa, e whakatò te kaha ki roto ite mokopuna ki te ako.

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Strand 1:Well-being – Mana Atua

The health and well-being of the child are protectedand nurtured.

Goals

Children experience an environment where:

■ their health is promoted;

■ their emotional well-being is nurtured;

■ they are kept safe from harm.

Strand 2:Belonging – Mana Whenua

Children and their families feel a sense ofbelonging.

Goals

Children and their families experience an environmentwhere:

■ connecting links with the family and thewider world are affirmed and extended;

■ they know that they have a place;

■ they feel comfortable with the routines,customs, and regular events;

■ they know the limits and boundaries ofacceptable behaviour.

The strands and goals arise from the four principles.The whàriki is woven from these four principles andfrom the following five strands, or essential areas oflearning and development. The principles and strandstogether form the framework for the curriculum. Eachstrand has several goals. Learning outcomes havebeen developed for each goal in each of the strands, sothat the whàriki becomes an integrated foundation forevery child’s development.

STRANDS AND GOALS

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Strand 5:Exploration – Mana Aotùroa

The child learns through active exploration of theenvironment.

Goals

Children experience an environment where:

■ their play is valued as meaningful learningand the importance of spontaneous play isrecognised;

■ they gain confidence in and control of theirbodies;

■ they learn strategies for active exploration,thinking, and reasoning;

■ they develop working theories for makingsense of the natural, social, physical, andmaterial worlds.

Strand 3:Contribution – Mana Tangata

Opportunities for learning are equitable, and eachchild’s contribution is valued.

Goals

Children experience an environment where:

■ there are equitable opportunities for learning,irrespective of gender, ability, age, ethnicity,or background;

■ they are affirmed as individuals;

■ they are encouraged to learn with andalongside others.

Strand 4:Communication – Mana Reo

The languages and symbols of their own and othercultures are promoted and protected.

Goals

Children experience an environment where:

■ they develop non-verbal communicationskills for a range of purposes;

■ they develop verbal communication skillsfor a range of purposes;

■ they experience the stories and symbols oftheir own and other cultures;

■ they discover and develop different ways tobe creative and expressive.

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The curriculum set out in this document builds on along history of early childhood education serviceswhich have been established over the past century inNew Zealand to meet particular needs of children,parents, and communities. As new needs haveemerged, existing services have changed and newservices have developed, each with a distinctiveapproach to early childhood curriculum.

Early childhood care and education in New Zealandcover the years from birth to school entry age.Although participation is voluntary, attendance levelswithin early childhood education services continue toincrease for all ages. By the time they enter school,most children have had the benefit of an earlychildhood education programme in addition to thecare and education provided in their own home.

The Role of Early ChildhoodEducation Services inNew Zealand

The first early childhood education services in thiscountry had the primary aim of providing fordisadvantaged children. The psychological andeducational advantages of early childhood educationservices were soon seen to have benefits for allchildren and were increasingly recognised asproviding support to families as well as education fortheir children.

Families and early childhood education services arenow jointly involved in the socialisation, care, andlearning of young children. Early childhoodeducation services are committed to ensuring thatlearning opportunities are not restricted by gender,locality, or economic constraints.

There is a growing understanding of the links betweenculture, language, and learning, and an increasingcommitment to addressing the issues faced bychildren growing up in a society with more than onecultural heritage. Ngà kòhanga reo now play anintegral part in transmitting Màori culture and valuesto young Màori children and, in particular, supportingboth the survival and revival of the Màori language.Pacific Islands communities have also seen earlychildhood services as a means of supporting familiesand keeping their languages and cultures alive anddynamic.

Links Between the Early ChildhoodEducation Services

In recent years, the early childhood education servicesand organisations have been working together todevelop common principles and cohesive policies.Integrated training programmes in colleges ofeducation, the 1988 Ministerial Working Party ReportEducation to be More and the Government’s 1988publication, Before Five, have all played a part indefining the role of an early childhood curriculum inchildren’s learning and development. Thedevelopment of Te Whàriki is part of the process ofestablishing early childhood curriculum. It expressesa common view of what makes the curriculum for theearly childhood years distinctive from othercurriculums, such as in schools.

The strengthening links between the different earlychildhood education services have encouraged agrowing appreciation of each other’s differences andsimilarities. The curriculum seeks to encompass andcelebrate this diversity as well as to define commonprinciples, strands, and goals for children’s learningand development within which the differentorganisations and services are able to operate.

The Special Identity of Each EarlyChildhood Education Service

Many early childhood education services exist as partof a national organisation which provides theirphilosophical rationale and direction. The particularapproach of each organisation to curriculum is anessential part of its identity, and some organisationsrun specialised training programmes to assist indeveloping a curriculum appropriate for theirparticular philosophy. There are also a large numberof early childhood education services existing asindividual centres, each with its own approach tocurriculum, although many have links to associationswhich provide support, advice, and, in some cases,training. Home-based programmes, most of which areoperated as family day care schemes, are one exampleof the diversity of services offered in early childhoodeducation. Home-based programmes provide aservice that directly reflects the importance of the linksbetween home and early childhood care andeducation.

Curriculum development within each of theseseparate organisations and services has provided arich foundation for this national curriculum.

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND

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Links Between Home and EarlyChildhood Services

Links between home and early childhood educationprogrammes are important. The environment,routines, people, and happenings within and around ahome provide opportunities for the spontaneouslearning which should be a feature of all earlychildhood learning contexts. Home-basedprogrammes, in particular, reflect the setting andactivities of a child’s home, as caregivers care forchildren either in their own home or in the home ofthe child being cared for.

The Changing Needs of Families

The growth of full-day early childhood educationservices reflects social and economic changes insociety as women increasingly move into employmentwhile their children are young. In the past, earlychildhood curriculum development assumed thatearly childhood education services would beproviding sessional programmes. Te Whàriki bringstogether the inseparable elements of care andeducation in a curriculum which can encompass thewider functions of full-day services.

For similar economic and social reasons, earlychildhood education services for infants and toddlershave expanded and will continue to grow. The idea ofa curriculum for infants and toddlers is new. Much ofthe curriculum discourse of the past has focused onthree- and four-year-olds. This document provides acurriculum framework for infant and toddlerprogrammes that address the particular needs andcapabilities of this younger age group.

Increasing Cultural Diversity

There are many migrants in New Zealand, and, as inany country with a multicultural heritage, there is adiversity of beliefs about childrearing practices,kinship roles, obligations, codes of behaviour, andwhat kinds of knowledge are valuable. The earlychildhood curriculum supports the cultural identity ofall children, affirms and celebrates culturaldifferences, and aims to help children gain a positiveawareness of their own and other cultures.

Each early childhood education service should ensurethat programmes and resources are sensitive andresponsive to the different cultures and heritagesamong the families of the children attending thatservice. The early childhood curriculum activelycontributes towards countering racism and otherforms of prejudice.

A Rapidly Changing Society

New Zealand is part of a world revolution incommunication, technology, work, and leisure.Change in these and other spheres is a feature ofeveryday life. To cope with such changes, childrenneed both the confidence to develop their ownperspectives and the capacity to continue acquiringnew knowledge and skills. The curriculum providesan educational foundation that supports the full rangeof skills that children will need as life-long learners.

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THE CONTEXT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM

A child’s learning environment extends far beyond theimmediate setting of the home or early childhoodprogrammes outside the home. Bronfenbrenner, inThe Ecology of Human Development (Cambridge, Mass:Harvard, 1979) described it as a set of nested Russiandolls. The learner and their immediate environmentare at the centre, the first level. Other levels have apowerful influence on the child’s well-being andcapacity to learn. The second level contains the majorsettings experienced by the learner: the child’s ownhome, the service or setting beyond their home, andthe relationships between these environments. Thethird level, which also influences the quality ofchildren’s experiences, encompasses the world ofwork, the neighbourhood, the mass media, andinformal social networks. It also includes theconditions that influence the well-being and supportof the adults in the children’s lives: the demands, thestresses, and the opportunities for developmentexperienced by significant adults in each child’s life.There is a further national level – the nation’s beliefsabout the value of early childhood care and educationand about the rights and responsibilities of children.Although Te Whàriki is mainly concerned with the first

two levels, the others are important influences on thequality of the curriculum.

The first two levels – the learner and the learningenvironment – are closely connected, and thecurriculum applies to both. A child learns to talk in asetting where adults talk to children and to each other.A child learns to explore in a setting whereexploration is valued and possible. Learning is aboutthe way in which children perceive and deal with theirenvironment.

Another aspect of this exchange between children andtheir environments is the influence of the communitiesto which children belong. Each community thatchildren belong to makes its own specific curriculumdemands: the community of learners who will be ableto respond to challenge and change; the community ofchildren who have individual needs and rights; andthe community of New Zealanders who are gainingknowledge of the nation’s languages and aredeveloping skills in using cultural tools such as art,dance, mathematics, music, reading, science,technology, and writing.

Levels of Learning

Level One

The learner engaged with the learning environment:

■ learning to respond to challenge and change;

■ gaining knowledge of language and cultural tools;

■ having individual needs and rights met, anddeveloping associated responsibilities;

■ responsive and reciprocal relationships.

Level Two

The immediate learning environmentsand relationships between them:

■ home and family;

■ early childhood education settings and the people in them.

Level Three

The adults’ environment as it influences theircapacity to care and educate:

■ professionalism of all adults;

■ professional support;

■ collegial development and opportunities for furtherlearning;

■ kinship networks;

■ friendship networks.

Level Four

The nation’s beliefs and values about children andearly childhood care and education.Based on pp. 22 – 27 of The Ecology of Human Development by Urie Bronfenbrenner.Copyright © 1979 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Used bypermission of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION FOR INFANTS, TODDLERS,AND YOUNG CHILDREN

Children from birth through to eight years of age havedevelopmental needs and capacities that differ fromthose in any subsequent time of their lives. The earlychildhood curriculum is therefore different in itsapproach from the curriculum for older children. Thecurriculum for early childhood emphasises reciprocaland responsive interaction with others, both adultsand peers, who can respond to children’s develop-ment and changing capabilities. Although these needscan be met in either mixed age or separate ageprogrammes, it is important that programmes meet theneeds of the full range of children they cater for.

The early childhood curriculum recognises that therecan be wide variations in the rate and timing ofchildren’s growth and development and in theircapacity to learn new things in new places.

Each child learns in his or her own way. Thecurriculum builds on a child’s current needs,strengths, and interests by allowing children choicesand by encouraging them to take responsibility fortheir learning.

Te Whàriki covers the years from birth to school entryage and identifies three broad age groups forconsideration within the early childhood curriculum.At the same time, it acknowledges that there isconsiderable variation between individual children aswell as different cultural perspectives aboutappropriate age arrangements. Infants, toddlers, andyoung children have distinctive and different needsand characteristics. These will determine the focus ofthe curriculum as it applies for each learner. Theprogramme must be flexible enough to take intoaccount the varying needs and characteristics ofindividual children.

The overlapping age categories used are:

■ infant – birth to eighteen months

■ toddler – one year to three years

■ young child – two and a half years to schoolentry age.

Ngà Mokopuna

I roto i ènei whakahaere e toru ngà reanga mokopuna:

■ ngà pèpi – 0 - 18 marama

■ ngà mokopuna kei te hàereere – 1- 3 tau

■ ngà mokopuna i mua o te haerenga ki tekura – 2 1/2 - 5 tau.

Ko ngà whakahaere mò ngà mokopuna kia tika tonumà ràtou, kia eke ki ngà mahi ka taea e ràtou.

Heoi kia maumahara, he nui ngà rerekètanga kei roto itènà reanga, i tènà reanga.

He nui ano hoki ngà rerekètanga kei waenganui i tènàmokopuna, i tènà mokopuna. He mana motuhaketonu to tènà, to tènà .

I te mutunga kia tino ngàwari ngà whakahaere mòngà pèpi, me ngà mokopuna kei te hàereere, à, kiaaroha pai ki te marae-àtea o ia mokopuna, o iamokopuna o ènei reanga.

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Development of Learning and Capabilities

Although the patterns of learning and developmentare sometimes seen as a progressive continuum linkedto age, such patterns vary for individual children inways that are not always predictable. The direction

and speed of learning and growing will often fluctuatefrom day to day, according to where the child is andthe people they are with.

During the early childhood years, children oftendemonstrate needs and capabilities at a variety ofstages. For example:

■ Within minutes, a child can be both dependentand independent, according to changes intemperament, environment, or adultexpectations.

■ A young infant needs an environment thatis predictable but also needs and enjoyschallenges and surprises.

■ A child may be using language and reasoningto order the world while continuing to usethe sensory skills used in infancy.

■ Children learn through a combination ofimagination and logic.

The curriculum for the early childhood years must,therefore, be flexible enough to encompass the reality of:

■ fluctuations in individual behaviour andlearning;

■ the need for repeated, familiar experiencesto consolidate concepts and reassure thechild;

■ the need for challenge as a medium for growth.

There is no developmental cut-off at school entry age.During the early school years, the principles andstrands of the early childhood curriculum continue toapply and can be interwoven with those of theNew Zealand curriculum statements for schools.

Examples of areas of development for children are:

increasing independence

growing sense of self-identity and of self as learner

increasing emotional robustness and sense of control

growing consistency and predictability of behaviour and response

increasing ability to cope with change

increasing ability to cope with delay in having needs met

developing memory capacity and sense of past, present, and future

widening social interaction, and development of a sense of others

increasing awareness of the world, and ability to share interests with others

increasing competence with techniques for communication and withtools for symbolising and representing

growing control of body and physical co-ordination

expanding experiences and understanding of people, places, events,and things

acquisition of domain-specific knowledge

increasing ability to use logic and abstract thinking

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The Infant

During these early months of life, the infant is totallydependent on others, has little prior knowledge orexperience, and is learning to anticipate events and tocommunicate her or his needs in a confusing world.

In order to thrive and learn, an infant must establishan intimate, responsive, and trusting relationship withat least one other person. Infants are able to developclose attachments with several people but not withmany people. To develop a sense of their own identityand the strong sense of self-worth necessary for themto become confident in relationships and as learners,infants must experience physical and emotionalsecurity with at least one other person within eachsetting.

Some special characteristics of infants

Physical growth and developmental changesare more rapid during infancy than duringany other period of life.

Infants are very vulnerable. They are totallydependent on adults to meet their needs andare seldom able to cope with discomfort orstress.

Infants have urgent needs that demandimmediate attention.

Infants need the security of knowing thattheir emotional and physical needs will bemet in predictable ways.

Infants are subject to rapid fluctuations ofhealth and well-being.

Key curriculum requirements for infants

The care of infants is specialised and is neither ascaled-down three- or four-year-old programme nor ababy-sitting arrangement.

Any programme catering for infants must provide:

■ one-to-one responsive interactions (those inwhich caregivers follow the child’s lead);

■ an adult who is consistently responsible for,and available to, each infant;

■ higher staffing ratios than for older children;

■ sociable, loving, and physically responsiveadults who can tune in to an infant’s needs;

■ individualised programmes that can adjustto the infant’s own rhythms;

■ a predictable and calm environment thatbuilds trust and anticipation;

■ partnership between parents and the otheradults involved in caring for the infant.

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The Toddler

The behaviour and development of toddlers tends tovary and swing back and forth more than is the casefor other age groups in the early childhood years.

Toddlers are struggling to evolve a sense of self and toachieve independence from the adults to whom theyare emotionally attached while at the same timeneeding continuing emotional support. Their desirefor independence, knowledge, and increasing controlover everyday life is often in conflict with theirongoing dependence on caregivers to make thingshappen.

Toddlers are rapidly acquiring physical, social,reasoning, and language skills, but these skills stillneed a lot of practice. Toddlers tend both to resist andto find comfort in rituals and routines. Swings such asthese can cause a wide variety of conflicting feelings,ideas, and actions, which challenge theresourcefulness and knowledge of parents and adultswho work with toddlers.

Some special characteristics of toddlers

Toddlers are energetic and on the move.

Toddlers are gaining control of their worldby checking out limits, causes, and effects.

Toddlers’ desires are often ahead of theirlanguage or physical abilities to achievewhat they want.

Toddlers are active and curious,determined to become competent and tomake sense of happenings, objects, and ideas.

Toddlers’ feelings are intense andunpredictable.

Toddlers thrive on opportunities and onbeing encouraged into exploration andcreativity.

Toddlers are impulsive and can lack self-control.

Toddlers focus on the here and now.

Toddlers seek social interaction and learn byimitating others.

Toddlers learn with their whole body andlearn by doing rather than being told.

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Key curriculum requirements for toddlers

Toddlers have distinctive developmental needs andcharacteristics, but they are often caught between thespecialised arrangements made for infants and theindependence and busyness of programmes for youngchildren. Programmes designed specifically fortoddlers will lessen the tendency for toddlers tobecome bored, frustrated, or disruptive, as can happenwhen expectations are set too low or too high.

Toddlers need:

■ a secure environment and a programme thatprovide both challenges and predictablehappenings;

■ opportunities for independent explorationand movement;

■ a flexible approach which can accommodatetheir spontaneity and whims at a pace thatallows them to try to do things forthemselves;

■ adults who encourage the toddlers’cognitive skills and language development;

■ responsive and predictable adults who bothunderstand and accept the toddler’sdevelopmental swings.

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The Young Child

Young children have increasing capacities forlanguage and inquiry, increasing ability to understandanother point of view, and are developing interests inrepresentation and symbols, such as pictures,numbers, and words. An early childhood programmefor young children should provide a rich bank ofexperiences from which the children can learn to makesense of their world and the world around them.Children in this older age group are still likely toswing back and forth in development, depending ontheir moods and the context, but they have a growingcapacity for coping with unpredictability and change,especially if they are anchored by emotional support,respect, and acceptance. The children’s increasingabilities to plan and monitor their activities areevident in their developing awareness of themselvesas learners.

Some special characteristics of the youngchild

Young children can recognise a wide rangeof patterns and regularities in the worldaround them. This encourages them toquestion when things are puzzling anddifferent from what they expect and torespond to “nonsense” and humour.

Young children have an increasing ability tosee the family, home, or early childhoodeducation setting in the perspective of thewider world.

Young children have new capacities forsymbolising and representation, creating art,music, and dance, as well as developingabilities with words and numbers.

Young children’s developing literacy andnumeracy skills include new purposes forlanguage and cognition, such as reasoning,verbal exploration, puzzling, and findingout about both their social and physicalworld.

Young children’s greater working memorycontributes to their capacity for tellingstories, for more complex problem-solvingstrategies, for longer periods of focusedattention, and for more persistent curiosity.

Young children are developing social skillsfor establishing and maintaining friendshipsand are beginning to be able to see anotherperson’s point of view.

Young children are consolidating and refiningtheir physical skills.

Young children are developing their awarenessof themselves as learners by planning,checking, questioning, and reflecting onactivities and tasks.

Young children use their imaginations toexplore their own and others’ identities.

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Key curriculum requirements for the youngchild

It is important to make opportunities for the youngchild to experience new challenges, co-operativeventures, and longer term projects. These experiencesalso help to meet their expanding capabilities andprovide a smooth transition to school.

