When selecting equipment for children, it is essential to consider the 3 broad age groups (as described in Te Whāriki):

• Infants – birth to 18 months.
• Toddlers – 1 to 3 years.
• Young children – from 2 years 6 months to school entry age.

Safety, size and durability are key issues to consider when choosing material, equipment and resources to purchase or enable children to access. Ask the following questions:

• How long will it last with daily use?
• Is it non-toxic? What type of paint has been used to colour it?
• Does it have rounded edges to prevent cuts and so on?
• Is it safe for babies? Could a baby swallow it?
• Is the size appropriate for a child's hand or foot and so on?
• Is it easily cleaned?

The following lists provide some ideas of equipment that services may include in their 'resources library'. This enables educators to have access to extra equipment to extend children's thinking and learning. Diversity in equipment is encouraged and these lists can be adapted and extended to accommodate an individual focus or philosophy. Many other items of equipment could be added to the lists.

Suggested equipment for children who are over 2 years old

This is a suggested list which is by no means exhaustive. Your resources and equipment will grow according to the interests and passions of your children and community.

Books and storytelling

Furniture

• Display units should be low so that children can see and select their own books. Shelves could be sloping with a lip to allow books to stand up.
• Provide cushions and/or a soft sofa.

Equipment

A selection of at least 30–50 books, including:

• traditional stories
• New Zealand stories
• cultural stories
• nursery rhymes
• poetry and songs
• make-believe
• stories of people in real life situations
• gender roles, such as boys caring or girls having adventures
• large books for shared group stories.

Props for storytelling including:

• puppets
• magnetic stories and boards
• story CDs.

Manipulative

Furniture

• A suitable display unit for puzzles or similar, preferably with sloping shelves with a lip so that children can see the puzzles and choose them.
• Cardboard puzzles won’t last long, they cannot be cleaned effectively and should not be considered permanent equipment. Puzzles should reflect biculturalism and gender equity and be of varying degrees of difficulty.

Equipment

Equipment should include a range of resources, including:

• knob puzzles
• picture puzzles
• shapes
• geometrics
• posting box
• threading
• peg boards
• 3-dimensional
• maths games, including natural materials such as shells and stones.

Creativity

Furniture

• Large table and seating.
• Storage unit.

Equipment

A wide range of resources that could be used for creating should be provided. This is likely to include:

• glue pots
• glue brushes of assorted sizes
• variety of glue – PVA, Polycell
• children's scissors
• left-handed scissors
• adult scissors
• staplers, large roll of sticky tape/masking tape and dispenser ball of string
• felt pens
• crayons
• pastels
• children's thick pencils
• rulers
• non-toxic colouring in a range of colours
• glitter and containers
• hole-punch
• collage materials: material scraps and natural materials (leaves and seeds).

Painting

Equipment

• Easels.
• Aprons.
• Non-spill paint pots.
• Assorted paint brushes.
• Different coloured non-toxic paint.
• Paint palette.
• Rollers.
• Drying rack.
• Newsprint/large and small sheets of paper.

Music

Furniture

• Storage unit – consider shelves, hooks, baskets or boxes.

Equipment

Sound can be made from almost anything. Consider the use of natural materials in this area too, for example, stones to bang together.

• CD player/stereo.
• Variety of CDs/music albums, for example children’s, Māori, classical, contemporary.
• Music and song books.
• Variety of musical instruments.
• Coloured scarves and ribbons.
• Sandpaper blocks.
• Poi.
• Tititorea | sticks.

Dramatic play

Furniture

• Unit for storing dress-up clothes.
• Stove.
• Child size bed/suitable sleeping unit.
• Room dividers/screens.
• Sink unit.
• Small table with 2 chairs.
• Mirror.

Equipment

Props to allow the dramatic play area to become a shop, a garage, a wharenui or any other environment the children are interested in exploring.

• Children’s dress-ups covering both genders, like:
  • occupational
  • animal
  • cultural
  • fantasy.
• Tea set and pots and pans.
• Cooking utensils – for example, a variety of spoons, bowls, whisks, chopsticks.
• Dolls – male, female, ethnic.
• Dolls' clothes.
• Dolls' pram or stroller.
• Dolls' bed.
• Telephone.
• Iron and ironing board.
• Clothesline.
• Bed linen.
• Variety of medical play equipment.

