Ngā kete Matauranga
Kia ora, welcome to Ngā kete Matauranga. Here you can find interesting, inspiring and informative research about and around tākaro, helpful resources and playful activities from our very own New Zealanders.
We share some of our own research which we collect with your help, the members of Play Aotearoa. If you are a Play Aotearoa member, you have access to exclusive resources such as submission templates and helpful tips for your local advocacy.
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DESCRIPTIONS
SOURCES
D’Silva, P. (2020). Literacy beyond mat-time: Bringing stories to life. He Kupu, 6 (3), 8-13.
This article examines the role that early childhood teachers play in extending literacy interests and making them meaningful to children. Currently, shared book reading or story telling is often relegated to mat-times. This article serves to challenge teachers to consider how children’s literature, particularly picture and concept books, can be intentionally used in early childhood settings. Aspects of an optimal environment, such as physical provocations as well as teaching strategies to nurture children’s agency will be explored by drawing on a number of popular books published in Aotearoa New Zealand as well as classic picture books.
D’Silva, P. (2019). Here, there and everywhere: A place-based approach to nurturing children’s identity and autonomy in play. He Kupu, 6 (2), 20-25.
“In this article, I discuss how as children we are shaped not just by the people who surround us, but also by the places and spaces in which we play. When discussing space and place in this article, I am referring to place as physical ground whereas space is a more abstract concept and could be something that is constructed. In geographical discourses, both space and place are considered “relational, socially co-produced, and dynamic” (Koops & Galic, 2017, p. 19). Spaces, in and around the child, actively contribute to children’s learning, providing children with new opportunities to engage in imaginary play. The role of spaces, imagined or real; inherited or self-constructed will be explored and links to children’s identity and autonomy will be discussed. The discussion is intended to support teachers to consider how a more nuanced understanding of space and place might impact on curriculum and pedagogical decisions within an early childhood context. I have used the two terms of space and place interchangeably to highlight the sometimes invisible boundaries between them.”
He Kupu, The Power of Play, Volume 6, Number 2 – October 2019
This edition of He Kupu features a number of articles based on presentations made by some of the authors at the New Zealand Tertiary College – The Power of Play symposium held on 8 March 2019. The articles cover the broad spectrum of play based learning in the early childhood sector and reflect practical and theoretical perspectives of play based learning from practitioners and academics.