Young children need:

■ adults and environments to provideresources, challenges, and support for theirwidening interests and problem-solvingcapacities;

■ opportunities for unfamiliar routines, newand self-directed challenges, co-operativeventures, and sustained projects;

■ adults who can encourage sustainedconversations, queries, and complex thinking,including concepts of fairness, difference,and similarity;

■ opportunities to use language to exploreand to direct thinking and learning tasks;

■ a widening range of resources for creativeexpression, symbolising, and representation;

■ recognition of their developing sense ofhumour, which springs from newunderstandings about how things “ought”to be;

■ challenging opportunities which keep pacewith their physical co-ordination anddevelopment.

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The way in which each early childhood serviceimplements curriculum will vary. Each service willdevelop its own programmes to meet the needs of itschildren, their families, the specific setting, and thelocal community. Programmes will be based on thecurriculum principles and be planned and evaluatedin terms of the curriculum’s strands and goals.

Adults’ Responsibilities inManagement, Organisation,and Practice

Adults are an integral part of the curriculum for theearly childhood years. Children’s physical andemotional dependence on adults’ care, support,attention, and guidance is more intense in earlychildhood than in later years. To enable thecurriculum to meet the needs of all children, adultsworking in early childhood education need to beknowledgeable about children’s development andearly childhood curriculum, skilled at implementingcurriculum, thoughtful about what they do, aware oftheir role as models for learning, willing to tryalternatives, and well supported by management.Management must ensure that staffing meetsrequirements and is sufficient to ensure the safety ofchildren at all times and in all situations.Management must also ensure that training isavailable to enable the adults who work with childrento have the knowledge and skills necessary to supportthe children’s learning and development and toimplement the curriculum in everyday practice.

Each strand of the curriculum has implications for theway the early childhood education environment ismanaged and organised. Management andorganisational aspects which influence the curriculuminclude:

■ the arrangement of the physical environmentand equipment;

■ the scheduling of activities and events;

■ the organisational philosophies, policies,and procedures;

■ the inclusion and support of parents and theconnections with the community;

■ the ages of the children, group size, andgroupings.

The relationship of each strand to the principles of thecurriculum, and some examples of the implications foradult responsibilities in management, organisation,and practice, are provided, strand by strand, in Part Cof this document.

CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

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Planning, Evaluation,and Assessment

Each early childhood education setting should plan itsprogramme to facilitate achievement of the goals ofeach strand in the curriculum. There are many waysin which each early childhood service can weave theparticular pattern that makes its programme differentand distinctive. Early childhood services should,therefore, develop their own distinctive pattern forplanning, assessment, and evaluation.

The curriculum has been presented as a whàriki inwhich:

■ learning, development, and the experiencesprovided for children are interconnected;

■ there are elaborations for different age levelsand flexibility for different early childhoodeducation settings;

■ the strands and goals are woven withdifferent content emphases.

Planning

Planning the curriculum whàriki should be acontinuing process, involving careful observation,identification of needs and capabilities, provision ofresources, assessment, and evaluation. Discussion anddebate about planning programmes are a crucial partof the process of improving it, by ensuring that peoplethink about, and are able to justify, their beliefs andpractices.

Each programme should be planned to offer sufficientlearning experiences for the children to ensure that thecurriculum goals are realised. Planning will usuallybegin from observations of the children’s interests,strengths, needs, and behaviours. Planningexperiences or events can focus on the environment,the setting, particular age groups, and on groups ofchildren or individual children (through an IDP orIEP). The focus could also be on a routine or regularhappening, such as planning for mealtimes. Planningmay be developed to give emphasis to a principle orpolicy.

Planning should help adults who work in earlychildhood education to understand what youngchildren are learning, how the learning happens, andthe role that both adults and other children play insuch learning.

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Evaluation and assessment

The purpose of evaluation is to make informedjudgments about the quality and effectiveness of theprogramme. A system of evaluation will ask: In whatways do the human relationships and the programmeprovide a learning environment which is based on thegoals of the curriculum? Evaluative proceduresemphasise the quality of provision and make use of allthe forms of assessment that can be carried out byboth adults and children. Assessment of children’slearning and development will be part of theinformation needed to evaluate the programme.Evaluation processes will identify whether theenvironment and programme are providing for theneeds of all the children in the early childhood setting.The reflective questions in Part C of this documentprovide one example of an evaluation process. Peopleinvolved in providing the programme in each settingshould make evaluation part of their continuingdialogue.

The programme will be continually or regularlymodified in the light of evaluation, to ensure that itmeets the needs of the children within the curriculumgoals.

It is important that the curriculum whàriki as a whole,or a particular range of experiences in the programme,are modified if they are not working well to meet theneeds of the children and the goals of the curriculum.

The purpose of assessment is to give usefulinformation about children’s learning anddevelopment to the adults providing the programmeand to children and their families.

Assessment of children’s learning and developmentinvolves intelligent observation of the children byexperienced and knowledgeable adults for thepurpose of improving the programme.

Assessment occurs minute by minute as adults listen,watch, and interact with an individual child or withgroups of children. These continuous observationsprovide the basis of information for more in-depthassessment and evaluation that is integral to makingdecisions on how best to meet children’s needs.

In-depth assessment requires adults to observechanges in children’s behaviour and learning and tolink these to curriculum goals. Assessmentcontributes to evaluation, revision, and developmentof programmes.

Children are increasingly able to assess their ownlearning, to outline their own goals, and to decide howto achieve these goals. They work hard to achievesuch goals as learning to walk, forming letters and

numbers, and contributing to group interaction. Thelearning environment should enable children to setand pursue their own goals within the boundariesnecessary for safety and to reflect on whether theyhave achieved their goals.

Assessment of the early childhood environment – itssafety, the routines and regulations, the resources andequipment, and adults’ responsiveness – is integral toevaluating the potential of the setting and itsprogramme to encourage particular challenges andactivities and to provide for the cognitive, social,emotional, and physical development of the children.

Assessment of children’s learning and developmentshould always focus on individual children over aperiod of time and avoid making comparisonsbetween children. Even where there are pathways ofincreasing knowledge or skill, children’s responsesand behaviour will be subject to swings and variationsin development according to a number of factors,including where the children are, the people they arewith, and how they are feeling. A single observationis a snapshot of that occasion only, and adults shouldbe wary of generalising from individual pieces ofinformation.

It is essential that assessment and evaluation are basedon the goals of each strand of the curriculum and thatthe principles of the curriculum are always applied.The needs of the children, not assessment procedures,should determine the curriculum.

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Principles of Te Whàrikiand Assessment

Empowerment

Assessment observations and records should provideuseful information for children and adults, whichhelps to improve the ways that the programmes meetchildren’s needs. Feedback to children on theirlearning and development should enhance their senseof themselves as capable people and competentlearners.

Assessment should be a two-way process. Children’sself-assessment can inform adults’ assessment oflearning, development, and the environment byproviding insights that adults may not have identifiedand by highlighting areas that could be included orfocused on for assessment. Children may also help todecide what should be included in the process ofassessing the programme and the curriculum.

Holistic Development

Assessing or observing children should take place inthe same contexts of meaningful activities andrelationships that have provided the focus for theholistic curriculum. The programme can be evaluatedin terms of its capacity to provide these activities andrelationships. Assessment of children shouldencompass all dimensions of children’s learning anddevelopment and should see the child as a whole.Attributes such as respect, curiosity, trust, reflection, asense of belonging, confidence, independence, andresponsibility are essential elements of the earlychildhood curriculum: they are extremely difficult tomeasure but are often observable in children’sresponses and behaviours.

Family and Community

Families should be part of the assessment andevaluation of the curriculum as well as of children’slearning and development. Parents and caregivershave a wealth of valuable information andunderstandings regarding their children. Care shouldbe taken that, when children are assessed, families donot feel that they are being judged. Observations andrecords should be part of two-way communicationthat strengthens the partnership between the earlychildhood setting and families. It should also be notedthat parental understandings and expectations willalter children’s expectations of themselves.

Relationships

Assessment is influenced by the relationships betweenadults and children, just as children’s learning anddevelopment are influenced by the relationships theyform with others. This influence should be taken intoconsideration during all assessment practice. Adultsare learners too, and they bring expectations to theassessment task. The expectations of adults arepowerful influences on children’s lives. If adults areto make informed observations of children, theyshould recognise their own beliefs, assumptions, andattitudes and the influence these will have on thechildren.

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He purapura i ruia mai i Rangiàtea

E kore e ngaro.

HE KÒRERO WHAKATAKI

I roto i ngà mahi whakatipu tamariki-mokopuna henui ngà mòhio kei tènà, kei tènà o tàtou. Kei runga itènei tauira, te tauira whàriki ka whakamanahia auamòhio e tautokohia ana e te whànau o tènà, o tènàkòhanga reo.

Ka taea e te whàriki te kawe ngà mahi katoa ka mahiai ngà kòhanga reo. Ka taea te tà moko ngà moemoeà ewhàia ana hei painga mò te mokopuna; ka taea tewhakairo ngà huarahi huhua ki te toi o ngàmàtauranga hei painga mò ngà mokopuna; ka taea tewhakauru mai ngà kara o Rangi ràua ko Papa, me àràua tamariki hei whakahihiko i te tipu o te tinana, tehinengaro, te wairua, me te whatumanawa o temokopuna. Kei runga i tènei tauira ka taea e tàtou teraranga ngà tùmomo whàriki katoa hei whakamana,hei whakakaha i te tipu o te mokopuna mò tòna ao.Ko te pùtake o Te Whàriki ko te mokopuna. Ko temokopuna hoki te whàriki.

Ko tènei marautanga e pà ana ki te katoa o ngàkòhanga reo kei raro i te maru o te Poari Matua o TeKòhanga Reo. E eke pai ana ngà kaupapawhakahaere, ngà muka, ngà taumata whakahirahirame ngà whàinga ki ngà tùmanako mò ngà mokopuna iraro i ngà tikanga o Te Kòhanga Reo:

■ kia whàngaitia te reo Màori ki ngàmokopuna;

■ kia kòrerohia te reo Màori i ngà wà katoa;

■ kia whakamanahia te mana àhua ake o iamokopuna;

■ kia whakamanahia te mana whakahaere oTe Kòhanga Reo whànau;

■ kia ù pai te oranga nui o te mokopuna,à-tinana, à-hinengaro, à-wairua,à-whatumanawa.

Part B

NGÀ KAUPAPA WHAKAHAERE

Ko ngà kaupapa whakahaere e whà o Te Whàriki ngàpapa i tohia hei hiki i tènei marautanga. Ahakoa heaha ngà mahi e pà ana ki Te Whàriki me tewhakatipuranga o te mokopuna, kia pùmau ki èneikaupapa.

Tuatahi, ko te whakamana i te mokopuna kia pakari aite tipu o tòna tinana, o tòna hinengaro, o tòna wairua,me tòna whatumanawa. Mà te hauora o ènei kangàwari te ako, me te tipu. Tuarua, kia ngàkau kahaki te kotahitanga o ngà whakahaere mò te ako me teàrahi i te mokopuna. Mà tènei kaupapa ewhakahikohiko ngà ihirangaranga o te mokopuna kite ako, ki te tipu. Tuatoru, ko te whakatinana i tekaupapa o te whanaungatanga kia mòhio ai temokopuna, ko wai ia, à, i ahu mai ia i hea. Kua mòhioia ki tòna whànau me ngà tàngata o tòna kàinga noho.Tuawhà, ko ngà hononga me ngà piringa i waenganuio te mokopuna me ngà tàngata katoa me ngà tamarikikatoa ka pà mai ki a ia.

TE REANGA MOKOPUNA

Ka whai ake ngà kòrerorero mò ngà reangamokopuna. Ka mìharo ki te whakairatanga i a ia, à, kia ia e tipu ana i te kòpù o tòna kòkà. Puta ana te ihi, tewehi, me te mana o te wahine me te whare tangata.I tua atu i tènei, ko ngà wehewehenga o tònatipuranga mai i a ia e pèpi ana, ki a ia e ngòki ana ehàereere ana, ki a ia e tamaiti ana haere noa ki te kura.Ka mòhio ko te tipuranga o tènà, o tènà, he rerekè. Kamòhio ko te tipuranga o te tinana, o te reo, o te wairua,me òna àhua katoa, nòna ake. Kia maumahara ki ènei.

TE TAUIRA WHÀRIKI

I roto i ngà kòrero mò te whàriki ka whakatinanatiangà whenu ki te mokopuna. Ko tòna tinana tènà. Kiapai te tiaki i a ia me te whàngai i a ia. Ko tònahinengaro tènà. Whàngaia ki te whakaaro whai hua,ki ngà iho màtauranga tokowhitu, à, ka whakawàtea iòna whakaaro kia rere arorangi. Ko tòna wairua tènà.Tauawhitia ki te korowai aroha kia pakari ai te tipu,kia tù màia ai ia i roto i tòna àhuru mòwai. Ko tònawhatumanawa tènà. Tukuna te aroha whakaihi ki a iame te atuatanga o ngà mea katoa kia ora ai tònatinana, tòna wairua, tòna hinengaro, me tònawhatumanawa. Mehemea ka takatakahia temokopuna e kore ia e tipu ki te àtaahuatanga o tetangata, e kore hoki ia e hiahia ki te ako.

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Ko tènei wàhanga ka whakahokia atu ki ngà whànaumà ràtou e whakatau. Wànangatia, kòrerorerotia ngàtikanga me ngà mòhio hei tuku ki ngà mokopuna nòte mea ko ngà taumata whakahirahira ngà tùmanakomò ngà mokopuna. Ko ngà aho ènei o te mana atua,te mana tangata, te mana reo, te mana whenua, me temana aotùroa. Mà ènei aho e kawe ngà akoranga kiapakari ai te tipu o tòna tinana, o tòna hinengaro, otòna wairua, me tòna whatumanawa. I roto i ngàwhakamàrama mò ngà taumata ka tirohia ngàwhakaputanga mò ngà mokopuna, ngà whakaohoohoi ngà pakeke e taurima ana i ngà mokopuna, me ngàwhakahaere hei whakamana i te akoranga a temokopuna. I te mutunga, kia kaha te whakamàtautaui ngà mahi whakaako i te mokopuna. Mà te aha tàtoue mòhio ai kua ù ngà akoranga e manakohia ana màngà mokopuna?

NGÀ TAUMATA WHAKAHIRAHIRA TE WHÀRIKI MÀTAURANGA MÒTE MOKOPUNA

Kei ngà kaupapa whakahaere e whai ake nei ngàwhakaaro hòhonu e awhi mai ana i ngà mòhio katoamò te whakatipu me te ako i te mokopuna.

Whakamana

Ko te whakatipu i te mana o te mokopuna te tinotaumata hei whàinga mà tàtou. Me tauawhi temokopuna i roto i te aroha me te ngàkau màrie, à, mewhakatò te kaha ki roto i a ia kia pakari ai te tipu otòna mana, me tòna mana whakahaere. Mà te whaimana o te mokopuna ka taea e ia te tù kaha i runga itòna mana Màori motuhake me tòna tinorangatiratanga. Mà te whakamana i te mokopuna ewhakawàtea ngà huarahi ki te whakawhànui i tònamòhio, i roto i te whakapono kei reira òna pakeke ingà wà katoa hei àwhina i a ia. E pakari ana ia i roto ite mòhio ki tòna reo me òna tikanga. Kua mòhio ia kowai ia, ko wai òna tùrangawaewae. Kua mòhio ia kitòna mana àhua ake. Kua ruruku i te hòhonutanga ote ao Màori ka taea e ia. Kua tù rangatira ia i te aowhànui.

Mà ngà mahi o Te Whàriki e whakatò te kaha ki roto ite mokopuna ki te ako, kia pakari ai tòna tipu à-tinana,à-hinengaro, à-wairua, à-whatumanawa. Ka taeaènei, kua ù tòna mana.

Kotahitanga

E rua ngà àhuatanga e pà ana ki tènei wàhanga.Tuatahi, ko te whakakotahitanga o ngà whakahaeremò te ako i ngà mokopuna. Kàore he wehewehenga,kàore he aukatitanga. Ka taea ngà mahi katoa i tewàhanga kotahi, arà, te waiata, te kòrero, te hìkoi, tetuhituhi, te titiro tèpa whakaari, te mahi pùtaiao, meètahi atu. Tuarua, ko te whakakotahitanga o ngà mahimò te tipu o te tinana, o te hinengaro, o te wairua, mete whatumanawa. Kàore he wehewehenga. Kàore heaukatitanga.

I tènei wàhanga e whakatipu ana i te katoa o temokopuna, à, e tuku ana kia ako ia i tàna e taea ana.Tukuna tòna hinengaro kia rere arorangi, à, àwhinatiaia ki te whakatinana òna whakaaro, ngàkoroingotanga o tòna wairua, me ngà haehaetanga kitòna whatumanawa. Kia mòhio ia ko ngà mahi kawhakatauria ia rà, ia rà, hei painga mòna, hei tauawhihoki i a ia. Mà te kotahi o ngà whakahaere ka tipu tekaha o te mokopuna.

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I whakawehea kia whà ngà reanga mokopuna mòtènei màtauranga. Kia màrama ki ngà wehewehengame ngà mahi ka taea e te mokopuna. Kia kaha tewhakatipu i ngà whakahaere i waenganui i a ia meòna pakeke, me òna hoa.

Tuatahi, ko te wà mai i te whakairatanga o temokopuna ki tòna whànautanga mai ki tènei ao. Kiaaroha pai ki a ia e tipu rà i roto i te kòpù o tòna kòkà,à, kia kaha te manaaki i a ràua tahi i tènei wà tinomìharo.

Tuarua, ko te wà tènei o te pèpi mai i te whànautangaki te tekau mà waru marama. Ko te wà tènei o tepekepoho, à, e pai ana kia takitahi te pakeke ki te pèpi,à, kia hora te korowai aroha ki a ia, kia tau hoki terangimàrie i roto i ngà whakahaere mòna. Kia kaha tewhakatipu i te hononga pono i waenganui i te kaitiakime te mokopuna.

Tuatoru, ko te wà tènei o ngà kòhungahunga mai i tekotahi tau ki te toru tau. Kua tìmata te mokopuna kite hàereere. Heoi, he wà uaua tènei mò te mokopunanò te mea i ètahi wà e hiahia ana ia ki te whakatù itòna mana motuhake, à, i ètahi wà kei te pirihongitonu ki te pakeke e kaingàkautia ana e ia. Nà reira, kiangàwari ngà whakahaere i a ia. Tautokohia ònawawata, awhitia ia, à, whakahautia ki te kòrero, ki tewaiata, me te whakatipu i tòna hinengaro, me ònawhakaaro.

Tuawhà, ko te wà o te tamaiti i mua i te haerenga ki tekura, mai i te toru tau ki te rima tau. Kua pakari tanatù, kua whànui tòna reo, à, kua kaha rawa atu tepatapatai a tòna hinengaro. Kia kaha te tautoko i a ia.Tukuna òna whakaaro kia kòkiri i ngà kaupapa huhuame ngà kaupapa whànui. Àrahitia ia i roto ngà mahitahi me ngà tàkaro ka taea e ia.

Whànau Tangata

Ko tètahi o ngà tino uara o te ao Màori kia mòhio ngàmokopuna ki te whanaungatanga. Ka mòhio ia ko waiia, ko wai òna màtua tìpuna, ko wai òna marae, ko waiòna tùrangawaewae. Heoi, ko tènei kaupapawhakahaere e whakawhànui atu ana ki ngà iwi i wahoatu i ènei kàrangatanga.

