Respond

Provide a secure base and encourage mokopuna to explore their environment and interact with others.

Create and discuss connections with children’s experiences at home and in the community, e.g. consider language and resources (photos, books etc.) that reflect people, places and things that are familiar to particular children.

Review daily routines to ensure sustained and unhurried time for all mokopuna to engage with adults and peers in enjoyable ways.

Notice and mirror expressions, body language or actions, that indicate feelings or forms of communication. Respond in ways that show you are listening and that you understand.

Pair actions, facial expressions and words with signs or symbols that represent those expressions (e.g., discussing images of emotions in picture books).

Narrate basic elements of a social interaction or event.

Engage in simple playful activities with children, including turn taking activities like rolling a ball back and forth.

Support mokopuna to tune into others play around them including describing what they are doing

Provide enough open-ended materials so that children can play alongside peers in a shared experience.

Be nearby to offer a secure base as mokopuna observe and explore.

Focus on small group experiences, rather than large groups of 10 or more children.

If large group experiences such as a teacher-led mat time are offered, ensure: the experience is short enough that children can remain engaged, children have access to a familiar person, the space can support the number of people comfortably, children have choices and can participate and engage in a variety of ways.

Engage in enjoyable back-and-forth interactions with mokopuna.

Use both verbal and non-verbal signals to help children anticipate their turn (e.g., ready, steady, go).

Sing songs in ways that allow children’s varied level of participation (e.g., incorporating hand actions and facial expressions) so that mokopuna can participate in multiple ways.

Put in place strategies that enable all mokopuna to develop connections with at least one member of the teaching team so that they feel secure and supported.

Acknowledge and respond to children’s feelings by matching their emotional expressions and naming and affirming how they seem to be feeling.

Support children to understand social problems in the moment. Offer and discuss a safe and appropriate solution and describe the outcome.

Point out children’s movements around each other (e.g., “Look, Maia is coming over, I wonder what she will choose?”).

Notice children’s gestures and body language that signal their interest (e.g., “I can see you are interested in that ball. Let’s move it a little closer so you can reach out for it”).

Be attuned to children’s non-verbal cues about their need for quiet time and support them to have time away from busy group play if they seem to need it.

Ensure that mokopuna have opportunities to observe and interact with a range of peers.

Support children in their roles of either tuakana or teina, such as by working with or alongside them to show them how to help each other in appropriate ways.

Create meaningful opportunities for mokopuna to help each other during routines, beginning with very simple actions such passing a cup or plate during kai time.

Provide a balance between familiar and new experiences and support mokopuna during new experiences.

Listen to children and ask questions when they talk about or want to share something from home or their life outside the setting.

When mokopuna are testing limits and boundaries, ensure kaiako responses allow them to feel emotionally safe and supported while they learn what is acceptable behaviour in the setting.

Support mokopuna to respond appropriately to social cues by noticing and modelling a response (e.g., “Look! Ali is watching us … Ali, do you want to play?”).

Use playfulness, tone of voice and exaggeration to help children notice and understand the social cues you model.

Use resources such as photos or books to notice and discuss social cues and expectations.

Support mokopuna to engage in a range of different types of play.

Support children’s participation in and contributions to play by being nearby, modelling, prompting, or providing feedback (e.g., “You joined in the dancing game. What fun!”).

Support mokopuna to approach a peer or enter a small group by joining them and showing them what to do. For example, model an interaction such as smiling, gesturing, passing a toy, or suggest words such as “Can I play?” or “Play?”.

Focus on small group experiences, possibly increasing the group size over time.

Set up materials and contexts that encourage small group play, with consideration for what will help mokopuna to play successfully in a group, for example enough space and enough resources.

Introduce games with simple rules and support mokopuna to participate. Explain the rules before the game begins or when new children join.

Support children to use cooperative toys or engage in games where more than one player is needed.

Discuss and describe the agreed rules and expectations within the games and cooperative play (e.g., In this game we need to watch each other and wait for our turn).

Role-model positive responses to children who have come to join play.

Acknowledge children’s feelings and respond in ways that support them to develop awareness of others, by talking with all children involved and discussing their feelings and views. Affirm that it is OK to feel the way they do.

Role model gentle, kind, respectful and calm communication with mokopuna on both sides of a conflict. Stay with them after a social problem has been resolved if they need support to re-engage.

Tune into and comment on children’s behaviours and nonverbal cues that signal their interest and awareness of others (e.g., “I see that you’ve been watching Maia climb the ladder. Shall we join her since you like to climb too?”).

Show your interest in children’s play preferences by commenting, asking questions or making wondering statements about their play themes and purposes.

Support mokopuna to understand each other’s preferences in a kind and respectful way (e.g., “I can see you want to play with Ari, but he wants to be alone right now, we will give him space”).

Ensure that mokopuna have opportunities to observe and interact with a range of peers who may need their support.

Support mokopuna in their roles of either tuakana or teina, such as by working with or alongside them and comment on strategies they use to give and receive help.

Support children to refuse help sometimes if they don’t seem to want it in that moment, modelling appropriate language such as “No thanks,” or “I want to do it myself".

Partner with children to plan for and try new experiences, building on their interests and providing support as needed.

Support mokopuna to connect with each other by sharing and exploring experiences and places they have in common outside the setting. For example, White Sunday celebrations or helping with gardening at home.

Respond to children’s questions, assist them to articulate and extend their ideas and thinking, support increasingly complex language and vocabulary, and engage in sustained shared thinking with children.

Provide feedback to mokopuna when they respond appropriately to social cues (e.g., “You noticed Ali was watching us and that she maybe wanted to play too, and that was nice of you to ask her to join us”).