Dough

Interesting designs can be made in dough using everyday items like cotton reels and corrugated cardboard.

Furniture

• 1 table and seating.
• Stove.

Equipment

• Cutters.
• Rolling pins.
• Pounders.
• Knives and forks.
• Garlic crushers.
• A variety of cooking equipment – for example, pots, pans, patty pans and so on.

Clay

Equipment

• Hessian or canvas.
• Nylon string for cutting clay.
• Water container.
• Sponges.
• A variety of clay tools.
• A variety of natural materials.

Blocks

Furniture

• Large storage unit.
• Large carpet square or carpet.

Equipment

• Full set of multiple blocks.
• A variety of small, coloured blocks.
• Set of interlocking blocks.
• Plastic or wooden vehicles.
• People.
• Vehicle station.
• Animal set.
• Large truck.

Extra items like dolls and blankets added to this area can change the play in many ways.

Carpentry

Furniture

• 1 large carpentry table
• Storage trolley or containers

Note: An adult should always supervise this equipment.

A range of real equipment including:

• Screwdrivers.
• Hammers.
• Vice.
• G clamps.
• Children's sized saws.
• Pliers.
• Carpentry pencil.
• Tape measure.
• Containers for PVA and brushes.
• Hand drill.
• A variety of soft wood (untreated timber).
• A variety of nails - flat top are best.
• A variety of collage equipment – for example, leather, sheepskin, bottle tops, string and sandpaper.
• A variety of screws.

Nature and science/exploratory

Furniture

• Display table.
• Storage unit.

Equipment

• Reference books.
• Magnifying glasses.
• Insect viewers.
• Assorted magnets (for example bars, u-shaped, strips).
• Range of items to use with magnets.
• Mirror (non-breakable).
• Scales.
• Plants.
• Variety of living things (fish/animal/insect/bird).
• Variety of natural materials | Papatūānuku, for example shells, seeds.
• Variety of gardening equipment (including spades, trowels, potting mix, plant pots and so on).

Sand area

• Large well-drained sand area.
• Shade provided.
• Water available.

Equipment

Equipment sufficient for the number of children attending.

• Spades (graded sizes).
• Buckets.
• Scoops.
• Rakes.
• Set of scales.
• Sieves.
• Sand shapes.
• Sand digger.
• Vehicles.
• Polythene.
• Variety of natural materials.

For more information, check out the section on constructing a sand area.

Constructing a sand area

Water play

Equipment

• Large water trough and other smaller containers for different activities.
• Pouring items – for example, buckets, jugs, bottles, and watering cans.
• Water wheels.
• Hoses – various sizes and lengths.
• Funnels.
• Aprons.
• Water pump.
• A variety of pipes and plastic guttering.
• A variety of items for floating and sinking.

Active play

Provided by either a fixed item of equipment or moveable equipment such as ladders, planks, tyres, cable reels, swings, and slides. Moveable equipment provides greater flexibility and offers greater opportunity for children to be independent and creative. It must have safety surfacing underneath if it’s over 600 mm in height.

Equipment

• Ladders.
• Planks.
• Wooden boxes, variety of sizes and heights.
• Tyres (not steel belted).
• Balls.
• Hessian – large sheets.
• Ropes – several.
• Wheeled vehicles – for example, trikes, trolleys, ride-ons, large trucks, wheelbarrow and so on.
• Hula hoops.

Adult education

• Range of parenting books.
• Activity idea books.
• Health information.
• Māori dictionary.
• Notice board.

Information and communication technologies

• Digital camera.
• Video camera.
• Computers: laptop, desktop, software.

Suggested equipment for children who are under 2 years old

This is a suggested list which is by no means exhaustive. Your resources and equipment will grow according to the interests and passions of your children and community.

Furniture

• One 2-seater soft-sided couch.
• Depending on the number of infants in the centre you may need to consider providing more seating for adults to use when breast or bottle feeding.

Equipment

• Tri-pillow.
• Crawling mat/squabs and cushions.
• Platforms, ramps and risers.
• Rattles.
• Sets of stacking toys.
• Activity sets.
• Push- and pull-along toys.
• Interactive/open-ended items and objects that can be put together, taken apart and safely explored in the mouth.