Me whiri mai te whànau, te hapù, me te iwi o temokopuna ki te tautoko i ngà akoranga i a ia. Mewhiri mai anò hoki a tauiwi me èrà atu iwi o te wàhinoho o te mokopuna ki aua akoranga. Ahakoa ko waite tangata, te wahine, te tamaiti, mehemea ka pà maiki te mokopuna, ki tòna kàinga noho, ki tòna wàhimoe, ki òna wàhi hàereere, me òna wàhi tàkaro,whiria mai ki te àwhina i ngà akoranga i te mokopuna.

Ka tipu te mokopuna i roto i te aroha hei taongawhakahirahira mà tòna whànau, mà tòna iwi, me tònawàhi noho. Ka tipu ia hei whakaata i ngà whànautangata i poipoi i a ia.

Ngà Hononga

Mà te ngàwari o ngà whakahaere i waenganui i temokopuna me ngà tàngata ka pà mai ki a ia, ka piki tehiahia o te mokopuna ki te ako. Mà te takoto o terangimàrie i roto i ngà piringa me ngà hononga ki auatàngata ka pakari anò te tipu o te hiahia o temokopuna ki te ako. Ka tipu te harikoa, te ngàkaupono, te ngàkau màhaki i roto i te mokopuna. Kuamòhio ia ki ngà tàngata e aroha ana, e manaaki ana, etiaki pai ana i a ia, ki ngà tùpatotanga à-tangata,à-wàhi, ki ngà whakaruruhau à-tangata, à-wàhi. Kuamòhio te mokopuna ki ngà pakeke e whakamana ana itòna mana àhua ake. Kua pakari tòna kiritau, kuangàwari noa iho te whakahoahoa me te whakahaere ia ia i ngà huihuinga tàngata. Kua tau tòna mauri.Kua piki te ora, te mana me te ihi o tòna tinana, tònahinengaro, tòna wairua, me tòna whatumanawa.

NGÀ REANGA MOKOPUNA

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E whà ngà wehenga o te mokopuna hei ahuahu màtàtou, ko tòna tinana, ko tòna hinengaro, ko tònawairua, me tòna whatumanawa. Me kì ko ènei ngàwhenu o te whàriki. Me kì ko ènei tonu te mokopuna.Me kì ko te mokopuna tonu te whàriki e rarangatia neie tàtou.

Tinana

Ko tènei wehenga e pà ana ki te tipuranga me tewhakapakaritanga o te tinana. Whakairatia ana temokopuna tìmata ana ngà whakahaere hauora mò tewhakatipu i a ia me te whakapakari i a ràua ko tònakòkà. Kia eke pai ngà kai e tika ana mà ràua. Kiamanawanui ki te atawhai, ki te whakaruru i temokopuna i ngà wà katoa nò te mea he nui ngàmokopuna e whara ana i mua i te rua tau. Nà reira kiamataara tàtou.

Mehemea ka whakaakona i te mokopuna kia ngàkauhari, kia ngàkau hùmàrire, ka tino pakari te hauora otòna tinana. Kia kaha te whakahau i a ia ki te hìkoi, kite omaoma, ki te purei paoro, ki te pikipiki. Mahiangà whakakoringa tinana ka taea e ia.

Kia mòhio te mokopuna ki ngà wàhi o tòna tinana mengà mahi a aua wàhi, à, kia mà katoa ngà whakahaeremòna me ngà whakaako i a ia. I tua atu i ènei kia mauki ngà akoranga o te ao tawhito mò ngà tikanga, ngàrongoà, me ngà kai ka pai màna. Kia kaha hoki tehopu i ngà tohutohu o te ao hou mò te oranga tinana ote mokopuna.

Ko ngà whakahaere mò ngà mokopuna kia tika tonumà ràtou, à, kia eke ki ngà mahi ka taea e ràtou. Heoi,kia maumahara, he nui ngà rerekètanga kei roto i tènàreanga, i tènà reanga, à, he nui anò hoki ngàrerekètanga kei waenganui i tènà mokopuna, i tènàmokopuna. He mana motuhake tonu tò tènà, tò tènà.

Hinengaro

Ko tènei wehenga e pà ana ki te pakaritanga o tehinengaro. Ka ako te tamaiti i te àhuatanga o tèneimea o te whakaaro, ki te pupuri i te mana o roto ake ia ia, me te mana hoki o te ao whànui. Ka ako i ngàtikanga e tuku kaha nei ki te hinengaro mò ngà momowhakapono hei whakapakari i te hinengaro. Ka ako ingà whakamàrama o te Ao Màori Tawhito mò teTaiao, mò Te Pò, me Te Kore. Ka ako i ngàwhakamàrama o Te Ao Hou mò ngàWhakangaromanga Ao, mò te àhua o ngà wà o mua,me muri nei, à, mò ngà wànanga hoki mò tòna àhuaake, me te take i whànau mai ai ia ki tènei ao.

I ngà wà o mua, ka whakaritea e te hinengaro Màoriènei taonga, te karakia me te mòteatea, hei kawe i ngàtùmanako o tòna hinengaro. Mà te karakia ka poua ki

TE TAUIRA WHÀRIKI

te hinengaro me te ngàkau o te tangata, ngà hiahia keiroto i a ia–arà pea, ko te àwhina i tètahi atu, i a ia tonurànei, ko te whai i tètahi mahi, ko te whai i tètahitaumata rànei. Ko tènei whakamàrò i te hinengaro herite ki te tikanga o te whakatò kùmara o mua. Kàorehoki he rerekètanga ki ngà karakia e tukuna ana kitètahi atua, pènei i a Ihu Karaiti, i te Atua, i a Araa, i aPuta rànei.

Wairua

Ko tènei wehenga e pà ana ki te pakaritanga o tewairua me tòna kotahitanga ki te taiao. Ka ako tetamaiti, he òrite te àhua o ngà mea katoa o te taiao; kote kiko o ngà mea katoa he òrite katoa ò ràtou pùngao.Ka wànanga mò ngà atua, me ò ràtou tùranga i roto ite taiao. Hei whakamàtautau mà te hinengaro anò.Ka hoki ki ngà tikanga o mua, ki ngà whakapono, ngàrapunga whakaaro, me ngà kitenga o te ao tawhito.Kimihia ngà karakia, ngà mòteatea, me ngàwhakataukì. Wànangatia ngà màtauranga o te ao hou,te pùtaiao me òna piringa, te ròpù tangata me ònarerenga, te moana me ngà whetù. He òrite katoa òràtou pùngao. Pèrà anò te tangata.

Whatumanawa

Ko tènei wehenga e pà ana ki te pakaritanga o tewhatumanawa. Ka ako te mokopuna i te huhua o ngàwhakaputanga o tènei mea, o te whatumanawa, mai ite puna aroha me te ngàkau harikoa, ki te ngàkaukino, ki te ngàkau hinapòuri. Ko ènei rerengawhatumanawa e whakaatu ana i te àhua o roto i tetinana. Ka ora te whatumanawa, ka ora te tinana. Katakatakahia te whatumanawa, ka hè katoa te tinana.Mehemea e harikoa ana ngà whakapànga ngàkau o temokopuna, ka tipu he ngàkau harikoa, tù màia, tùkiritau i roto i a ia.

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I roto i ngà kòrerorero, me ngà whakawhitiwhitiwhakaaro mò Te Whàriki o te Màtauranga, iwhakatauria ngà wehenga e rima hei taumatawhakahirahira. Ko ènei whakaùpoko ko te ManaAtua, Mana Whenua, Mana Tangata, Mana Reo, me teMana Aotùroa. Ko ènei ngà muka harakeke o ngàaho. Kei roto i ènei whakaùpoko ngàwhakatòpùtanga whànui o ngà mahi ka taea i ngàkòhanga reo hei whakatipu i te kaha ki roto i temokopuna ki te ako.

Mà ènei muka harakeke e kawe ngà taonga heiàwhina, hei poipoi i te tipu o te mokopuna. Nà reira,kia kaha mai ngà whànau o te kòhanga ki te wànangai ngà taumata e whai ake nei. Kei a koutou, kei tewhànau, te whakatautanga mò ngà akoranga me ngàmòhio hei tuku ki ngà mokopuna. Whakatinanatia òkoutou mana tino rangatiratanga i roto i à koutoumokopuna. Mà ènei muka harakeke e kawe ò koutouwawata.

E whai ake nei ètahi whakamàrama mò ngà taumatawhakahirahira me ètahi whakahaere hei àwhina i ngàkaiako. Ka tirohia ètahi o ngà tùmanako mò temokopuna, ètahi o ngà mahi hei mahinga mà tekaiako kia pakari ai tòna tù i roto i tòna karangatangao te kaituku mòhio ki te mokopuna, à, ètahi hoki o ngàmahi hei whakapakari i te kaiako me tòna whànau.I tua atu i ènei, ka tirohia ètahi àhuatanga ako mà tekaiako i te mokopuna, kia ù ai ngà wawata mò tewhakamana i te mokopuna.

Mana Atua

Ko tènei te whakatipuranga o te tamaiti i roto i tònaoranga nui, i runga hoki i tòna mana motuhake, manaatuatanga. E ai ki tà te Màori he atua tonu kei roto i temokopuna ina whànau mai ana ia ki tènei ao. Ko tepùtake o tènei whakapono nò roto mai i ngà kòrero onehe rà. I te wà i hangaia ai te tangata e Tàne, nànaanò i whakatò te hà o te atuatanga ki roto i te tangata.He atua hoki a Tàne. Mai i tèrà wà ki tènei, i heke ihotènei whakaakoranga, ko taua atuatanga nei i heke ihoki tènà mokopuna ki tènà mokopuna e whànau maiana ki tènei ao. Ka whakatau anò te hinengaro Màori,he mauri, he atuatanga tò ngà mea katoa. Kei rototaua mauri me taua atuatanga i ngà mea katoa, mai ingà mea e whai ngà ana, ki ngà mea kàore he ngà.

Nò reira, i roto i ngà akoranga a te kaiako, kia kaha tewhàngai i te mokopuna ki ngà màtauranga huna o teao. Hikitia tòna mauri! Ka tika àna mahi, ahakoapèhea te iti, whakanuia! Ko ia anake e rongo ana i tehòhonutanga o ana whakanui. Kia kaha anò te ako i temokopuna ki te whakanui i a ia anò. Ia rà, i ngà wàkatoa, me whai wàhi ia ki te whakawhàiti mai i ònawhakaaro ki runga i a ia anò.

NGÀ TAUMATA WHAKAHIRAHIRA

I roto i ngà mahi mò te Mana Atua, anei ètahi o ngàtùmanako mò te mokopuna. Kia rongo ia i terangimàrie, te aroha, me te harikoa, à, kia mòhio ki temanaaki, ki te atawhai, me whakahirahira i a ia meòna hoa, me òna pakeke. Whakamanahia te tipu otòna whakapono i roto i a ia.

I roto i ngà mahi mà te kaiako me te whànau, aneiètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ràtou. Kia màtau ki tewhakapapa o Àio, ki te ira tangata i roto i te wharetangata, ki a ihomatua me te hononga o te wairua ki tetinana. Kia màtau ki te awa atua me te ira atua, à, kiamòhio ko te mana atua o te mokopuna i tau mai i tònawhakairatanga.

I roto i ngà mahi hei whakamana i te mokopuna ki teako, anei anò ètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ngà kaiako.Ko tènei wàhanga e pà ana ki te whakahaere a tekaiako i a ia i roto i te kòhanga; ki ngà mahi ka mahiae ia ki reira, à, ki te àhuatanga o ana whakahaere heiwhakapakari i te tipu o te tinana, o te hinengaro, o tewairua, me te whatumanawa o te mokopuna. Kiangàwari te reo kòrero ki te mokopuna me te oreorehaere. Kia kaha te àwhina i ngà mokopuna me tewhakaputa aroha ki a ràtou. Kia kaha hoki tewhakahirahira i ngà mokopuna, te mahi i roto i teharikoa, me te kòrero Màori ki a ràtou.

Mana Tangata

Ko te whakatipuranga tènei o te kiritau tangata i roto ite mokopuna kia tù màia ai ia ki te manaaki, ki te tukuwhakaaro ki te ao. E tauawhi ana tènei wàhanga i tewairua aroha, te ngàkau manaaki, me te ngàkaumakuru. E whakaù ana i te taura here tangata, i temana àhua ake, me te tino rangatiratanga o temokopuna.

Kua ù te whakaaro, arà, kotahi anake te wà mòhou itènei ao. Kàore he tuaruatanga!

I roto i ngà mahi mò te Mana Tangata, anei ètahi o ngàtùmanako mò te mokopuna. Kia mòhio ia ki ònawhakapapa, ki te pàtahi o òna whànau, ki ònakaumatua me òna pakeke. Kia mòhio ia ki ngàkàrangaranga whànau, ki ngà tèina, ki ngà tuàkana, kingà tuàhine me ngà tungàne, ki òna kòkà, òna màtua,òna tìpuna, me ètahi atu. Kia mòhio hoki ki aRanginui ràua ko Papatùànuku, à ràua tamariki, mengà kòrero mò ràtou.

I roto i ngà mahi mà te kaiako me te whànau, aneiètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ràtou. Kia maumahara kongà mokopuna “he kàkano i ruia mai i Rangiàtea”, à,“ahakoa iti, he iti màpihi pounamu”. Kia maumaharako ngà mokopuna he uri nò ngà kàwai rangatira o ònatìpuna, à, nàna anò i whakatau òna ake màtua.Kimihia ngà akoranga hei whakapakari i te mokopunai roto i àna whakahaere i waenganui i a ia me òna hoa,

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me òna pakeke, me ngà tàngata ka whakapà mai ki aia. Kia kaha te àwhina i a ia ki te whakahoahoa me temanaaki i òna hoa me òna pakeke. Kia kaha te àwhinai a ia ki te tangata.

I roto i ngà mahi hei whakamana i te mokopuna ki teako, anei anò ètahi hei whakaaro mai mà te kaiako.Ko tènei wàhanga e pà ana ki te whakahaere a tekaiako i a ia i roto i te kòhanga; ki ngà mahi ka mahiae ia ki reira, à, ki te àhuatanga o àna whakahaere heiwhakapakari i te tipu o te tinana, o te hinengaro, o tewairua, me te whatumanawa o te mokopuna. Kiangàkau màhaki i roto i ngà mahi mò te mokopuna.Kia kaha te kòrero i te reo i ngà wà katoa. Kia kahahoki te whàngai i te tika me te pono ki ngà mokopunai ngà wà katoa. Me whakakoakoa, me whakaihiihingà whakahaere i roto i te kòhanga. Me whakamanate mokopuna me tòna whànau.

Mana Reo

Ko te whakatipuranga tènei o te reo. Mà roto i tèneika tipu te mana tangata me te oranga nui.

Ko ngà mòhiotanga hei whakamana i te mokopuna, kote kòrero pai i tòna reo, me te whakaputa i ònawhakaaro tinana kore, i roto i te reo Màori. Kei roto ite rere ngàwari o te rere o te reo ka tù tòna mana. Màte reo Màori ka kiia te mokopuna he Màori.

Ko tènei mea ko te reo he matapihi e whakaatu ana ingà tikanga me ngà whakapono o te iwi. Kei ngà reoo te ao òna ake tatangi, me òna ake tàhu kòrero.Engari, kotahi ana te kaupapa, he whakawhitiwhitiwhakaaro i waenganui i te kaikorero me tekaiwhakarongo.

I roto i ngà mahi mò te Mana Reo, anei ètahi o ngàtùmanako mò te mokopuna. Kia matatau ia ki tewhakahua i ngà kupu. Kia mòhio te mokopuna kitòna ao, ki te ao Màori, te ao o nàianei, me te ao oàpòpò, mà te reo Màori. Kia eke te mita o tòna reo. Katika te whakatakoto i ana kupu. Kia màrama ki tewhakarongo ki ngà patapatai me te whakautu i auapàtai. Kia mòhio pai te mokopuna ki te rangatiratangao tòna ake reo.

I roto i ngà mahi mà te kaiako me te whànau, aneiètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ràtou. Kia màtau ki ngàkoeketanga o te reo me ngà koeketanga ka taea e temokopuna. Kia tòtika te whàngai i te reo ki ngàmokopuna. Kia tika te mita o te reo. Kia màrama tewhakatakoto pàtai me te whakautu i ngà pàtai. Kiamòhio ki te tuhi i te reo me te kòrero i te reo à tuhi.Kia màtau ki te tapu, te noa, me te rangatiratanga o tereo. Kia màtau ki te hòhonutanga o ngà kupu me tewhakapono mà te reo Màori anake e whàngai tewairua Màori o te mokopuna.

I roto i ngà mahi hei whakamana i te mokopuna ki teako, anei anò ètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ngà kaiako.Ko tènei wàhanga e pà ana ki te whakahaere a tekaiako i a ia i roto i te kòhanga, ki ngà mahi ka mahiae ia ki reira, à, ki te àhuatanga o ana whakahaere heiwhakapakari i te tipu o te tinana, o te hinengaro, o tewairua, me te whatumanawa o te mokopuna.Whàngaitia te mokopuna ki te reo i roto i te ngàkaumàhaki, i runga i te rangimàrie. Whàngaitia te reo iroto i te pono he taonga tapu nà ngà tìpuna.Whakamanatia te reo i ngà wà katoa.

Mana Whenua

Ko te whakatipuranga tènei o te mana motuhake, temana tùrangawaewae, me te mana toi whenua o tetangata.

E ai ki tà te Màori, ka whànau mai te mokopuna katapahia tòna pito, ka tanumia ki tòna whenua. Kahuaina anò ngà parapara, he “whenua”. Nà èneitikanga ka tùhono te wairua o te mokopuna ki tewhenua, ki tòna iwi, me te taiao. Nà ènei tikanga kapoua te mana tùrangawaewae o te mokopuna mò tònawhenua ki tòna ngàkau. Ka aroha hoki ia ki te taiao.Ka noho pùmau te mokopuna ki te wairua o tewhenua, ka noho pùmau te wairua o te whenua ki temokopuna. Ka tautokohia ènei àhuatanga i ngàpùràkau, ngà waiata, ngà haka, ngà karakia a ngàtìpuna. Ka tù màia ia. Ka tù kiritau ia.

I roto i ngà mahi mò te Mana Whenua, anei ètahi ongà tùmanako mò te mokopuna. Kia mòhio ia ki ònatùrangawaewae, ki òna marae, ki ngà pepeha hoki oòna iwi. Kia mòhio ia ki te mana o te whenua, ngàawa, ngà maunga, me tòna kàinga noho. Kia mòhio kingà kòrero mò òna whenua. Kia mòhio ia ki te wàhi itapahia ai ngà pito o òna màtua tìpuna. Kia mòhio iaki te manaaki, ki te tiaki i te whenua, nò te mea i ahumai te oranga i te whenua – ngà huarakau, ngàhuawhenua, ngà rongoà, ngà tuna, ngà ika.

