Sixty Years of Making a Difference
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation is celebrating its diamond jubilee in 2008 - and doing its bit to ensure that
generations more children can enjoy our natural environment for the next 60 years.
As well as being the 60th anniversary of the Playcentre Federation, 2008 is the International Year of Planet Earth.
Playcentre is focusing on how young children and their families can help preserve the planet.
Local centres are being encouraged to plan activities like composting food waste and collecting rubbish from beaches,
while explaining to the children why we need to care for our environment.
The Playcentre focus in on Small steps to effect change - the small steps that individuals, and even young children, can
make, add up to a lot of benefit for the planet when all put together. In a supportive community, children learn how
their actions make a difference in protecting the earth we share, and parents can learn ideas they can implement in
their homes and centres to become a bit more sustainable.
"Hopefully some of these ideas, like recycling and composting, with become a habit for both the children and their
parents," said Federation President, Marion Pilkington.
"Today parenting is at least as important a skill as it was 60 years ago. But it is one that is often undervalued in
society and parents get little training for it."
However, one organisation - Playcentre - stands for the value of drawing parents into communities to develop and learn
from one another. Playcentre believes in families learning and playing together.
In 2007 Playcentre had over 15,000 enrolled children aged under 5 years in nearly 500 centres nationwide. Playcentre
Education, a branch of the Federation, provided free early childhood education courses to over 4000 parents through its
NZQA approved Diploma.
ENDS
Background Information:
What is Playcentre?
Playcentre runs half-day early education sessions for mixed-age groups of children from birth to school age. Playcentre
is a uniquely New Zealand phenomenon and is run by families for families, with most teaching and management roles
provided by trained, volunteer parents.
Playcentre originated more than 60 years ago when a group of mothers gathered in Karori to create a space where they
could supporting one another as parents, provide a space for play for their children and learn new skills. Their ideas
quickly spread to communities around the country.
Play activities include a wide range of outdoor and indoor activities including: playdough, jigsaw puzzles, carpentry
tables with real tools, sandpits and climbing equipment, books, musical instruments, dancing and dress-ups.
Parent teams guide and talk with small groups of children, and join in their play, helping them make the most of the
learning opportunities.
Through learning in a supportive play environment, children develop the curiosity and courage to try new things and the
motivation to extend themselves.
Every Playcentre parent is offered free training that will give them the skills and confidence for working with
children. This training is includes ideas on play, how to deal with challenging child behaviour, and understanding how
children learn.
Courses also cover group skills, cultural issues, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) and basic Maori
language.
Parents also provide each other with valuable role models of different skills while working alongside each other on
session. Parents report they feel more confident in their abilities and able to make an on-going contribution to their
children's learning into their school years.
For more information on Playcentre visit www.playcentre.org.nz
What is Playcentre Awareness Week?
Every two years Playcentre runs a Playcentre Awareness campaign with a national week in March. In 2008, Playcentre
Awareness Week runs from 14-20 March.
The aim of this week is to raise the national profile of Playcentre, providing an opportunity for parents to make an
informed choice about early childhood education. It also provides an opportunity for individual Playcentres to raise
funds and have fun.
In 2008 the overlying theme of Playcentre Awareness Week is promoting environmental awareness, both in the Playcentres
and in our homes. The theme is "Small steps to effect change."
The Playcentre Federation will be running a national poster and handout campaign during Playcentre Awareness Week. Some
media advertising will also be coordinated nationally.
Centres are encouraged to think of things like their gardens (things edible to either people or native wildlife),
composts, worm farms, touch, feel and smell gardens, making use of the recycling systems provided by local government.
Other ideas include exploring recycling and creating renewable resources, for example paper.
Centres are also encouraged to be out in their communities, for example, taking time out to do beach/park/public space
clean ups, and even encouraging the public to join in. In all these activities, parents talk to the children about how
if everyone takes some small steps to care for the environment, it really will lead to change.
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