Empowering families with engaging learning resources to support early childhood development at home.
The challenge
Babies, toddlers, and young children thrive through play, and family interactions play a crucial role in early brain development. While family members are a child’s first and most impactful teachers, not all families have access to resources that can guide them in fostering learning through play at home. They may lack time, resources, or expertise to find engaging materials that suit their child’s needs.
The Ministry of Education wanted to provide families of early childhood-aged children with practical, supportive, and culturally inclusive resources that could be seamlessly integrated into daily life.
How can families be empowered to make everyday moments with young children rich with learning and joy?
The solution
To meet this need, we created a series of short, story-based animations in both English and te reo Māori, specifically designed for whānau (families) with young children. These animations, each lasting around two minutes, present simple, effective examples of how families can interact with their tamariki (children) in ways that promote oral language development, social and emotional growth, and mathematics and literacy learning.
The early series of the project also featured versions in gagana Sāmoa and lea faka-Tonga to reach a broader community of New Zealand families. We supported the Ministry by providing:
• Script guidance, translation of scripts into te reo Māori, and closed-captions for enhanced accessibility and engagement
• Voice acting from a diverse range of voice actors
• Illustrations that resonate with New Zealand families