I roto i ngà mahi mà te kaiako me te whànau, aneiètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ràtou. Kia màtau ki tehòhonutanga o ngà kòrero mò te whenua, arà, te takemò ngà whawhai, mò ngà tangi. Rangahautia ngàwhakatauàkì mò te whenua me ngà kòrero mòPapatùànuku me ana tamariki. Rangahautia ngà kupue pà ana ki te whenua pènei i te pito, i te tùrangawaewae,i te papakàinga, i te mauri, me te wairua kei roto i tewhenua, te ràhui, me te ùkaipò. Rangahautia ngàkòrero pùràkau, ngà kòrero mò ngà taniwha, ngàwaiata, me ngà haka mò ngà whenua o ngàmokopuna. Kòrerotia te “marae àtea” o te marae, o tetangata, o te mokopuna. Kia mòhio te mokopuna hekaitiaki noa iho ia nò te whenua. Ehara i a ia tewhenua engari i ahu mai ia i te whenua.

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I roto i ngà mahi hei whakamana i te mokopuna ki teako, anei anò ètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ngà kaiako.Ko tènei wàhanga e pà ana ki te whakahaere a tekaiako i a ia i roto i te kòhanga; ki ngà mahi ka mahiae ia ki reira, à, ki te àhuatanga o ana whakahaere heiwhakapakari i te tipu o te tinana, o te hinengaro, o tewairua, me te whatumanawa o te mokopuna. Akohiate mokopuna ki te whakatipu kai, whakatipu putiputi.Mauria haeretia te mokopuna kia kite, kia mìharo kingà taonga whakapaipai a Papatùànuku, à, ki ngàràkau, ngà putiputi, ngà huawhenua, ngà ngàrara, ngàmanu. Akohia te mokopuna ki te tiaki i aPapatùànuku, kia kaua e panga ràpihi noa iho.Akohia te mokopuna kia mòhio ki òna maunga, ki ònamarae. Akohia te mokopuna kia aroha ki te whenua.

Mana Aotùroa

Ko te whakatipuranga tènei o te mana rangahau, mengà màtauranga katoa e pà ana ki te aotùroa me tetaiao. Ko te whakapakaritanga i te hinengarorangahau me òna kitenga, te taumata o ngà whàinga ote Mana Aotùroa.

Ka ako te mokopuna i tòna òritetanga me tònarerekètanga ki te taiao. Ka titiro whànui, ka titirowhàiti ki ngà taonga o te ao – ngà ràkau, ngà kararehe,ngà kai, ngà ika, ngà whetù i te rangi, ngà taonga o teàtea. Ka whakatipu ia i tòna mòhiotanga mò te àhua ote whenua, o te ao, me te tangata.

I roto i ngà mahi mò te Mana Aotùroa, anei ètahi o ngàtùmanako mò te mokopuna. Kia mòhio ia he wairuatò ngà mea katoa. Kia mòhio ia ki tòna aotùroa, kitòna kàinga, tòna marae, tòna kòhanga reo. Kia mòhioia ki a Ranginui ràua ko Papatùànuku me à ràuatamariki. Ka tipu te aroha i roto i a ia mòPapatùànuku, ka pai tòna tiaki i te whenua. Kiamàtau ia ki tòna aotùroa mai i te rongo à-taringa,rongo à-whatu, rongo à-waha, rongo à-ihu, rongoà-ringa, rongo à-kiri, à, mai hoki i òna whatumanawa.

I roto i ngà mahi mà te kaiako me te whànau, aneiètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ràtou. Kia rangahautiaètahi o ngà taonga kei te aotùroa me te taiao, mai i ngàkòrero a ngà tìpuna me tauiwi. Kia màtau ki ngàhòhonutanga o Papatùànuku ràua ko Ranginui me àràua tamariki. Kia màtau ko ngà àhuatanga katoa o teaotùroa kei roto i te tangata. Kia màtau ki a Tùnui-à-te-ika, Tama-te-rà, Hine-i-te-iwaiwa, me ngà paraparae patu nei i te aotùroa, i te taiao. Kia màtau ki ngàtohu mò te whakatò kai, mò te patu ika, mò te haere kite mahi kaimoana. Kia màtau ki ngà àhua o ngàkararehe, o ngà ngàrara, o ngà manu, o ngà whetù, ongà ika.

I roto i ngà mahi hei whakamana i te mokopuna ki teako, anei anò ètahi hei whakaaro mai mà ngà kaiako.

Ko tènei wàhanga e pà ana ki te whakahaere a tekaiako i a ia i roto i te kòhanga; ki ngà mahi ka mahiae ia ki reira, à, ki te àhuatanga o ana whakahaere heiwhakapakari i te tipu o te tinana, o te hinengaro, o tewairua, me te whatumanawa o te mokopuna. Akohiate mokopuna i roto i te aroha me te ngàkau màhaki kiamòhio pai ki tòna aotùroa, tòna taiao, me ngà taonga otòna ao. Tukuna tòna hinengaro kia rere arorangi kiawhakaaria mai ngà kitenga o tòna whatumanawa heimìharo mà tòna whànau.

Tù mai e Moko

Te whakaata o ò màtua

Te moko o ò tìpuna.

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Tà moko: design

Kaupapa whakahaere: principles

Ihirangaranga: vibrations

Iho màtauranga: intelligences

Taumata whakahirahira: goals

Whàinga: aims

Muka: strands

Hanga: develop

Hangahanga: development

Reanga: group

Whakamàtau: evaluate

Wàriu: assess

Whakaputanga: outcomes

Whakamana: empower

Kotahitanga: holistic

Ahuahu: fashion

TE TIKANGA O ÈNEI KUPU

Whenu: warp thread

Whakangaromanga Ao: Black Holes (Universe)

Araa: Allah

Puta: Buddha

Pùngao: energy

Rapunga whakaaro: philosophy

Ròpù tangata: society

Whakapànga ngàkau: experiences

Màtauranga huna: mysteries(lit. hidden knowledge)

Àio = Io: Supreme Being

Kiritau: self-esteem

Ngàkau makuru: generosity

Taura here (tangata): links, relationships

(Whakaaro) tinana kore: abstract (thoughts)

Arorangi: unrestricted

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THE PRINCIPLES, STRANDS,AND GOALS OF THE EARLYCHILDHOOD CURRICULUM

Principles of Learning andDevelopment in Early Childhood

There are four foundation principles for the earlychildhood curriculum:

Empowerment – Whakamana

Holistic Development – Kotahitanga

Family and Community – WhànauTangata

Relationships – Ngà Hononga

The strands and goals arise from the principles andare woven around these principles in patterns thatreflect the diversity of each early childhood educationservice. Together, the principles, strands, goals, andlearning outcomes set the framework for thecurriculum whàriki.

Part C

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Empowerment – Whakamana

The early childhood curriculum empowers the childto learn and grow.

Early childhood care and education services assistchildren and their families to develop independenceand to access the resources necessary to enable themto direct their own lives.

The curriculum enables all children to:

■ take increasing responsibility for their ownlearning and care;

■ develop an enhanced sense of self-worth,identity, confidence, and enjoyment;

■ contribute their own special strengths andinterests;

■ learn useful and appropriate ways to findout what they want to know;

■ understand their own individual ways oflearning and being creative.

Empowerment is also a guide for practice. Playactivities in early childhood education invite ratherthan compel participation. Adults have an importantrole in encouraging children to participate in a widerange of activities.

The early childhood curriculum builds on the child’sown experiences, knowledge, skills, attitudes, needs,interests, and views of the world within eachparticular setting. Children will have the opportunityto create and act on their own ideas, to developknowledge and skills in areas that interest them, andto make an increasing number of their own decisionsand judgments.

To learn and develop to their potential, children mustbe respected and valued as individuals. Their rightsto personal dignity, to equitable opportunities forparticipation, to protection from physical, mental, oremotional abuse and injury, and to opportunities forrest and leisure must be safeguarded.

Particular care should be given to bicultural issues inrelation to empowerment. Adults working withchildren should understand and be willing to discussbicultural issues, actively seek Màori contributions todecision making, and ensure that Màori childrendevelop a strong sense of self-worth.

The principle of Empowerment relates to The NewZealand Curriculum Framework principles ofencouraging children to become independent andlifelong learners, of providing equal educationalopportunities for all, and of recognising thesignificance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Whakamana

Mà te whàriki o te kòhanga reo e whakatò te kaha kiroto i te mokopuna ki te ako, kia pakari ai tana tipu.

Mò ngà mokopuna o te kòhanga reo:

■ ka mòhio ràtou ki tò ràtou reo, ki à ràtoutikanga Màori, ki ò ràtou tùrangawaewae;

■ ka mòhio te mokopuna ki tòna mana àhuaake;

■ ka mòhio ràtou ki ò ràtou whànau me òràtou ao;

■ ka ruruku ràtou i roto i te wairua Màori;

■ ka tù rangatira ràtou i roto i te ao whànui;

■ ka taea e ràtou te tuku ngà taonga a ngàmàtua-tìpuna kei a ràtou, ki ngà uriwhakatipu, à tòna wà.

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Holistic Development – Kotahitanga

The early childhood curriculum reflects the holisticway children learn and grow.

Cognitive, social, cultural, physical, emotional, andspiritual dimensions of human development areintegrally interwoven. The early childhoodcurriculum takes up a model of learning that weavestogether intricate patterns of linked experience andmeaning rather than emphasising the acquisition ofdiscrete skills. The child’s whole context, the physicalsurroundings, the emotional context, relationshipswith others, and the child’s immediate needs at anymoment will affect and modify how a particularexperience contributes to the child’s development.This integrated view of learning sees the child as aperson who wants to learn, sees the task as ameaningful whole, and sees the whole as greater thanthe sum of its individual tasks or experiences.

Learning and development will be integrated through:

■ tasks, activities, and contexts that havemeaning for the child, including practicesand activities not always associated with theword “curriculum”, such as care routines,mealtimes, and child management strategies;

■ opportunities for open-ended explorationand play;

■ consistent, warm relationships that connecteverything together;

■ recognition of the spiritual dimension ofchildren’s lives in culturally, socially, andindividually appropriate ways;

■ recognition of the significance and contribu-tion of previous generations to the child’sconcept of self.

All adults working in early childhood educationcentres should have a knowledge and understandingof child development and a clear understanding of thecontext in which they are working.

To address bicultural issues, adults working in earlychildhood education should have an understanding ofMàori views on child development and on the role ofthe family as well as understanding the views of othercultures in the community. Activities, stories, andevents that have connections with Màori children’slives are an essential and enriching part of thecurriculum for all children in early childhoodeducation settings.

This principle relates to The New Zealand CurriculumFramework principles of ensuring that learning iscoherent and that the curriculum recognises and

values the unique position of Màori in New Zealandsociety. It also links with the principle that childrenshould be encouraged to understand and respect thedifferent cultures which make up our society.

Kotahitanga

Mà te whàriki o te kòhanga reo e whakaata tekotahitanga o ngà whakahaere katoa mò te ako a temokopuna, mò te tipu o te mokopuna.

Mò ngà mokopuna o te kòhanga reo:

■ ka àhei ràtou ki te tipu i roto i te kotahitangao ngà whakahaere à-wairua, à-hinengaro,à-tinana, à-whatumanawa;

■ ka tipu ràtou i roto i ò ràtou mana iwi, manahapù, mana whànau, mana àhua ake, manamotuhake;

■ ka mana te tino rangatiratanga.

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Family and Community –Whànau Tangata

The wider world of family and community is anintegral part of the early childhood curriculum.

The well-being of children is interdependent with thewell-being and culture of:

■ adults in the early childhood educationsetting;

■ whànau/families;

■ local communities and neighbourhoods.

Children’s learning and development are fostered ifthe well-being of their family and community issupported; if their family, culture, knowledge andcommunity are respected; and if there is a strongconnection and consistency among all the aspects ofthe child’s world. The curriculum builds on whatchildren bring to it and makes links with the everydayactivities and special events of families, whànau, localcommunities, and cultures. Different cultures havedifferent child-rearing patterns, beliefs, and traditionsand may place value on different knowledge, skills,and attitudes. Culturally appropriate ways ofcommunicating should be fostered, and participationin the early childhood education programme bywhànau, parents, extended family, and elders in thecommunity should be encouraged.

New Zealand is the home of Màori language andculture: curriculum in early childhood settings shouldpromote te reo and ngà tikanga Màori, making themvisible and affirming their value for children from allcultural backgrounds. Adults working with childrenshould demonstrate an understanding of the differentiwi and the meaning of whànau and whànaungatanga.They should also respect the aspirations of parentsand families for their children.

This principle relates to The New Zealand CurriculumFramework principles of relating learning to the widerworld and of providing the flexibility to respond todifferent conditions, different needs, and theexpectations of local communities.

Whànau Tangata

Me whiri mai te whànau, te hapù, te iwi, me tauiwi,me ò ràtou wàhi nohonga, ki roto i te whàriki o tekòhanga reo, hei àwhina, hei tautoko i te akoranga, i tewhakatipuranga o te mokopuna.

Mò ngà mokopuna o te kòhanga reo:

■ ka tipu mai ràtou i roto i te whànau aroha;

■ ka tipu mai ràtou, anò he taonga hirahira nàte whànau;

■ ka tipu mai ràtou hei whakaata i ò ràtou iwi.

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Relationships – Ngà Hononga

Children learn through responsive and reciprocalrelationships with people, places, and things.

Interaction provides a rich social world for children tomake sense of and gives opportunities for them tolearn by trying out their ideas with adults and otherchildren. Co-operative aspirations, ventures, andachievements should be valued.

The learning environment will assist children in theirquest for making sense of and finding out about theirworld if:

■ adults know the children well, providingthe basis for the “give and take” ofcommunication and learning;

■ adults provide “scaffolding” for thechildren’s endeavours – supports andconnections that are removed and replacedwhen and where they are needed;

■ appropriate and interesting play materialsare provided that children can change andinteract with;

■ there are active and interactive learningopportunities, with opportunities for chil-dren to have an effect and to change theenvironment;

■ there are opportunities for social interactionwith adults and other children.

Adults provide encouragement, warmth, andacceptance. They also provide challenges for creativeand complex learning and thinking, helping childrento extend their ideas and actions through sensitive,informed, well-judged interventions and support.

The curriculum should include Màori people, places,and artifacts and opportunities to learn and use theMàori language through social interaction.

This principle relates to The New Zealand CurriculumFramework principles of enabling programmes to bedesigned and implemented appropriately to theindividual needs of children, to recognise thesignificance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to reflect themulticultural nature of New Zealand society.

Ngà Hononga

Mà roto i ngà piringa, i ngà whakahaere i waenganui ote mokopuna me te katoa, e whakatò te kaha ki roto ite mokopuna ki te ako.

Mò ngà mokopuna o te kòhanga reo:

■ ka mòhio ràtou ki ò ràtou tùrangawaewae,ki ò ràtou kàinga tipu;

■ ka tù pakari ràtou i roto i te ngàkau pono, tengàkau màhaki;

■ ka mòhio ràtou ki ò ràtou whanaungatanga.

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The Strands

The strands and goals of the curriculum arise from theprinciples. Each strand embodies an area of learningand development that is woven into the dailyprogramme of the early childhood setting and has itsown associated goals for learning.

There are five strands.

Well-being – Mana Atua

Belonging – Mana Whenua

Contribution – Mana Tangata

Communication – Mana Reo

Exploration – Mana Aotùroa

The strands are defined in terms of the goals andlearning outcomes needed to achieve them, of eachstrand’s relationship to the principles, and of adultresponsibilities associated with each strand.

The Goals

The goals identify how the principles and strands canbe incorporated into programmes at a practical level.

The goals for learning and development within eachstrand are described in terms of:

■ learning outcomes for knowledge, skills,and attitudes;

■ questions for reflection;

■ some examples of experiences to help meetthese outcomes for infants, toddlers, andyoung children.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge, skills, and attitudes

The outcomes of a curriculum are knowledge, skills,and attitudes. The list of outcomes in this document isindicative rather than definitive. Each early childhoodeducation setting will develop its own emphases andpriorities.

In early childhood, holistic, active learning and thetotal process of learning are emphasised. Knowledge,skills, and attitudes are closely linked. These threeaspects combine together to form a child’s “workingtheory” and help the child develop dispositions thatencourage learning.

In early childhood, children are developing moreelaborate and useful working theories aboutthemselves and about the people, places, and things intheir lives. These working theories contain acombination of knowledge about the world, skills andstrategies, attitudes, and expectations. Childrendevelop working theories through observing,listening, doing, participating, discussing, andrepresenting within the topics and activities providedin the programme. As children gain greaterexperience, knowledge, and skills, the theories theydevelop become more widely applicable and havemore connecting links between them. Workingtheories become increasingly useful for making senseof the world, for giving the child control over whathappens, for problem solving, and for furtherlearning. Many of these theories retain a magical andcreative quality, and for many communities, theoriesabout the world are infused with a spiritualdimension.

The second way in which knowledge, skills, andattitudes combine is as dispositions – “habits of mind”or “patterns of learning”. An example of a learningdisposition is the disposition to be curious. It may becharacterised by:

■ an inclination to enjoy puzzling over events;

■ the skills to ask questions about them indifferent ways; and

■ an understanding of when is the mostappropriate time to ask these questions.

Dispositions are important “learning outcomes”. Theyare encouraged rather than taught. To encouragerobust dispositions to reason, investigate, andcollaborate, children will be immersed in communitieswhere people discuss rules, are fair, explore questionsabout how things work, and help each other. Thechildren will see and participate in these activities.

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Dispositions to learn develop when children areimmersed in an environment that is characterised bywell-being and trust, belonging and purposefulactivity, contributing and collaborating,communicating and representing, and exploring andguided participation.

Dispositions provide a framework for developingworking theories and expertise about the range oftopics, activities, and materials that children andadults in each early childhood service engage with.

Questions for reflection

Questioning and reflecting on practice are first stepstowards planning and evaluating the programme.They encourage adults working with children todebate what they are doing and why they are doing itand lead to establishing an information base forcontinued planning and evaluation of the curriculum.

Examples of experiences that help tomeet learning outcomes

For each goal, examples are given of ways in whichthe programme should respond to the specific needsof infants, toddlers, and young children. The goalsshould be interpreted according to the individualneeds of each child, but it is implicit that many of theexamples which apply to younger children continue toapply to children of an older age group.

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STRAND 1 – WELL-BEING

The health and well-being of the child are protectedand nurtured.

Goals

Children experience an environment where:

their health is promoted;

their emotional well-being is nurtured;

they are kept safe from harm.

All children have a right to health, to protection fromharm and anxiety, and to harmony, consistency,affection, firmness, warmth, and sensitivity. Youngchildren experience transitions from home to service,from service to service, and from service to school.They need as much consistency and continuity ofexperience as possible in order to develop confidenceand trust to explore and to establish a securefoundation of remembered and anticipated people,places, things, and experiences.

Adults working with children should have aknowledge of Màori definitions of health and well-being and an understanding of what these conceptsmean in practice. Adults should acknowledgespiritual dimensions and have a concern for how thepast, present, and future influence children’s self-esteem and are of prime importance to Màori andTagata Pasefika families.

Relationships of the Strandof Well-being to theCurriculum Principles

This strand is based on the principle of Empowerment.Children develop an enhanced sense of self-worth,identity, confidence, and enjoyment as they reach thegoals of well-being in a responsive, stable, safeenvironment which supports the development of self-control and self-esteem. The goals of this strandrecognise the principle of Holistic Development inpromoting well-being through consistent, warmrelationships which connect the various aspects of thechild’s world. The strand recognises that Family andCommunity are important in contributingsignificantly to children’s well-being. In the sameway, the strand of well-being emphasises that throughRelationships, children develop trust that their needswill be responded to, and that trust contributes todeveloping confidence and independence.