Use puppets, books, or social stories to highlight aspects of interactions and social cues and discuss what might be happening for different characters.

Discuss with mokopuna situations where expectations might differ because of the context (e.g., “We need to be quiet here in the library because other people are reading”).

Support mokopuna to engage in an increasing range of play types, including ones that children might not typically select, to expand their potential interests, preferences and experiences.

Describe and discuss the skills that mokopuna use in their play (e.g., “That took teamwork with one of you holding the tower still, while the other added more blocks to the top”).

Allow space and time for mokopuna to problem-solve through tensions and disagreements and be available to offer support when needed to help sustain the play.

Invite mokopuna to join peers and group experiences. Discuss with them skills they use when they play with and support each other.

Provide a variety of peer and small group experiences, including structured and unstructured group experiences, group games, activities and play areas designed for social play.

Increase group size and use large group experiences for different purposes. For example, organise an all-group sports game, hui or morning meeting, or a shared kai.

Increase the range of games, offering games with more complex rules while also providing games with simple rules that are easy for mokopuna to follow.

Offer activities in which mokopuna need to work together to complete the task.

Have conversations with mokopuna about the play within their games and cooperative activities (e.g. “What are we playing?” or “What do I need to do to play here?”)

Provide opportunities to discuss social problems and social problem-solving strategies with mokopuna within day-to-day experiences.

Support mokopuna to communicate and work together to solve social problems, such as by seeking the views of all those involved; modelling or prompting to help children share their ideas, feelings or questions; and supporting children to listen to each other.

Be ready to offer support in times of peer conflict and after problems are resolved, but also allow mokopuna space and time to work social problems through independently or with minimal support, when they can. Comment on children’s constructive behaviours and use of social problem-solving strategies.

Acknowledge children’s play choices, validate their preferences and encourage their plans (e.g., “You really want to play with Niko and make a castle, how about asking Niko if he wants to make a castle with you?”).

Role-model and provide opportunities for mokopuna to explore and communicate their play preferences in a kind and respectful way.

Carefully observe what is particularly engaging groups of children in the environment and offer more materials and equipment that extend the learning opportunities. For example, if a group of children are spending a lot of time playing with the blocks together, consider adding further open-ended resources to enrich the area and extend collaborative play.

Acknowledge mokopuna as a tuakana or teina in different social interactions and in different ways, demonstrating that you value both roles and that everyone takes turns to be learners or teachers over time.

Support a tuakana to think about their role (e.g., ask a tuakana about their responsibilities and how they respond to the needs of a teina). Support a teina to think about their role (e.g., ask teina about how they express their needs or ask questions).

Invite mokopuna to share special interests and strengths with their peers.

Ask children about what helps them feel they can take risks and try new things, and provide that support as needed.

Invite mokopuna to lead curriculum experiences that draw on local knowledges and practices (e.g., re-telling stories of local landmarks and people).

Create diverse opportunities for mokopuna to be heard and to feel valued in the group. For example, one child may be more likely to share their local knowledge and practices in a small group discussion, whereas another child may want to stand up to share with the whole group.

Discuss and ask mokopuna about what is expected in different situations and contexts based on the contextual or cultural norms. Let mokopuna know that it is okay not to know what is expected in all social situations and support them to develop respectful ways to ask when they are not sure.

Use creative experiences such as games, dance, books or dramatic play, as opportunities to foster children’s increasingly complex thinking about expression, body language and social cues.

Discuss with mokopuna respectful ways to communicate their personal preferences and boundaries in different social situations (e.g., they may prefer not to shake hands but be happy to wave hello).

Discuss with mokopuna their play preferences, including what they like and enjoy, and collaborate with children to plan new and exciting play experiences.

Use resources, experiences and documentation to help mokopuna think reflectively about play, including exploring ideas, reminiscing or revising their working theories.

Discuss with mokopuna their play with peers including what they did together that was fun or exciting.

Support mokopuna to invite other children to play or to join group experiences. Support children to both lead a group experience as well as be able to follow when someone else is leading.

Support mokopuna to reflect on and reminisce about their interactions with others, including group experiences.

Invite and/or collaborate with children to plan small and large group experiences, asking for their ideas about the rules and expectations that should be followed. Discuss aspects such as equipment and materials needed to allow a number of children to successfully join in.

Invite mokopuna to explain to others the rules of a game that is being played.

Partner with and support children to develop new games and help them to explain the rules and expectations before play.

Support co-operative play by providing and encouraging experiences that work better when done co-operatively.

Invite children to talk about the social problem-solving steps they use, such as: take a deep breath and count to 10; work with others to identify the problem, think of solutions; and try out solutions.

Acknowledge when mokopuna use successful problem-solving strategies and when children solve social problems together providing descriptive feedback that highlights what children did well.

Role model empathy and talk to children about having empathy for someone even if they disagree with them.

Support children to make and carry out their plans about what they will do in their play and talk with them about their ideas and preferences.

Support mokopuna to collaborate on plans for play and facilitate gathering further resources or rearranging equipment to carry out shared plans and ideas.

Partner with and support children to decide on respectful, kind language they can use to communicate their aspirations for social interactions and preferences for play materials or areas.

Set up contexts in the environment for individual play, and support children to make the choice to play alone sometimes.

Establish regular and consistent routines and expectations in which mokopuna can engage in tuakana-teina interactions.

Support children to reflect on their roles and responsibilities as tuakana or teina in different social interactions.

Invite mokopuna to teach their peers skills and knowledge related to special interests and passions.