Category: Play

Embrace your inner Maui and be creative, active and innovative with the Summer Whānau Challenge!

The Summer Whānau Challenge is an initiative to give children the space, time, and freedom to play this summer.

After a challenging year, it’s vital tamariki and whānau have friendship, fun and freedom this summer. Whiti Ora and Healthy Families East Cape have collaborated with other Regional Sports Trusts around Aotearoa and come up with the Summer Whānau Challenge. It’s 30 simple play ideas for tamariki and their whānau to get outside, have fun and improve hinengaro (mental health) and tinana (physical health).

The Summer Play Challenge ideas have been collated into a scoreboard to tick off over the summer. Designed to be printed out, displayed on the fridge, or somewhere around the home and used as a reminder for whānau to go outside daily and play together.

Play allows our tamariki and rangatahi the space to practice, learn, and develop the life skills they need to be active for life including fundamental movement skills, self-directed creativity and innovation, social and emotional connections, resilience, independence, leadership and informed risk taking.

“Tamariki are experts in play and can play almost anywhere and with anything when they are given the freedom and permission to do so” said Regional Play Systems Lead Anna Tolich. “Everyone has a role in making play possible and every setting counts: the backyard, parks, beach, playgrounds, public space and more.”

So, this summer say Yes to Play and take the Summer Whānau Challenge.

 

Ko te ahurei o te tamaiti arahia ō tātou māhi – Let the uniqueness of the child guide our work.

Whiti Ora have been collaborating with Sport New Zealand, Healthy Families East Cape and Innovation Unit to explore, with the community, why play is becoming an increasing priority across Aotearoa.

Play in Tairāwhiti is similar to that experienced across Aotearoa but we have some differences and influences that are unique to our region.

• We have three unique play catchments in the region- town, rural and coastal that each offer different play opportunities and experiences.
• Play in Tairāwhiti has historically centered around survival especially gathering kai and this continues today especially hunting, fishing, eeling, shellfish harvesting and gardening.
• Play ‘back in the day was outdoors’, in nature, about taking risks with little adult supervision. Play today is more structured, influenced by technology, more supervised and with less time for families to play together.
• Our play is strongly centered around our communities’ strong connections to te taiao and Te Ao Māori with easy access to low-cost nature play, play through mahi and a strong sense of local pride.
• Looking forward the community hope that play in Tairāwhiti will be child-led, nature based, freely available, for the whole whānau, balanced between safety and risk, part of holistic wellbeing and embedded in Tairāwhiti Te Ao Māori.

You can view the Power of Play Report here.

We would like to thank the stakeholders, whānau and tamariki who shared their play memories with us and helped shape this mahi.

Say Yes to Play! 

Play Week for 2021 kicks off on Monday 15 November through till Sunday 21 November. 

The nationwide initiative is led by Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa and regionally implemented by Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti and Healthy Families East Cape. It aims to encourage whānau, rangatahi and tamariki to Say Yes to Play! 

Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti Regional Play Systems Lead Anna Tolich said “Play is the easiest way for our tamariki and their whānau to stay active. Play is a fun, unstructured and sometimes a messy way for our tamariki to develop the essential life skills they need such as problem solving, movement skills, creativity, social and emotional connections, resilience, independence, leadership and informed risk taking”  

There is no rulebook for Play. Play looks, feels and sounds different to everyone. It doesn’t need to be formal, structured or cost money. It is as easy as going outside and exploring your own backyard. 

“If we think back to our childhood memories, play was spontaneous, child led and directed, freely chosen with no pre-determined outcome, fun, accessible, challenging, social and repeatable. It was   usually based outdoors in nature, highly active with elements of challenge and risk that tested boundaries in an imaginative way. Share your play memories and old school games with your tamariki and inspire the next generation to Play everyday.” Said Tolich. 

To celebrate play, Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti and Healthy Families East Cape will be running themed play challenges throughout the week. Challenges range from dress ups, sand sculpting, fort building, chalk play and more.   

2021 has been a tough year for many, take some time out during Play Week to help you connect with tamariki, and improve your hinengaro (mental health) and tinana (physical health). 

To go in the draw to win a Hart Sport NZ voucher for your favourite school or kura, head over to the Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti Facebook page for the daily challenges and show your whānau, colleagues, or school and kura Saying Yes to Play!