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Adults’ Responsibilities inManagement, Organisation,and Practice

Policies, procedures, and supervision should ensurethat children are kept safe and feel secure within a safeenvironment, where symptoms of danger or abuse arepromptly recognised. Any suspected abuse or harmmust be dealt with in association with supportagencies and families.

Daily routines should respond to individualcircumstances and needs and should allow forfrequent outdoor experiences, regular rest times, and avariety of group and individual interactions, with one-to-one attention from adults every day.

Frequent communication among all adults who workwith children is essential to ensure consistent,reasoned responses to children’s changing needs andbehaviours and to share information on health issuessuch as nutrition and inoculations.

Adults should anticipate a child’s needs for comfortand should communicate positive feelings in anenvironment which is calm and friendly andconducive to warm and intimate interactions.

Adults should build relationships of trust and respectby acknowledging children’s feelings, treating thechildren as individuals, explaining procedures, takingchildren’s fears and concerns seriously, andresponding promptly to injuries or falls.

Adults should recognise the important place ofspirituality in the development of the whole child,particularly for Màori and Tagata Pasefika families.

Adults, as well as children, need emotional support,some flexibility in their routines, and the opportunityto share and discuss their experiences in a comfortablesetting.

Continuity Between EarlyChildhood Education and School

Children moving from early childhood settings to theearly years of school are likely to:

■ effectively communicate their immediateneeds for rest, drinks, food, and attentionand continue to become independent;

■ have established many self-care skills;

■ be able to take meals and snacks withminimal supervision and with some under-standing of healthy foods and healthysurroundings;

■ be increasingly in control of their emotionalresponses;

■ have some understanding of keepingthemselves safe and be able to articulatesome questions and concerns;

■ have a range of strategies for getting helpfor themselves and others.

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Goal 1

Children experience an environment wheretheir health is promoted.

WELL-BEING

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ increasing understanding of their bodiesand how they function;

■ knowledge about how to keepthemselves healthy;

■ self-help and self-care skills for eating,drinking, food preparation, toileting,resting, sleeping, washing, and dressing;

■ positive attitudes towards eating,sleeping, and toileting.

Questions for reflection

Examples

In what ways are self-help skills in washing andeating being encouraged, and how effective arethese approaches?

In what ways do staffing rosters ensure thatfeeding, toileting, and nappy-changing routines,and the person responsible for these routines, arefamiliar to the infants?

In what ways are individual nutrition needs orpreferences catered for appropriately, and howare children given opportunities to helpthemselves?

What are the constraints against, and thepossibilities for, flexible routines?

Are the routines flexible enough for the childrento foster their own growth and development?

In what ways do parents and staff collaborateover toilet training, and does this collaborationhave effective outcomes for children?

How do adults or other children respond whenchildren have toileting “accidents”?

What procedures are followed when childrenhurt themselves, and do these proceduresprovide sufficient care?

On what basis are the menus and snacks forchildren prepared?

How are parents encouraged to provide healthyfood for children?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Adults observe and respond to signals of distress, hunger, and tiredness.

Meticulous attention is paid to hygiene.

Adults are guided by each infant’s individual rhythms, and this should leadtowards some regularity in feeding and sleeping.

Familiar, relaxed routines for feeding, toileting, and nappy-changing areestablished and carried out by familiar adults.

Infants are handled in a calm and caring way.

For toddlers

There is a supportive approach to toilet training, using unhurried andfamiliar routines.

Sleeping routines are flexible, calm, and positive.

Toddlers are offered a widening range of foods.

Self-help in washing and eating is encouraged.

Adults respond with attention and respect to toddlers’ attempts to communicatetheir feelings of well-being or discomfort.

For young children

Comfortable spaces and opportunities for rest and sleep are provided, withsome flexibility about routines.

Plenty of time is given for children to practise their developing self-help andself-care skills when eating, drinking, toileting, resting, washing, anddressing.

There is a balance between familiar and unfamiliar food.

Although young children are increasingly able to wait for attention, they canbe confident of ready responses to indications of hunger, pain, and fatigue.

Toileting skills may still be unreliable, and young children are assisted inways that do not engender shame or embarrassment.

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WELL-BEING

Goal 2

Children experience an environment wheretheir emotional well-being is nurtured.

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ an increasing ability to determine theirown actions and make their own choices;

■ a capacity to pay attention, maintainconcentration, and be involved;

■ a growing capacity to tolerate and enjoy amoderate degree of change, surprises,uncertainty, and puzzling events;

■ a sense of personal worth, and knowledgethat personal worth does not depend ontoday’s behaviour or ability;

■ an ability to identify their own emotionalresponses and those of others;

■ confidence and ability to expressemotional needs;

■ trust that their emotional needs will beresponded to.

Questions for reflection

Examples

What do adults do when a child is distressed andunsettled?

How are primary care-giving arrangementsmanaged when one of the adults is absent?

How are close emotional relationshipsestablished with children?

In what ways are children encouraged to developtrust?

How are staffing schedules organised adequatelyto ensure that each child has familiar adults torelate to during the day?

How does the programme give genuineopportunities for children to make choices anddevelop independence?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

There are one-to-one interactions which are intimate and sociable.

The infant is not exposed to too many new faces or situations.

The environment is predictable and dependable.

Time and opportunity are provided for the infant and familiar adults to builda trusting and loving relationship together.

There is help and encouragement for infants to feel increasingly competent.

For toddlers

There are opportunities for toddlers to be independent while knowing thatcomfort, emotional security, and familiar adults are available.

Toddlers who are trying to do things for themselves or for other childrenare encouraged and supported.

Adults accept a wide and conflicting range of feelings from toddlers.

Toddlers are given opportunities to make choices, and their decisions arerespected.

Toddlers are helped to resolve conflicts and move on to new challenges.

For young children

Children are supported in expressing, articulating, and resolving a range ofemotions.

The environment is stimulating and acknowledges that the comfort “threshold”is different for each child.

The programme provides a balance between events and activities that arepredictable and certain and those that provide moderate surprise anduncertainty.

Young children have a widening range of opportunities for independence,choice, and autonomy.

Adults help young children to understand and accept necessary limits,without anxiety or fear.

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WELL-BEING

Goal 3

Children experience an environment wherethey are kept safe from harm.

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ increasing knowledge about how to keepthemselves safe from harm;

■ confidence that they can participate andtake risks without fear of harm;

■ ability and confidence to express theirfears openly;

■ trust that their fears will be takenseriously;

■ a sense of responsibility for their ownwell-being and that of others;

■ an increasing sense of responsibility forprotecting others from injury and fromphysical and emotional abuse;

■ respect for rules about harming othersand the environment and an understandingof the reasons for such rules.

Questions for reflection

Examples

What are the procedures for ensuring that theenvironment is safe and clean, and how well dothe procedures achieve this aim?

What kinds of emergency drill are there, howoften are they reviewed, and how suitable arethey?

How are children helped to understand andavoid hazards, and how effective are theseapproaches?

In what ways does the programme providepositive discussion of rules and safety?

In what ways does the programme minimise thepossibility of child abuse occurring in the centreor home, and what procedures are in place todeal with issues of harm or abuse?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Playthings and surfaces are kept clean throughout the day, and attention ispaid to avoiding cross-infection.

Infants are closely supervised at all times when they have access to foodand drink.

Quick attention is given to any changes in an infant’s temperature, health, orusual behaviour.

There is vigilant supervision to protect infants from potential hazards in theenvironment, for example, from insects, litter, or over-exposure to sun.

Infants are protected from rough handling or accidents with older children.

For toddlers

Adults are alert to possible hazards and vigilant over what is accessible,can be swallowed, or can be climbed on, and toddlers are encouraged torecognise genuine hazards.

The environment is challenging but not hazardous to toddlers.

Toddlers are protected from each other, for example, from behaviour suchas biting or hitting.

Toddlers are promptly supported, but not overprotected, when they fall over.

Adults raise toddlers’ awareness about what is safe and what is harmfuland the probable consequences of certain actions.

For young children

Young children have opportunities to develop self-care skills and to protectthemselves from harm within secure and safe limits and at their own level.

Efforts to protect others from harm, within safe limits, are encouraged.

Rules about harming others and the environment are natural topics ofconversation and negotiation with adults, so that children become aware ofthem.

Adults support children positively in challenges and new endeavours theywant to undertake.

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Children and their families feel a sense of belonging.

Goals

Children and their families experience anenvironment where:

connecting links with the family andthe wider world are affirmed andextended;

they know that they have a place;

they feel comfortable with theroutines, customs, and regular events;

they know the limits and boundariesof acceptable behaviour.

The early childhood education setting should be like acaring home: a secure and safe place where eachmember is entitled to respect and to the best of care.The feeling of belonging, in the widest sense,contributes to inner well-being, security, and identity.Children need to know that they are accepted for whothey are. They should know that what they do canmake a difference and that they can explore and tryout new activities. They should also recognise that theearly childhood education setting includes theirwhànau and is part of their wider world. The earlychildhood setting will establish a programme that hasmeaning and purpose, just as activities and events athome do.

The families of all children should feel that theybelong and are able to participate in the earlychildhood education programme and in decisionmaking. Màori and Tagata Pasefika children will bemore likely to feel at home if they regularly see Màoriand Pacific Islands adults in the early childhoodeducation setting. Liaison with local tangata whenuaand a respect for papatuanuku should be promoted.

STRAND 2 – BELONGING

Relationships of the Strand ofBelonging to the CurriculumPrinciples

This strand is based particularly on the principles ofFamily and Community and of Relationships. Thecurriculum makes links with the everyday activitiesand special events of family, whànau, localcommunities, and cultures and welcomes theparticipation of the child’s extended family indecisions about the programme and about appropriatebehaviours and management. The strand ofBelonging builds opportunities for social interactionwith adults and other children and respects theachievements and aspirations of the child’s family andcommunity. Through these links, families and thecommunity are empowered.

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Adults’ Responsibilities inManagement, Organisation, andPractice

Children should be accepted and welcomed regardlessof their capabilities.

Parents and whànau should be welcomed and becomfortable and involved in the programme in waysthat are meaningful to them and their child, withopportunities provided for parents to meet each other.

Acknowledgment of different family styles, andknowledge of the cultures of the children in theprogramme, are also important.

Appropriate connections with iwi and hapu should beestablished, and staff should support tikanga Màoriand the use of the Màori language.

Children’s confidence in, and identity with, thecultures of both their country of origin and of NewZealand should be fostered.

Appreciation of and respect for children’s social andcultural connections should be embodied in theprogramme.

Interdependence between children, their extendedfamily, and the community should be supported,particularly for Màori and Tagata Pasefika familiesand their children.

The programme should provide opportunities forinteractions with community groups and services,both by children visiting outside the home or centreand by people from the wider world being welcomed.

Programmes should enable children and their familiesto be active participants in their communities,particularly Màori and Pacific Islands families, andshould enable children to learn and grow as part of acommunity.

Children should have some space for belongings andbe able to identify with the environment and changethings. Personal photographs, family names, artwork,celebrations, and so on are significant in establishing asense of belonging.

Familiar, unhurried, regular routines and rituals thatchildren can anticipate, such as welcoming andfarewells, provide reassurance and should bedesigned to minimise stress on both children andadults.

Adults should take time to listen seriously to theviews parents and caregivers have of their children’s

learning and development and share decision makingwith them. For parents and caregivers of childrenwith special needs, adults should share information onavailable specialist services and support.

There should be clear guidelines on appropriate andinappropriate behaviour, agreed to among parentsand adults who work with children and relating tochildren’s different ages and development. Adultsshould be consistent, reliable, and realistic in theirexpectations and responses and should fosterharmonious working relationships with other adults.

Continuity Between EarlyChildhood Education and School

Children moving from early childhood settings to theearly years of school are likely to:

■ seek opportunities to share happenings andobjects from home;

■ have some knowledge about the widercommunity and environment and be able totake some responsibility for caring for theirown environment;

■ want to contribute to decisions about theclass programme and to planning their ownactivities;

■ enjoy repeating favourite stories and activitiesand be able to sustain projects;

■ be confident in making some new friends aswell as working and playing with childrenthey know;

■ understand basic concepts about rules,rights, and fairness;

■ understand the values of reliability, honesty,and courtesy.

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BELONGING

Goal 1

Children and their families experience anenvironment where connecting links withthe family and the wider world are affirmedand extended.

Questions for reflection

Examples

What procedures are used to communicate withparents about a persistent problem, such as bitingor not wanting to eat, and how effectively dothese procedures contribute to resolving theproblem in ways that are beneficial for the child?

In what ways do the environment andprogramme reflect the values embodied in TeTiriti o Waitangi, and what impact does this haveon adults and children?

In what ways are staff able to be a resource forparents, and families able to be a resource forstaff? Can this be done in any other ways?

What kinds of opportunity do the children haveto go on outings or be part of cultural events?Would other available outings or events beappropriate?

How is daily information about children sharedwith parents or family and between adults whowork with children? How well does this meetthe needs?

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ an understanding of the links betweenthe early childhood education setting andthe known and familiar wider worldthrough people, images, objects,languages, sounds, smells, and tastes thatare the same as at home;

■ knowledge about the features of the areaof physical and/or spiritual significanceto the local community, such as the localriver or mountain;

■ interest and pleasure in discovering anunfamiliar wider world where the people,images, objects, languages, sounds,smells, and tastes are different from thoseat home;

■ awareness of connections between eventsand experiences within and beyond theearly childhood education setting;

■ connecting links between the earlychildhood education setting and othersettings that relate to the child, such ashome, school, or parent’s workplaces;

■ knowledge about the role of the widerworld of work, such as the hospital, thesupermarket, or the fire service.

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Mothers who are breastfeeding are supported and provided for.

Language, key words, and routines that infants are familiar with at home areused in the early childhood education setting.

Adults talk to infants about family members.

The programme includes short visits to see other people and other places.

For toddlers

Conversations with adults about family members and happenings are anatural part of the programme.

Special playthings from home are accepted and cared for.

Toddlers have regular small outings around the neighbourhood.

Toddlers are encouraged to show parents things they have done, made, orfound.

The programme provides toddlers with widening experiences of the worldthrough a range of playthings, books, pictures, and happenings.

For young children

There are opportunities to locate the early childhood education setting inthe wider world by finding out about places of importance in the community,for example, through stories, visitors, or trips.

There is time for young children to talk about home to interested adults andto share special news.

Opportunities are arranged for families and whànau to meet each other andthe children in the early childhood education setting, such as a morning tea,a trip, a shared lunch, or a barbecue.

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BELONGING

Goal 2

Children and their families experience anenvironment where they know that theyhave a place.

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ an increasing ability to play an activepart in the running of the programme;

■ skills in caring for the environment, suchas cleaning, fixing, gardening, and helpingothers with self-care skills;

■ the confidence and ability to expresstheir ideas and to assist others;

■ a feeling of belonging, and having a rightto belong, in the early childhood setting;

■ an ability to take on different roles indifferent contexts.

Questions for reflection

Examples

How is knowledge about children collected andshared among adults who work with them, anddoes this provide sufficient information for thosewho need it?

What arrangements are made for personal spaceand personal belongings, and are these suitablefor the children, the adults, and the setting?

How does the programme ensure that allchildren are receiving attention and affection andthat children will always find familiar adults whoknow about them? How well are these goalsachieved?

What are the procedures for individual welcomesand farewells and for settling in new children?

How, and to what extent, is it possible to allowfor children’s attachment to particular people andthings?

What aspects of the environment help childrenfeel that this is a place where they belong?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For young children

Young children are asked for their ideas and allowed to make some significantdecisions about the programme.

Young children are able to express spontaneous affection to one or more ofthe people with whom they spend a lot of time.

Young children help to arrange and put things away in their right place, ifthis is physically possible.

A place for personal possessions and projects is available for each child.

Children are encouraged to take opportunities for fixing, cleaning, gardening,and caring for the environment and the people in it.

For infants

Each infant has a familiar sleeping space and meal area.

A familiar adult has primary responsibility for each infant’s care, so thatinfants can anticipate who will welcome and care for them.

Infants’ favourite cuddly things are available to them.

The programme is flexible enough for infants’ needs and preferences for aparticular person or way of doing something to usually be met.

For toddlers

Adults affirm toddlers’ growing recognition of things which belong tothemselves or others, such as shoes, clothing, or toys.

The programme provides opportunities for conversations with toddlers thataffirm their identity and self-knowledge.

The programme enables toddlers to take part in group activities, forexample, at the water trough or the dough table.

Adults recognise and respect toddlers’ passionate attachment to particularpeople and things.

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BELONGING

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ an understanding of the routines,customs, and regular events of the earlychildhood education setting;

■ an understanding that these routines,customs, and events can be different inother settings;

■ capacities to predict and plan from thepatterns and regular events that make upthe day or the session;

■ enjoyment of and interest in a moderatedegree of change;

■ constructive strategies for coping withchange.

Goal 3

Children and their families experience anenvironment where they feel comfortablewith the routines, customs, and regularevents.

Questions for reflection

Examples

What kinds of regular events are celebrated, andhow are they celebrated?

How do adults find out and make use ofchildren’s favourite stories, songs, and rhymes?

In what situations can children have choice, andwhen is this not possible or acceptable?

If staff are stressed during busy times, how arethe effects on children minimised?

In what ways are routines used as positive andinteractive learning experiences, and are thereother ways this can be done?

How is staffing arranged to ensure thatindividual children’s needs are met duringroutines, and how can this be improved?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

A regular but flexible pattern is established for the day, for example, going inthe pushchair for a walk or going outside.

The programme includes familiar rhymes, songs, and chants.

The pace and time of routines is guided, as far as possible, by the infant’s needs.

There is a reassuring emphasis on the familiar, with new elementsintroduced gradually and thoughtfully into the programme.

For toddlers

Toddlers’ favourite games and happenings are identified and included inthe programme.

Adults are prepared to read the same story again and again.

Toddlers are able to have their own rituals and regular ways of doing things,such as wearing a favourite hat.

Rules are kept to a minimum through the establishment of comfortable,well-understood routines.

The programme provides many opportunities to participate in regularevents, such as a walk or music time.

For young children

The programme allows ample time to return to favourite activities and areasand for the repetition and practice of developing skills and interests.

The fact that routines, rituals, and regular events may be different in othersettings is acknowledged and talked about.

The programme includes activities and events which allow young children todevelop their sense of order.

Young children have time and opportunities to complete longer termprojects and space to store them.

Adults accept children’s different and personal ways of doing things asbeing part of their developing sense of self.

Adults take time to talk with children about coming events which are out of theordinary, such as trips, so that they can anticipate and be comfortable with them.

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BELONGING

Goal 4

Children and their families experience anenvironment where they know the limitsand boundaries of acceptable behaviour.

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ the capacity to discuss and negotiaterules, rights, and fairness;

■ an understanding of the rules of the earlychildhood education setting, of the reasonsfor them, and of which rules will bedifferent in other settings;

■ an understanding that the early childhoodeducation setting is fair for all;

■ an understanding of the consequences ofstepping beyond the limits of acceptablebehaviour;

■ an increasing ability to take responsibilityfor their own actions;

■ the ability to disagree and state aconflicting opinion assertively andappropriately.

Questions for reflection

Examples

In what ways are the children shielded from theeffects of stress on adults? Are there other, moreeffective, ways of approaching the issue?