Avoid providing only 1 type of material (for example, plastic). Provide a large variety of weights, sizes, shapes and textures. Everyday objects can be used.

Note: If the under 2-year-olds are in a separate area, the equipment and resources below could also be included.

Books and storytelling

Furniture

• Display unit, as in the over 2 list.
• Soft sofa or cushions.

Equipment

Books that cover the list below and are suitable for the age group:

• Hard covered.
• Traditional stories.
• New Zealand stories.
• Cultural stories.
• Nursery rhymes.
• Poetry and songs.
• Make-believe.
• Stories of people in real life situations.
• Puppets.

Manipulative

Furniture

• As described in the over 2 list.

Equipment

• Knob puzzles.
• Easier puzzles: 2 to 8 pieces.
• Manipulative equipment – for example, posting box, pegboards, and stacking equipment.

Collage

Furniture

• As in the over 2 list

Equipment

• Glue pots and brushes.
• Children's scissors suitable for the age group.
• Adult scissors.
• Large roll of sticky tape/masking tape and dispenser.
• Crayons.
• Non-toxic colouring, range of colours.
• Glitter and containers.
• A variety of paper.
• A variety of junk and natural materials.

Painting

Equipment

• Easels: double-sided.
• Aprons.
• Non-spill paint pots.
• Assorted paint brushes.
• Different coloured non-toxic paints.
• Rollers.
• Drying rack.
• Large roll of newsprint/paper in a variety of sizes.

Music

Storage

• Music instrument stand/storage unit.

Equipment

• CD player/stereo.
• Music and song books.
• Range of instruments.
• Coloured ribbons and scarves.
• Sound toys.

Dramatic play

Furniture

• As in the over 2 list, except for room dividers.

Equipment

• Children's dress-ups suitable for age range.
• Tea set.
• Pots and pans.
• Dolls – male, female and ethnic.
• Dolls' clothes.
• Dolls' pram and stroller.
• Telephone.
• Full length unbreakable mirror.

Dough

Furniture

• 1 table with at least 4 chairs.
• Stove.

Equipment

• Dough cutters.
• Rolling pins.
• Pounders.
• Plastic knives and forks.
• Garlic crushers.
• A variety of cooking equipment, for example pots, pans, patty pans and so on.

Blocks

Furniture

• As in the over 2 list.

Equipment

• Multiple blocks.
• A variety of small, coloured blocks.
• A variety of interlocking blocks.
• Plastic or wooden vehicles.
• Vehicle station.
• People.
• Animal sets.

Nature and science/exploratory

Furniture

• As in the over 2 list.

Equipment

• Environment for animals, fish, insects, birds.
• Tactile display, for example items to smell, touch, see.
• Insect-viewing glasses.
• A variety of natural materials | Papatūānuku – for example, shells, seeds.
• Plants.

Sand area

• Large well-drained sand area.
• Shade provided.

Equipment

• Spades.
• Buckets.
• Scoops.
• Rakes.
• Sieves.
• Vehicles.
• Variety of natural materials.

For more information, check out the section on constructing a sand area.

Constructing a sand area

Water play

• 1 water trough or paddling pool.
• Supervised water available.

Equipment

• Pouring items – for example, buckets and jugs, bottles and watering cans.
• Water wheels.
• Water pump.
• Hoses – various sizes and lengths.
• Funnels.
• Aprons.
• A variety of items for floating and sinking.

Active play

• Can be provided by either a fixed item of equipment or as movable equipment, such as a slide, planks, ladders, tyres.
• Must have safety surfacing underneath.

Equipment

• Balls.
• Wheeled vehicles, for example, trikes, trolleys, ride-ons, push-alongs, wheelbarrow.
• Various sized planks and ladders.
• Various small boxes, variety of sizes and heights.
• Swings.

Information and communication technologies

Equipment

• Digital camera.
• Video camera.
• Digital microscope.
• Computers: laptop, desktop, software, Skype.

Adult education

Equipment

• Range of parenting books.
• Activity idea books.
• Health information.
• Māori dictionary.
• Notice board.