What kinds of support and back-up are availablefor parents to enable them to manage theirchildren effectively? How well do these supportsystems work?

How are parents involved in the child-management and child guidance policies of theprogramme?

How are disagreements on a child-guidance issueresolved, and how empowering and equitable arethe processes for children and parents?

How is unacceptable behaviour dealt with toensure that children are not demeaned or theirself-esteem damaged?

Which “rules” are necessary, which are flexible,which are negotiable, and how well do the rulesachieve their intended function?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Infants’ behaviour on both their good days and their bad days is acceptedwithout judgment, and the programme has sufficient flexibility to accommodatenatural variations.

Adults gently encourage infants to accept that the adult will also attend toand care for other children.

Familiar, unhurried adults are always nearby.

For toddlers

Adults help toddlers begin to manage their feelings appropriately.

Adults offer only genuine choices and respect the toddler’s decisions.

Possible causes of frustration and conflict for toddlers are minimised.

Toddlers are given support in dealing with conflict and frustrations.

Toddlers’ intensity of feelings is understood, accepted, and dealt with, andtheir conflicting feelings are seen as a normal and important part of theirdevelopment.

Consistent and manageable expectations and limits are set.

For young children

The programme provides opportunities to discuss and negotiate rights,fairness, and justice with adults.

Young children have opportunities to discuss their feelings and the feelingsand expectations of others.

Strategies for managing behaviour are used not only to prevent unacceptablebehaviour but also to develop ideas of fairness and justice and to introducenew social skills.

The programme provides frequent opportunities for children to make theirown decisions and be self-reliant.

The environment and routines are planned to minimise confrontation andconflict, for instance, from crowding and queueing.

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STRAND 3 – CONTRIBUTION

Opportunities for learning are equitable and eachchild’s contribution is valued.

Goals

Children experience an environment where:

there are equitable opportunities forlearning, irrespective of gender, ability,age, ethnicity, or background;

they are affirmed as individuals;

they are encouraged to learn with andalongside others.

Children’s development occurs through activeparticipation in activities. Collaboration with adultsand with other children plays a central role in thisdevelopment.

The programme should recognise, acknowledge, andbuild on each child’s special strengths and allow eachto make a contribution or to “make his or her mark”,acknowledging that each child has the right to activeand equitable participation in the community.Making a contribution includes developing satisfyingrelationships with adults and peers. The earlydevelopment of social confidence has long-termeffects, and adults in early childhood educationsettings play a significant role in helping children toinitiate and maintain relationships with peers.Through interactions with others, children learn totake another’s point of view, to empathise with others,to ask for help, to see themselves as a help for others,and to discuss or explain their ideas to adults or toother children.

There should be a commitment to, and opportunitiesfor, a Màori contribution to the programme. Adultsworking in the early childhood education settingshould recognise the significance of whakapapa,understand and respect the process of working as awhànau, and demonstrate respect for Màori elders.They should also respect the process of working asàiga and showing respect for Tagata Pasefika elders.

Relationships of the Strand ofContribution to the CurriculumPrinciples

This strand builds especially on the principles ofEmpowerment and Relationships. It draws onchildren’s abilities to contribute their own specialstrengths and interests, and it aims to empowerchildren to find out what they want to know and tounderstand their own ways of learning and beingcreative. Experiences in this strand will be supportedby adults who provide the “scaffolding” necessary forchildren to develop and who ensure active andinteractive learning opportunities that are equitablefor all children. The opportunities for socialinteraction also relate this strand to the principle ofFamily and Community as children’s specialcontributions are encouraged and valued. TheHolistic Development principle underpins the wayeach child’s experiences and contributions are linkedto the total learning environment.

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Adults’ Responsibilities inManagement, Organisation, andPractice

Adults working with children should establishprogrammes and strategies which actively promoteequity of opportunity for children and counter actionsor comments that categorise or stereotype people.

Support and encouragement should be provided forbehaviour that is both socially and individuallyappropriate, particularly for that of children withspecial needs.

All people involved in the programme should beincluded in making significant decisions about theprogramme.

Adults should use strategies that encourage children’ssocial integration.

Adults should observe and value children asindividuals, so that their interests, enthusiasms,preferences, temperaments, and abilities are thestarting-points for everyday planning, andcomparative approaches are avoided.

The environment and programme should be organisedto reduce competition for resources and space.

Children’s cultural values, customs, and traditionsfrom home should be nurtured and preserved toenable children to participate successfully in the earlychildhood setting and in their community.

The programme should encompass different culturalperspectives, recognising and affirming the primaryimportance of the child’s family and culture. Staffneed to be aware of different attitudes within thecommunity to values and behaviours, such as co-operation, physical contact, sharing food, crying, orfeeling sorry, and deal positively with anyinconsistencies.

The balance between communal, small-group, andindividual activities should allow opportunities forinteraction, co-operative activities, and privacy.

Continuity Between EarlyChildhood Education and School

Children moving from early childhood settings to theearly years of school are likely to:

■ need to perceive that their families arewelcome and valued;

■ respect, and enjoy working with, childrenwho are different in some way;

■ feel positive about their own gender andethnicity, about the opposite gender, andabout other ethnic groups;

■ have some understanding of equity andsome ability to identify and challenge bias,prejudice, and negative stereotyping;

■ be confident that their interests, strengths,knowledge, abilities, and experiences will berecognised and built on in the learningprogramme;

■ be familiar with working co-operatively;

■ be able to see that others have differentpoints of view and be able to understand, tosome extent, others’ feelings and attitudes;

■ express their own needs and feelings andrecognise some needs of others.

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CONTRIBUTION

Goal 1

Children experience an environment wherethere are equitable opportunities for learning,irrespective of gender, ability, age, ethnicity,or background.

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ an understanding of their own rights andthose of others;

■ the ability to recognise discriminatorypractices and behaviour and to respondappropriately;

■ some early concepts of the value ofappreciating diversity and fairness;

■ the self-confidence to stand up forthemselves and others against biasedideas and discriminatory behaviour;

■ positive judgments on their own genderand the opposite gender;

■ positive judgments on their own ethnicgroup and other ethnic groups;

■ confidence that their family backgroundis viewed positively within the earlychildhood education setting;

■ respect for children who are differentfrom themselves and ease of interactionwith them.

Questions for reflection

Examples

What do adults do when children are excludedby others, and what effects do the adults’ actionshave?

How do adults challenge negative andstereotyped language and attitudes, and whatimpact does this have?

How are books and pictures selected, and dothese procedures ensure that books and picturesshow children of different gender, ethnicity, age,and ability in a range of roles?

Are there situations where, for reasons of age orability, a child is not included in something, andhow can the situation be adapted to ensureinclusion?

In what ways and how well is the curriculumgenuinely connected to the children’s familiesand cultures?

What kinds of response do adults give whenchildren ask questions about ethnic differences,and how well do these responses reflect theprinciples and strands of the curriculum?

In what ways do adults encourage children ofdifferent ages to play together, and how well isthis achieved?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Both infant girls and boys are encouraged to enjoy challenges.

Picture books are selected which show girls, boys, men and women in arange of roles.

Adults avoid making developmental comparisons between children,recognising that infants’ development is variable.

The programme encourages care practices which are culturally appropriatein relation to feeding, sleeping, toileting, clothing, and washing.

For toddlers

Toddlers are provided with clothing that does not restrict play.

Adults expect and encourage boys and girls to take similar parts in caringand domestic routines.

Adults expect and encourage exuberant and adventurous behaviour inboth girls and boys and respect the needs of toddlers to observe and beapart at times.

In talking with toddlers, adults do not link occupations to gender, forexample, by assuming that doctors are men or that nurses are women.

Activities, playthings, and expectations take account of the fact that eachtoddler’s developmental stage and mastery of skills is different.

Each child’s culture is included in the programme through song, language,pictures, playthings, and dance.

For young children

All children have rights of access to activities, regardless of gender, ability,ethnicity, and background.

Children see parents and families being welcomed to the programme.

Language and resources are inclusive of all children’s gender, ability,ethnicity, and background.

The programme provides successful, enjoyable experiences in non-traditional pursuits, for example, boys in caring roles and girls withconstruction materials and in “fixing” roles.

The programme provides opportunities to discuss bias.

Children see prejudice and negative attitudes being challenged by adults.

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CONTRIBUTION

Goal 2

Children experience an environment wherethey are affirmed as individuals.

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ a sense of “who they are”, their place inthe wider world of relationships, and theways in which these are valued;

■ a realistic perception of what they knowand of what they can and cannot yet do;

■ a perception of themselves as capable ofacquiring new interests and abilities;

■ abilities and interests in a range ofdomains – spatial, visual, linguistic,physical, musical, logical or mathematical,personal, and social – which build on thechildren’s strengths;

■ awareness of their own special strengths,and confidence that these are recognisedand valued.

Questions for reflection

Examples

How often do staff observe individual children?In what ways are these observations carried outand shared, and what are the observations usedfor?

In what circumstances is it appropriate for theneeds of the group to take priority over those ofindividual children?

How often, and in what circumstances, canchildren obtain individual attention?

In what ways does the programme accommodatechildren’s individual strengths, interests, andindividual ways of doing things? What impactdoes this have on children, and are there otherways children’s individuality could beencouraged?

What staffing provisions are made for ensuringthat individual attention is given to children withspecial needs, and are these provisions sufficient?

In what ways, and how well, does theprogramme provide for children with unusualinterests or exceptional abilities?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Infants are carefully observed so that adults know individual infants well,respect their individual ways, and respond to them appropriately.

Individual likes and dislikes, for example, in food or handling, are knownand respected.

Adults learn each infant’s individual preferences and rituals, for example,for going to bed or feeding.

Adults respond to infants’ signals of pleasure, discomfort, fear, or anger.

Adults help to extend infants’ pleasure in particular activities, such as hearingspecific music, responding to colours, and enjoyment of certain rhythms.

For toddlers

The programme builds on the passions and curiosity of each toddler.

Toddlers are encouraged to do things in their own particular way when thisis appropriate.

Toddlers’ preferences in play activities, such as liking sand but not water,are respected.

Toddlers’ preferences for solitary or parallel play are allowed for in theprogramme.

Toddlers are encouraged to contribute to small-group happenings,for example, joining in the dance, or bringing chairs around the table forsnack time.

Adults talk with toddlers about differences in people, places, and things.

For young children

The programme provides opportunities and encouragement for childrento develop their own interests and curiosity by embarking on long-termprojects that require perseverance and commitment.

The programme provides activities for children to develop their strengths,interests, and abilities, such as in music, language, construction, art, sortingand organising, and doing things with others.

The programme allows time for adults to listen to children’s ideas andquestions.

Children’s strengths and interests are extended by sensitive interventionsand encouragement.

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Goal 3

Children experience an environmentwhere they are encouraged to learn withand alongside others.

CONTRIBUTION

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ strategies and skills for initiating,maintaining, and enjoying a relationshipwith other children – including takingturns, problem solving, negotiating,taking another’s point of view, support-ing others, and understanding otherpeople’s attitudes and feelings – in avariety of contexts;

■ a range of strategies for solving conflictsin peaceful ways, and a perception thatpeaceful ways are best;

■ positive and constructive attitudes tocompetition;

■ an increasing ability to take another’spoint of view and to empathise withothers;

■ a sense of responsibility and respect forthe needs and well-being of the group,including taking responsibility for groupdecisions;

■ an appreciation of the ways in which theycan make contributions to groups and togroup well-being;

■ ways to enjoy solitary play when theychoose to be alone.

Questions for reflection

Examples

How does the programme allow children to carefor and support other children, and how well dothey do this?

What do the children learn best from each other,and how is this learning facilitated?

How does a child get a turn?

To what extent is sharing important, or shouldthere be enough playthings to prevent conflict?

What sorts of happenings and activities do thechildren enjoy most as a group?

Are there creative and constructive problem-solving activities that encourage children to co-operate with and support each other? Howeffective are these activities?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

The programme enables infants to be safely in the company of otherchildren or older children.

Adults talk to infants about what other children are doing and encouragethe infant’s interest in other children.

Adults provide solutions to conflicts, for example, over sharing floor space.

Adults respond to infants’ social communication, such as smiles, gestures,and noises.

Infants are included in appropriate social happenings.

For toddlers

Toddlers have opportunities to help with the care of others.

Group activities for toddlers have an individual aspect to them as well. Forexample, using brushes to paint water on concrete involves both individualand team efforts.

Sufficient playthings are available for parallel play, and adults mediate intoddlers’ conflicts over possessions.

Adults support toddlers’ attempts to initiate social interactions with otherchildren and adults.

There are realistic expectations about toddlers’ abilities to co-operate, taketurns, or wait for assistance.

Many opportunities are provided for small-group activities, such as actionsongs, listening to stories, or going for a walk.

For young children

Adults help young children to feel positive about themselves, especially ifthe children compare themselves with others.

Young children’s increasingly complex social problem-solving skills areencouraged, for example, through games or dramatic play.

Children are helped to understand other people’s attitudes and feelings in avariety of contexts, for example, in play, conversations, and stories.

Time and opportunities are provided for children to talk about moral issues.

The programme encourages co-operative play by providing activities thatare more fun and work better when done co-operatively.

Children’s growing capacities for empathy are fostered by reading or tellingstories about other people.

Children’s developing capacities and understanding about rules and socialstrategies are fostered through routines, such as sharing and taking turns.

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STRAND 4 – COMMUNICATION

The languages and symbols of their own and othercultures are promoted and protected.

Goals

Children experience an environment where:

they develop non-verbal communicationskills for a range of purposes;

they develop verbal communicationskills for a range of purposes;

they experience the stories and symbolsof their own and other cultures;

they discover and develop differentways to be creative and expressive.

Language is a vital part of communication. In earlychildhood, one of the major cultural tasks for childrenis to develop competence in and understanding oflanguage. Language does not consist only of words,sentences, and stories: it includes the language ofimages, art, dance, drama, mathematics, movement,rhythm, and music. During these early years, childrenare learning to communicate their experience in manyways, and they are also learning to interpret the waysin which others communicate and representexperience. They are developing increasingcompetence in symbolic, abstract, imaginative, andcreative thinking. Language grows and develops inmeaningful contexts when children have a need toknow and a reason to communicate. Adults shouldunderstand and encourage both verbal and non-verbalcommunication styles.

There should be a commitment to the recognition ofMàori language – stories, symbols, arts, and crafts – inthe programme.

Relationships of the Strand ofCommunication to the CurriculumPrinciples

This strand is grounded particularly in the principle ofEmpowerment. Communication is vital for childrento be able to contribute their strengths and interests, tofind out what they want to know, and to takeincreasing responsibility for their own learning andcare. Experiences in this strand also help to buildRelationships, as children develop the “give and take”of communication and learning and haveopportunities to work effectively with others in wayswhich have an impact on their environment. Theability to communicate increases their enjoyment andinvolvement with Family and Community, helpingthem to make sense of, and participate in, the widercultural and social world. Communication reinforcesthe child’s Holistic Development of a concept of self,enhancing their recognition of their spiritualdimension and the contribution of their heritage andenvironment to their own lives.

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Adults’ Responsibilities inManagement, Organisation, andPractice

The environment should be rich in signs, symbols,words, numbers, song, dance, drama, and art that takeaccount of and extend the children’s differentunderstandings and cultures.

Adults should recognise children’s non-verbalcommunication styles, which may include signing.Adults should also monitor their own body languageso that they interact appropriately with children, usingexpressive actions, songs, poems, and dance to aidcommunication.

Adults should have realistic expectations of children’slanguage development and help to identify assistanceif language delays are observed. Children’s hearingshould be monitored and checked regularly, withinformation readily available for parents on earinfection, treatment, and hearing aids.

There should be plenty of opportunities for one-to-onecommunication between adults and children. Adultsshould encourage children to initiate conversation,listen to children attentively, and help developinteraction.

The programme should provide opportunities forchildren to interact with a range of adults and withother children (of the same and different chronologicaland developmental ages), particularly for childrenwith special needs.

The use of the Màori language and creative arts in theprogramme should be encouraged, and staff should besupported in learning the language and inunderstanding issues relating to being bilingual.

Adults should respect and encourage children’s homelanguage. Policies should be in place to supportchildren for whom English is not the home languageand to support those who do not have verbal skills.

Children should have easy access to resources thatenable them to express themselves creatively and thathelp them to develop concepts of mathematics,reading, and writing. These resources includecounting and number rhyme books, games that usenumbers, such as cards and dominoes, equipment thatrelates to shape, colour, pattern, and weight, and artand music materials.

Adults should read and tell stories, provide books,and use story times to allow children to exchange andextend ideas, reinforcing developing concepts of, andlanguage for, shape, space, size, and colour as well asimaginative responses.

Children should see adults using print and numbersfor creative and meaningful activities, such asfollowing a recipe, sorting objects, followingtimetables and calendars, and counting out groups.

Programmes should help children learn skills valuedin their own cultures, such as oral traditions involvinglistening, memorising, observation, and story-tellingin Màori and Pacific Islands cultures.

Continuity Between EarlyChildhood Education and School

Children moving from early childhood settings to theearly years of school are likely to:

■ have language skills for a range of purposes;

■ have had considerable experience withbooks and be rapidly developing securevocabulary, grammar, and syntax;

■ enjoy returning to favourite books andrecognising the distinctive characteristicsof book language and be ready to consolidateconcepts about print, such as directionality,how words are made up, and thecorrespondence between written andspoken words;

■ have had opportunities to hear and use Màori;

■ have some awareness of other communitylanguages;

■ enjoy writing and be keen to play withlanguage and to hear and use new language;

■ have some practical concepts about numbers,counting, numerical symbols and applicationsof numbers, and have used mathematicalunderstandings for everyday purposes, suchas sorting, labelling, perceiving patterns,and establishing “fair shares”;

■ have developed a repertoire of expressivebody movements for communication,especially in dance and drama;

■ have developed some techniques forexpressing themselves in music, art, crafts,and design;

■ enjoy and experience music as an expressionof mood, situation, and culture;

■ enjoy making music, and be developing afeeling for rhythm, singing, and improvisation.

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Goal 1

Children experience an environment wherethey develop non-verbal communicationskills for a range of purposes.

COMMUNICATION

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ responsive and reciprocal skills, such asturn-taking and offering;

■ non-verbal ways of expressing andcommunicating imaginative ideas;

■ an increasingly elaborate repertoire ofgesture and expressive body movementfor communication, including ways tomake requests non-verbally andappropriately;

■ an increasing understanding of non-verbal messages, including an ability toattend to the non-verbal requests andsuggestions of others;

■ an ability to express their feelings andemotions in a range of appropriate non-verbal ways.

Questions for reflection

Examples

In what ways, and to what extent, are adults ableto identify and accept each child’s non-verbalcommunication?

How aware are adults of their own styles of non-verbal communication?

In what ways do children communicate with eachother without talking, and how effective is thisnon-verbal communication?

How effectively do the adults read each other’sbody language as a way of improvingcommunication?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Adults are aware of infants’ sensitivity to adult body language and of theneed to use expressive body language to assist infants to read signals.

Adults communicate with infants through eye and body contact and throughthe use of gestures, such as waving goodbye or pointing.

Adults respond positively to infants’ gestures and expressions, which caninclude infants turning their heads away from food, stretching out hands, orscrewing up faces.

Adults are promptly aware of the physical signs of tiredness or stress ininfants.

The programme includes action games, finger plays, and songs.

For toddlers

The programme includes action games, listening games, and dancing, all ofwhich use the body as a means of communication.

Adults are aware of the physical signs of discomfort and stress in toddlers.

Toddlers’ requests and suggestions are carefully attended to.

Toddlers are helped to communicate feelings and ideas through a variety ofmedium.

For young children

Young children use a creative range of non-verbal communication, whichmay include signing.

Children experience the communicative potential of the whole body throughdance, gesture, and pretend play.

Children have opportunities to “read” pictures for meaning.

The programme includes action songs and action rhymes in Màori andPacific Islands languages as well as English.

The programme includes activities which emphasise watching and imitating.

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Goal 2

Children experience an environmentwhere they develop verbal communicationskills for a range of purposes.

COMMUNICATION

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ language skills in real, play, and problem-solving contexts as well as in morestructured language contexts, for example,through books;

■ language skills for increasingly complexpurposes, such as stating and askingothers about intentions; expressing feelingsand attitudes and asking others aboutfeelings and attitudes; negotiating,predicting, planning, reasoning, guessing,story-telling; and using the language ofprobability, including words such as“might”, “can’t”, “always”, “never”, and“sometimes”;

■ a playful interest in repetitive soundsand words, aspects of language such asrhythm, rhyme, and alliteration, and anenjoyment of nonsense stories andrhymes;

■ an increasing knowledge and skill, inboth syntax and meaning, in at least onelanguage;

■ an appreciation of te reo as a living andrelevant language;

■ confidence that their first language isvalued;

■ the expectation that verbal communicationwill be a source of delight, comfort, andamusement and that it can be used toeffectively communicate ideas andinformation and solve problems;

■ the inclination and ability to listenattentively and respond appropriately tospeakers.

Questions for reflection

Examples

In what ways does the programme provide forone-to-one language interaction, especiallybetween an adult and child?

In what ways is Màori language included in theprogramme?

To what extent do adults include phrases fromchildren’s home languages when talking withthem?

What strategies do adults use to extendconversations with children, and how effectiveare these strategies?

What opportunities are there for children to hearstories, poems, chants, and songs? How well dothese connect to the child’s culture?

What range of adult voices do children hear?

What opportunities are there for oral story-telling, and how effectively are theseopportunities used?

How is the use of community languagesincorporated into the programme, such as atstory time?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Infants are regarded as active participants in verbal communication.

Adults respond to infants’ early attempts at verbalisation by, for example,repeating or expanding infants’ attempts and by offering them soundsto imitate.

Simple words are used to make consistent connections with objects andpeople who are meaningful to the infant.

Adults interpret infants’ sounds and gestures, including crying and babbling,as attempts to communicate and respond accordingly.

Many and varied opportunities are provided to have fun with sounds.

Language is used to soothe and comfort.

For young children

Opportunities are provided for young children to have sustained conversations,to ask questions, and to take the initiative in conversations.

The programme includes frequent and varied opportunities for playing andhaving fun with words and also for sequenced activities, experiences,problems, and topics that encourage complex language.

Children are able to have private conversations together.

Màori phrases and sentences are included as a natural part of the programme.

For toddlers

Adults help to extend toddlers’ verbal ability by accepting and supportingearly words in their first language, modelling new words and phrases,allowing toddlers to initiate conversation, and giving them time to respondand converse.

Adults use simple, clear phrases with toddlers and have realisticexpectations of toddlers’ verbal and listening skills.

Toddlers have plenty of opportunities to talk with other children, to playverbal games, and to encounter a widening range of books, songs, poems,and chants.

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Goal 3

Children experience an environmentwhere they experience the stories andsymbols of their own and other cultures.

COMMUNICATION

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ an understanding that symbols can be“read” by others and that thoughts,experiences, and ideas can be representedthrough words, pictures, print, numbers,sounds, shapes, models, andphotographs;

■ familiarity with print and its uses byexploring and observing the use of printin activities that have meaning andpurpose for children;

■ familiarity with an appropriate selectionof the stories and literature valued by thecultures in their community;

■ an expectation that words and books canamuse, delight, comfort, illuminate,inform, and excite;

■ familiarity with numbers and their usesby exploring and observing the use ofnumbers in activities that have meaningand purpose for children;

■ skill in using the counting system andmathematical symbols and concepts, suchas numbers, length, weight, volume,shape, and pattern, for meaningful andincreasingly complex purposes;

■ the expectation that numbers can amuse,delight, illuminate, inform, and excite;

■ experience with some of the technologyand resources for mathematics, reading,and writing;

■ experience with creating stories andsymbols.

Questions for reflection

Examples

To what extent are the children’s culturalbackgrounds well represented in the arts andcrafts, stories, and symbols found in the earlychildhood education setting?

What is the most effective group size for tellingand reading stories, and what factors influencethis?

How often are stories read aloud, and are theremore opportunities for this to happen?

In what ways, and for what purposes, dochildren see mathematics being used, and howdoes this influence their interest and ability inmathematics?

Are children regularly hearing and usingmathematical ideas and terms in their play?

What opportunities are there for children toobserve and work with adults in the setting usingnumbers for meaningful purposes?

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For infants

Adults read books to infants, tell them simple stories, and talk to them aboutobjects and pictures.

Infants are able to feel and manipulate books and to see and handle mobiles andpictures.

Numbers are used in conversation and interactive times, such as in finger games.Everyday number patterns are highlighted, for example, two shoes, four wheels,five fingers.

Adults draw attention to concepts such as differences between “more” and “less”,“big” and “small”.

The programme includes songs, rhymes, and chants that repeat sequences.

The infant has playthings of a variety of colours, textures, shapes, and sizes toexperiment with and explore freely.

For toddlers

Toddlers have many opportunities to play simple games and to use an increasingrange of playthings, which feature a variety of symbols, shapes, sizes, and colours.

Adults’ conversations with toddlers are rich in number ideas, so that adults extendtoddlers’ talk about numbers.

Adults model the process of counting to solve everyday problems, for example,asking “How many children want to go on a walk?”

Toddlers are encouraged to develop the language of position (for example,“above” and “below”, “inside” and “outside”) and the language of probability (forexample, “might” and “can’t”).

The toddler’s name is written on belongings and any personal space, and names orsymbols are used to enable toddlers to recognise their own possessions.

The written language of the child’s culture is used as well as the English language.

Books are available for the toddler to read and carry about, and reading books andtelling stories are frequent, pleasurable, intimate, and interactive experiences.

For young children

Children experience a wide range of stories and hear and practise story-telling.

Children have opportunities to develop early mathematical concepts, such asvolume, quantity, measurement, classifying, matching, and perceiving patterns.

Children have opportunities to learn through purposeful activities using, for example,sand, water, blocks, pegs, and the materials and objects used for everyday play,such as dough, fabrics, and paints.

Children gain familiarity with mathematical tools, such as rulers, tape measures,calculators, scales, and measuring cups, and use them in their play.

Adults comment on numerical symbols which are used every day, such as calendars,clocks, and page numbers in books.

The programme fosters the development of concepts about print, such as theknowledge that print conveys a message that can be revisited, that spoken wordscan be written down and read back, and that written names represent a person.The children also learn that both the text and the illustrations carry the story, thatprint can be useful, that books can provide information, and that stories can allowone to enter new worlds.

Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

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COMMUNICATION

Goal 4

Children experience an environment wherethey discover and develop different ways tobe creative and expressive.

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ familiarity with the properties andcharacter of the materials and technologyused in the creative and expressive arts;

■ skill and confidence with the processesof art and craft, such as cutting, drawing,collage, painting, print-making, weaving,stitching, carving, and constructing;

■ skills with media that can be used forexpressing a mood or a feeling or forrepresenting information, such as crayons,pencils, paint, blocks, wood, musicalinstruments, and movement skills;

■ an ability to be creative and expressivethrough a variety of activities, such aspretend play, carpentry, story-telling,drama, and making music;

■ confidence to sing songs, including songsof their own, and to experiment withchants and pitch patterns;

■ an increasing ability to keep a steady beatthrough speech, chants, dances, ormovement to simple rhythmic patterns;

■ an increasing familiarity with a selectionof the art, craft, songs, music, and storieswhich are valued by the cultures in thecommunity;

■ an expectation that music, art, drama, anddance can amuse, delight, comfort,illuminate, inform, and excite;

■ familiarity with a variety of types ofmusic, art, dance, and drama asexpressions of feeling, mood, situation,occasion, and culture.

Questions for reflection

Examples

In what ways do the creative happenings in theearly childhood centre reflect children’s culturalbackgrounds?

What opportunities are there for children toexperience Màori creative arts in an appropriateway and at an appropriate level?

What kinds of opportunity are there involvingmusic, and how well do these opportunitiesenable children to develop an interest and abilityin music?

What kinds of creative opportunity are offeredregularly, which children engage with them, andwhat outcomes do the children achieve?

In what ways are all the children able to beincluded in creative happenings and to explorethe creative area that most interests them?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Adults respect and enjoy the variety of ways that infants sense and interactwith the environment.

Infants see, hear, and participate in creative and expressive happenings intheir own way, for example, by putting a hand in the paint, clapping hands,or burbling.

Infants have opportunities to experience patterns and sounds in the naturalenvironment, such as leaves in sunlight or the sound of rain.

Adults respond to infants’ expressive and creative actions, such as reflectingback movements, or joining in clapping.

For toddlers

Toddlers are introduced to tools and materials for arts and crafts andallowed to experiment with them.

The programme provides experiences with creative materials, such aspaint, glue, dough, sand, and junk, and gives opportunities for creative playusing natural materials, for example, collecting leaves or arranging pebbles.

Toddlers have opportunities for movement that involves their whole bodieswith abandon and opportunities to participate in dance.

Props for fantasy play are available, and adults interact with toddlers’emerging make-believe play.

The programme provides opportunities to learn skills with musical instruments,including drums, shakers, or bells.

For young children

Children experience a wide variety of the materials and technology used inthe creative and expressive arts, such as clay, fabric, fibre, pencils, dramaprops, cassette players, brushes, rollers, stamp pads, scissors, calculators,computers, musical instruments, different types of paper, sticky tape, glue,and carpentry tools.

The programme allows for creative events and activities to continue overseveral days.

There are regular opportunities for group activities in art and music.

Creativity is not confined to activities such as art, craft, and music but alsoextends to challenges and changes to environments, rules, and ideas. Itincludes humour and jokes.

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The child learns through active exploration of theenvironment.

Goals

Children experience an environment where:

their play is valued as meaningfullearning and the importance ofspontaneous play is recognised;

they gain confidence in and controlof their bodies;

they learn strategies for activeexploration, thinking, and reasoning;

they develop working theories formaking sense of the natural, social,physical, and material worlds.

All aspects of the environment – the natural, social,physical, and material worlds – are part of the contextof learning. This strand incorporates some of thestrategies which enable infants, toddlers, and youngchildren to explore, learn from, and make sense of theworld. Implicit in the concept of the child as exploreris the importance of respect for the environment.Children learn through play – by doing, by askingquestions, by interacting with others, by setting uptheories or ideas about how things work and tryingthem out, and by the purposeful use of resources.They also learn by making links with their previousexperiences. The attitudes and expectations that areformed at an early age will continue to influence achild’s learning throughout life. In early childhoodeducation, as in later learning and development,exploration will be guided, supported, and challengedby adults and other children.

There should be a recognition of Màori ways ofknowing and making sense of the world and ofrespecting and appreciating the natural environment.

STRAND 5 – EXPLORATION

Relationships of the Strand ofExploration to the CurriculumPrinciples

This strand is founded particularly in the principles ofHolistic Development and Empowerment. The childwill experience open-ended exploration and play in anenvironment where the consistent, warm relationshipshelp to connect the child’s experiences and where thetasks, activities, and contexts all have meaning for thechild. Through exploration, children learn useful andappropriate ways to find out what they want to knowand begin to understand their own individual ways oflearning and being creative. These experiencesenhance the child’s sense of self-worth, identity,confidence, and enjoyment. Because strategies andexperiences in exploration build both on whatchildren bring to them and on their own initiativesand reasoning, the links between Exploration and theprinciple of Family and Community are fundamentaland valuable. Exploration involves actively learningwith others as well as independently and helps toextend children’s purposeful and enjoyableRelationships.

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Adults’ Responsibilities inManagement, Organisation, andPractice

The environment should offer a wide variety ofpossibilities for exploring, planning, reasoning, andlearning, with space arranged to encourage activeexploration, providing both new challenges andfamiliar settings so that children develop confidence.Both indoor and outdoor environments, including theneighbourhood, should be used as learning resources.

Adults should understand the progression andvariations of children’s development and shouldprovide time for gradual growth of independent skillssuch as feeding, toileting, and dressing.

Adults need to know how to support and extendchildren’s play without interrupting or dominating theactivity and should avoid unnecessary intervention.

Adults should plan the daily programme to provideresources and equipment which encouragespontaneous play, activities, and practising of skillsfor individuals or in small groups. The materials andtools for children should be appropriate for the agegroup, work properly, be acessible, be stored at theright height, and be easy to clean and put away.

Adults should plan activities, resources, and eventswhich build upon and extend children’s interests.

Equipment should be provided for scientific,mathematical, and technological learning. Thisincludes such diverse resources as tape recorders,cooking utensils, and seashells, which may helpchildren develop concepts.

Adults should respond to children’s questions, assistthem to articulate and extend ideas, take advantage ofopportunities for exploration, problem solving,remembering, predicting, and making comparisons,and be enthusiastic about finding answers together.They should encourage children to know what ishappening and why.

Procedures should be in place for the safe andhygienic housing of pets and for conservation,recycling, and waste disposal.

A reference library should be available for bothchildren and adults as well as information for parentson children’s physical growth and the value of play inlearning and development.

Continuity Between EarlyChildhood Education and School

Children moving from early childhood settings to theearly years of school are likely to:

■ have extensive prior learning and experi-ences which provide starting points forfurther learning;

■ enjoy and be able to participate in adventurousand creative thinking through role-play,film-making, projects, and investigations;

■ have experience in making choices anddecisions, setting their own goals, and usingtheir initiative;

■ continue to develop their locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in avariety of settings;

■ have some skills in using a range ofequipment safely;

■ be able to share responsibility for the classand school environment;

■ be able to use discovery, invention,innovation, imagination, experimentation,and exploration as means of learning;

■ demonstrate flexibility and creativity inapplying mathematical ideas and techniquesto new problems;

■ be able to observe, compare, classify, andgroup objects;

■ have developed some initial strategies ofactive exploration in the wider context ofthe biological, physical, and technologicalworlds;

■ have begun to make sense of the livingworld by observing, identifying, anddescribing animals and plants and byinvestigating changes over time;

■ be ready to make sense of the physicalworld, for instance, by describing theproperties of everyday materials and byinvestigating changes in different physicalconditions;

■ have initial strategies for exploringobservable features of Earth and beyondand appreciate their environment and itschanges over time.

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Goal 1

Children experience an environmentwhere their play is valued as meaningfullearning and the importance of spontaneousplay is recognised.

EXPLORATION

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ the ability to make decisions, choosetheir own materials, and set their ownproblems;

■ the attitude that not knowing and beinguncertain are part of the process of beinga good learner;

■ an expectation that they take responsibilityfor their own learning;

■ the knowledge that trying things out,exploration, and curiosity are importantand valued ways of learning;

■ increasing confidence and a repertoire forsymbolic, pretend, or dramatic play;

■ the knowledge that playing with ideasand materials, with no objective in mind,can be an enjoyable, creative, and validapproach to learning.

Questions for reflection

Examples

What is the balance between child- and adult-initiated activities, and how well does thisbalance reflect the principles and strands of thecurriculum?

How often, and in what ways, are the routines oractivities changed to follow a child’s interests?

What kinds of role do adults have when childrenare playing, and how do these roles promotechildren’s learning?

How do adults react when children make“mistakes”?

In what ways are meaningful opportunitiesprovided for children to use real things, such assaucepans, garden tools, or keyboards?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For infants

Care routines provide opportunities for playful interactions.

Challenging playthings are easily within reach so that infants can both tryout new things and explore the possibilities of the familiar.

Infants have freedom to move and to practise and perfect skills.

Everything in the immediate environment is regarded as a learning resource.

For toddlers

Adults are aware that all happenings have the potential for play andlearning.

Individual endeavour, curiosity, and exploration are seen as positive.

Playthings are provided which are both challenging and predictable andcan be used flexibly.

Meaningful and, where possible, genuine contexts are provided for toddlers’play and work. Brushes are used to sweep paths, for example, and waterfor cleaning walls.

For young children

Children are encouraged to feel comfortable about saying, “I don’t know”or risking failure.

Children are encouraged to initiate purposeful problem-solving activities.

Children’s growing capacity for sustained interest in something outsidethemselves is recognised and allowed for in planning the programme.

Children have access to appropriate, functional equipment for pretend play,such as typewriters, calculators, brooms, empty boxes and cartons, scales,and hoses.

Children are encouraged to talk about their play and to develop reflective skills.

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Goal 2

Children experience an environment wherethey gain confidence in and control of theirbodies.

EXPLORATION

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ increasing knowledge about how to keepphysically healthy;

■ increasing control over their bodies,including development of locomotorskills, non-locomotor skills, manipulativeskills and increasing agility,co-ordination, and balance;

■ strategies for actively exploring andmaking sense of the world by using theirbodies, including active exploration withall the senses, and the use of tools,materials, and equipment to extendskills;

■ confidence with moving in space, movingto rhythm, and playing near and withothers.

Questions for reflection

Examples

In what circumstances might children’s freemovement and exploration need to be restrained,and how can this best be done within theprinciples of the curriculum?

What kinds of versatile plaything and equipmentare used, and how can the range be expanded?

How is the range of play equipment selected andarranged to support physical development, andhow well is it used to promote learning andgrowth?

In what ways, and to what extent, are childrenallowed and encouraged to do things forthemselves?

What opportunities are there for children tocombine physical activities with music, language,and problem solving? What are the outcomes ofthese opportunities, and are there more effectiveways to provide such experiences?

What safety checks are in place, and to whatextent are they well organised, complete, andeffective?

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Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For toddlers

Toddlers are encouraged to develop skills at their own rate and to know andunderstand their own abilities and limitations. Adults wait to let toddlersindicate that they need assistance rather than assuming that they will.

Toddlers have opportunities for active exploration with the support, but notthe interference, of adults.

Toddlers have access to an increasing range of playthings that can enhanceboth gross and fine motor skills.

For infants

Adults recognise that curiosity is a prime motivator for physical activity andallow infants to develop skills at their own pace.

Safe things are provided to assist infants to move, for example, somethingto hold on to, to balance against, or to pull themselves up on.

Playthings are provided that encourage pulling, pushing, fingering, mouthing,and grasping, that can be manipulated in a variety of ways, and that requireminimal adult assistance.

Infants are handled in a confident, respectful, and gentle way.

For young children

Young children experience activities that develop both gross and fine motorskills and that offer varying degrees of challenge, such as balancing,hammering, obstacle courses, construction activities, hopping, turning, andpouring.

The children’s range of physical skills is extended through access to suchequipment as skipping ropes, balls, racquets, bats, and balance boards.

Children are given the challenge of co-ordinating several variables at once,for example, controlling both force and direction when kicking a ball.

Time is allowed for practising the skills of dressing and eating and forhelping others to do so.

Books and stories about the body are available for children to look at.

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Goal 3

Children experience an environment wherethey learn strategies for active exploration,thinking, and reasoning.

EXPLORATION

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudes

Children develop:

■ confidence in using a variety of strategiesfor exploring and making sense of theworld, such as in setting and solvingproblems, looking for patterns, classifyingthings for a purpose, guessing, using trialand error, thinking logically and makingcomparisons, asking questions, explainingto others, listening to others, participatingin reflective discussion, planning,observing, and listening to stories;

■ the ability to identify and use informationfrom a range of sources, including usingbooks for reference;

■ a perception of themselves as “explorers”– competent, confident learners who askquestions and make discoveries;

■ the confidence to choose and experimentwith materials, to play around with ideas,and to explore actively with all thesenses;

■ the ability to represent their discoveries,using creative and expressive media andthe technology associated with them.

Questions for reflection

Examples

Which learning strategies do the adults in theprogramme know of and value most?

In what ways, and how effectively, do adultshelp children to find the right level of challenge?

In what ways and how effectively do adultssupport and encourage children’s mathematicallearning?

In what ways, how often, and how effectively doadults encourage children to argue logically, topredict and estimate, and to give reasons for theirchoices?

In what ways are the equipment, playthings, andenvironment related to other aspects of children’severyday experiences?

How are equipment and playthings selected andarranged to extend children’s understanding ofpatterns, shapes, and colours?

What opportunities do children have to collectand sort objects for a meaningful purpose?

What opportunities are there for children to takethings apart, put them together, and figure outhow they work, and how well do theseopportunities promote children’s learning?

What opportunities are there for children toengage in collaborative socio-dramatic play, andhow does it contribute to their learning anddevelopment?

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For infants

Very young infants are positioned so that they have a wide field of vision.

Infants experience different play spaces, such as smooth floors, carpet,grass, sand, soft and hard surfaces, and indoor and outdoor spaces.

Infants have opportunities to watch and join in with other children and tosee and hear new things.

Infants have a variety of sensory experiences, including fresh air, experiencea range of smells, temperatures, and sounds, and are allowed to movefreely and touch things. For example, games for exploring their toes, faces,hair, fingers and those of other familiar people are encouraged and repeated.

A variety of different kinds of material is available for infants to feel, mould,and explore.

For toddlers

Toddlers have opportunities to use different skills, such as listening,observation, remembering, reflection, decision making, and language skills.

Toddlers are encouraged to recognise symmetry and pattern, includingpatterns such as one-to-one correspondence and matching.

Toddlers are encouraged to manipulate quantities in ways that changethem from continuous to discrete and back again, such as cutting updough and squashing the pieces back together again or transferring waterto small bottles and emptying them.

Toddlers have opportunities to collect, sort, and organise objects and playmaterials in a variety of ways and to develop a sense of order, for example,by grouping similar materials or putting things into their right place.

Toddlers have access to books and pictures about aspects of theireveryday world.

For young children

The programme and environment are organised to enable children toinitiate purposeful problem-solving activities, to devise problems of theirown, and to solve them to their own satisfaction using a variety of materialsand equipment.

Children are encouraged to use trial and error to find solutions to theirproblems and to use previous experience as a basis for trying out alternativestrategies.

Children are encouraged to notice, describe, and create patterns, forexample, in painting and construction.

Children have opportunities to predict and estimate, for example, inapportioning shares or quantities.

Children are encouraged to develop the ability to use symbols, makecomparisons, recall, anticipate situations, and shift their focus away fromthe here and now.

Children are encouraged to give reasons for their choices and to arguelogically.

Suitable books, pictures, posters, and maps are easily available for children’sreference.

Children have opportunities to use language to plan, monitor, and participatein socio-dramatic play.

Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

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Goal 4

Children experience an environmentwhere they develop working theories formaking sense of the natural, social,physical, and material worlds.

EXPLORATION

Learning outcomes:knowledge, skills, and attitudesChildren develop:

■ the ability to enquire, research, explore,generate, and modify their own workingtheories about the natural, social, physical,and material worlds;

■ an understanding of the nature andproperties of a range of substances, suchas sand, water, ice, bubbles, blocks, andpaper;

■ spatial understandings, including anawareness of how two- and three-dimensional objects can be fittedtogether and moved in space and ways inwhich spatial information can berepresented, such as in maps, diagrams,photographs, and drawings;

■ familiarity with stories from differentcultures about the living world, includ-ing myths and legends and oral, non-fictional, and fictional forms;

■ working theories about Planet Earth andbeyond;

■ a knowledge of features of the landwhich are of local significance, such asthe local river or mountain;

■ theories about social relationships andsocial concepts, such as friendship,authority, and social rules andunderstandings;

■ a relationship with the natural environ-ment and a knowledge of their own placein the environment;

■ respect and a developing sense ofresponsibility for the well-being of boththe living and the non-living environment;

■ working theories about the living worldand knowledge of how to care for it;

■ a growing recognition and enjoyment of“nonsense” explanations.

Questions for reflection

Examples

In what ways are children actively encouraged totry things out, in what circumstances are they leftalone while they do this, and what does thiscontribute to their learning?

How are experiences moderated for children ofdifferent ages so that the world is not tooconfusing?

What genuine opportunities are there forchildren to change things and to explore theconsequences oftheir actions?

Are there agreed ways of dealing with children’squestions about such things as birth or death?

What events might happen that could upsetchildren, and how are these situations dealt with?

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For infants

The environment includes features which infants can become familiar with,recognise, and explore and which adults talk about.

The environment provides contrasts in colour and design.

Adults demonstrate that they share infants’ pleasure in discovery.

Infants are helped to see familiar things from different positions, for exam-ple, close up or from a distance, and from the front or back.

Infants are encouraged to try things out by using objects as tools and, forthe older infant, by naming things.

Examples of experiences which help to meet these outcomes

For toddlers

Toddlers are encouraged and helped to name, think about, and talk aboutwhat they are doing.

Toddlers have opportunities to explore the ways that shapes and objects fittogether by using two- and three-dimensional materials.

Toddlers have opportunities to help take care of animals and living thingsappropriately.

Adults initiate questions, and answer toddlers’ questions, about why thingshappen.

For young children

Young children have opportunities to develop knowledge about the pattern anddiversity of the living world. For example, they observe how animals and plantsgrow and what these creatures need for their well-being.

Children have opportunities to explore and discuss how things change and howthey can be changed, for example, from hot to cold, from wet to dry, or fromsoft to hard. Children have access to equipment, such as egg beaters, arefrigerator, a simple pottery kiln, or an oven, to help them understand theseconcepts.

Children have opportunities to explore how things move and can be moved, forexample, by blowing, pushing, pulling, rolling, swinging and sinking. Childrenhave access to technology to help explore movement, such as wheels, pulleys,magnets, and swings.

Children have opportunities to develop spatial understandings by fitting thingstogether and taking things apart; rearranging and reshaping objects andmaterials; seeing things from different spatial viewpoints; and using a magnify-ing glass.

Children have opportunities to use two-dimensional materials, such as dia-grams and photographs, and to create three-dimensional constructions, suchas making a model from a picture or solving a puzzle from the photo on thebox.

Children have easy access to appropriate books for reference.

Children have opportunities to develop and explore social concepts, rules, andunderstandings in social contexts with familiar adults and peers.

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TE WHÀRIKI AND THENEW ZEALAND CURRICULUMFRAMEWORK

Official policy for teaching, learning, and assessmentin New Zealand schools is set out in the documentThe New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry ofEducation, 1993). As with this curriculum for earlychildhood, the curriculum framework is grounded in aset of principles. These principles are referred tounder the related principles of Te Whàriki.

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework outlinesessential learning areas, essential skills, and attitudesand values. The early childhood curriculum providesa foundation for children to become confident andcompetent and, during the school years, to be able tobuild on their pervious learning.

Each strand of the early childhood curriculum has anumber of links with the essential learning areas andessential skills of The New Zealand CurriculumFramework. These links are set out in the followingpages.

Part D

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Links with Essential Skills

Communication Skills: children developconfidence and ability in expressing thoughtsand feelings effectively and appropriately.

Numeracy Skills: children develop competencein mathematical concepts and enjoy using themin daily life.

Information Skills: children gain confidence infinding out about and understanding saferoutines and behaviours.

Problem-solving Skills: children feel confidentin taking some responsibility for enquiring andfor testing ideas to solve problems.

Self-management and Competitive Skills:children develop a sense of self-worth, take someresponsibility for their own health and safety,and develop ways of coping with conflict,challenge, and change.

Social and Co-operative Skills: children are ableto participate in a range of social settings, andthey develop a sense of responsibility for, andtrust in, other people.

Physical Skills: children are helped to developpersonal health through exercise, good hygiene,and healthy diet and to develop and enjoyrecreational, motor, and manipulative skills.

Work and Study Skills: children developconfidence to manage some tasks independentlyand to pay attention in spite of distractions.

WELL-BEING

Links with Essential LearningAreas

Language and Languages: confidence andproficiency in language enhance thedevelopment of a sense of self-worth and enablechildren to participate effectively and makesense of the world.

Mathematics: exploring mathematical conceptsencourages creativity, perseverance, and self-confidence.

Science: developing consciousness of one’splace in the environment fosters curiosity andscientific understanding.

Technology: capability in solving practicalproblems contributes to self-confidence andwell-being.

Social Sciences: working together helpschildren develop confidence in their ability todevelop relationships with others.

The Arts: the arts are important to the growth ofself-expression and to a sense of self-worth andenjoyment.

Health and Physical Well-being: the physical,social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions ofgrowth are all important to enable children todevelop confidence in themselves and theirabilities.

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Links with Essential Skills

Communication Skills: children becomeconfident in identifying themselves and inunderstanding and conveying information abouttheir family and community.

Numeracy Skills: children learn to use numbersin relation to family members, children in agroup, and ordering the environment in patternsand relationships.

Information Skills: children begin to store andretrieve information about their own group,family, and community and to identify differentpoints of view.

Problem-solving Skills: children are encouragedto identify and describe problems and helped tomake connections and relationships to solvethem.

Self-management and Competitive Skills:children develop self-discipline and takeincreasing responsibility for their own actionswithin their home and community.

Social and Co-operative Skills: children arehelped to participate in social and culturalsettings, demonstrating consideration for othersthrough qualities such as caring, fairness,tolerance, and generosity.

Physical Skills: children develop motor skillsthat allow them to participate actively in thesetting.

Work and Study Skills: children make theirown decisions, develop increasing self-relianceand are able to work collaboratively with otherchildren.

BELONGING

Links with Essential LearningAreas

Language and Languages: acquisition oflanguage provides children with a sense ofidentity and a vital medium for participating intheir culture.

Mathematics: mathematical concepts are used inpractical family and social contexts, such asremembering telephone numbers, streetnumbers, and birth dates.

Science: knowledge about the natural andphysical worlds helps children to participate intheir family and community.

Technology: using many materials for differentpurposes enables children to recognise thatdifferent technologies may be used in variousplaces and settings.

Social Sciences: children’s understanding ofthemselves in their family and community isaffirmed when children know that their familiesand cultures have a place and are respected.

The Arts: children’s sense of belonging isreinforced through participating in the arts andrituals of their own community and those ofother cultures.

Health and Physical Well-being: participationin physical activities gives opportunities forbeing part of a group and ensuring that all arewelcomed and supported.

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Links with Essential Skills

Communication Skills: children are helped toconvey and receive ideas, feelings, andinformation in different cultural and socialcontexts.

Numeracy Skills: children learn to use numberto monitor fair division of resources andequitable sharing of effort towards a commongoal.

Information Skills: children develop someunderstanding and appreciation of differentpoints of view.

Problem-solving Skills: children developreflective and creative thinking as they contributeideas and try them out with others.

Self-management and Competitive Skills:children develop constructive ways of dealingwith challenge, competition, and success andfailure, developing some skills of self-appraisaland self-advocacy.

Social and Co-operative Skills: children takesome responsibility as members of a group in acommon task, developing good relationshipswith others, responding appropriately todiscriminatory behaviour, and demonstratingrespect for the rights of others.

Physical Skills: children work with others andassist them, appreciating different physical andfitness needs and abilities.

Work and Study Skills: children are able tobuild on their own strengths and culturalbackgrounds in learning.

CONTRIBUTION

Links with Essential LearningAreas

Language and Languages: children’s growingawareness of their own and other languagesenriches social, cultural, and intellectual life.

Mathematics: children develop mathematicalproblem-solving strategies in, for instance,sharing and dividing resources, turn taking, andestimating times.

Science: participation in active enquiry developschildren’s confidence in offering ideas and inunderstanding.

Technology: growing experience in solvingproblems together develops children’sunderstanding of how technologies can helpthem and others.

Social Sciences: through working with others,children develop respect for differences and anunderstanding of their roles, rights, andresponsibilities in relation to other people.

The Arts: generating and exploring ideas increative ways, individually and in groups,provides opportunities for purposefulcontributions.

Health and Physical Well-being: inparticipating in group physical activities,children develop responsible relationships andrespect for cultural perspectives and thecontributions of others.

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Links with Essential Skills

Communication Skills: children gain anincreasing ability to convey and receiveinformation, instruction, and ideas effectivelyand confidently by listening, speaking, and usingvisual language in a range of contexts.

Numeracy Skills: children have fun withnumbers and begin to understand and respond toinformation presented in mathematical ways.

Information Skills: in sharing ideas with others,children develop their ability to identify anddescribe different sorts of information.

Problem-solving Skills: children try out originaland innovative ideas and exercise theirimaginations to solve problems.

Self-management and Competitive Skills: incommunicating their needs and intentions,children develop the skills of negotiation andself-awareness.

Social and Co-operative Skills: as children’sabilities to communicate develop, they are able toform good relationships with others andparticipate constructively in a range of social andcultural settings.

Physical Skills: children develop an ability toexpress themselves through movement andgesture.

Work and Study Skills: communication goalsassist children to work effectively andconstructively.

COMMUNICATION

Links with Essential LearningAreas

Language and Languages: development of non-verbal and verbal communication for a range ofpurposes is fundamental to learning and toeffective participation in intellectual, emotional,and social life.

Mathematics: development of mathematicalvocabulary and concepts helps childrencommunicate complex ideas such as weight,shape, and volume.

Science: children develop the vocabulary andtechniques to investigate and communicate ideasabout their world.

Technology: children gain experience in usingcommunication technologies such as crayons,paintbrushes, pencils, calculators, books, andcomputers.

Social Sciences: children experience the storiesand symbols of their own and other cultures,developing awareness of the richness ofcommunication.

The Arts: all the art forms, including dance,mime, music, painting, and other visual arts,enable children to discover different ways tocommunicate.

Health and Physical Well-being: using physicalexpression and activity assists children’sdevelopment of both verbal and non-verbalcommunication.

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Links with Essential Skills

Communication Skills: children convey andreceive information and ideas with increasingpurpose, accuracy, and confidence.

Numeracy Skills: in exploring their world,children find reasons to calculate and estimatewith increasing accuracy and to use measuringinstruments and mathematical concepts.

Information Skills: children develop abilities toquestion, locate, and process information and tosee people, books, and other media as resources.

Problem-solving Skills: children enquire, carryout research, and develop and test ideas andsolutions as they explore and make sense of theirworld.

Self-management and Competitive Skills: aschildren explore, they show initiative,commitment, perseverance, courage, andenterprise and they adapt to new situations.

Social and Co-operative Skills: in working andplaying together, children develop a sense ofresponsibility for the well-being of others and theenvironment.

Physical Skills: in exploring the physicalenvironment, children gain increasing motor andmanipulative control and skill in using tools andmaterials safely.

Work and Study Skills: children areincreasingly able to take responsibility inworking effectively on common tasks andexploratory activities.

EXPLORATION

Links with Essential LearningAreas

Language and Languages: languagedevelopment enables children to make sense ofthe world, to question, and to express ideas andinformation.

Mathematics: children develop and usemathematical concepts when they collect,organise, compare, and interpret different objectsand materials.

Science: children learn strategies for activeinvestigation, thinking, and reasoning.

Technology: children use a variety oftechnologies for different purposes as theyexplore their world.

Social Sciences: children develop confidence inworking with others to explore the environmentand make sense of the social and physical world.

The Arts: children explore ideas, materials, andthe environment through the arts.

Health and Physical Well-being: as they exploretheir world, children gain confidence in thecontrol and use of their bodies.

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS AS USED IN THIS CURRICULUM

Adult: any person beyond school leaving age whomay be involved in an early childhood setting. Thiscould include whànau, parents, extended family, staffmembers, supervisors, child care workers, teachers,kaiako, kaiawhina, specialists, and caregivers.

Àiga: (Samoan – used as a representative term)members of an extended family and its supportingnetwork who form a context for the care and guidanceof a child.

Assessment: the process of obtaining, andinterpreting, information that describes a child’sachievements and competence. The purpose ofassessment is to provide pertinent information tocontribute to improving learning opportunities forchildren.

Caregiver: an adult who cares for children,particularly in a home-based programme.

Cognition: knowing and thinking.

Contribution: playing a part in a common effort.

Culture: shared understandings and a shared world-view, often expressed in accepted lifestyles andtraditions. Joan Metge, in her book, Te kohao o te ngira:culture and learning (Learning Media, Wellington, 1990)defines the term as “a system of symbols andmeanings, in terms of which a particular group ofpeople make sense of their worlds, communicate witheach other, and plan and live their lives.” Culture isnot a synonym for ethnicity.

Curriculum: the sum total of the experiences,activities, and events, whether direct or indirect,which occur within an environment designed to fosterlearning and development.

Empowerment: giving power or authority thatenables a person to take an action or role.

Enable: to supply a person with the means to carryout an action or fulfil a role.

Evaluation: the process of using assessmentinformation and other data to review the quality andeffectiveness of programmes, in order to makedecisions about change.

Holistic: tending, as in nature, to form a unity madeup of other “wholes”, where the new unity is morethan the sum of the parts, and in which each elementaffects, and is affected by, each other element.

Individual Development Plan or Individual EducationPlan (IDP/IEP): a plan that forms the basis forprogrammes designed specifically for an individualchild who, in order to benefit from their learningenvironment, requires resources alternative oradditional to those usually available.

Màori immersion programmes: programmes,especially those in kòhanga reo, which aim to promoteand nurture Màori language and culture.

Primary caregiving: a staffing arrangement,particularly suitable for infants and toddlers, in whichone staff member has primary responsibility for asmall group of children. The rationale for primarycaregiving is that it facilitates the attachment of veryyoung children to one adult.

Reciprocal: expressing mutual, complementaryactions, in which each party returns a correspondingact or quality to the other.

Rituals: procedures that are followed consistently,especially when greeting, saying goodbye, and atmealtimes.

Settings: places where people can interact with eachother, for example home, centre, play area.

Tagata Pasefika: the people of the Pacific Islandnations. This term refers here to programmes forchildren in Pacific Islands early childhood centres.

Well-being: a state of physical, social, or emotionalcomfort, progress, and sound condition.

Whànau: members of an extended family and itssupporting network who form a context for the careand guidance of a child.

Young child: a child between approximately 3 and 5years of age. This term is used in preference to themore traditional term “preschooler”, which impliesthat the curriculum for this age group takes itsdirection from school. “Young child” is used in thisdocument to distinguish this developmental stagefrom infants and toddlers. Important characteristics ofeach stage are discussed in Part A.

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