This activity helps baby expand their vocabulary. Baby will have noticed whānau pointing to and naming things and people — both in books and in the real world. Before too long, baby will begin to point too, wanting whānau to give names to things.
When baby points and looks at their whānau to hear their response, baby is learning about conversations, how people take turns when they’re talking together.
How to do it
Point to what baby seems to be looking at and name it for them — follow their interest.
If you notice things that are interesting, point to them and tell baby what they see.
Baby probably already enjoys repetition, and soon this ‘pointing and naming’ will become a game.
When you think baby is ready, try using a couple of extra descriptive words when baby points — for example, ‘Ball. It’s a red ball!’ (This is known as ‘stretch talk’.)
This is a simple way of playing together and baby learns a lot — they have their own ‘personal advisor’ on the world.
Using more te reo Māori
Te reo Māori
English
Kōrerorero
kōrerorero
To talk, discuss, converse, chatMaori | Verb
Discuss, chat
Aro
aro
To face, turn towards, take heed, take notice of, pay attention to, considerMaori | Verb
Notice, pay attention to
Tapanga
tapanga
NamingMaori | Noun
Naming, label
Whakahahakitia
whakahahakitia
To point out, indicate, draw attention toMaori | Verb
Point out, draw attention to
He aha tērā?
What's that? (over there)
He ........... tērā
That's a ........ (over there)
He aha tēnā I te taha ia koe?
What’s that by you?
He ........... tēnā?
That (near me) is a ......
He aha tēnei?
What is this?
He ........... tēnā
That (near you) is a ......
Paoro
paoro
BallMaori | Noun
Ball
Pukapuka
pukapuka
BookMaori | Noun
Book
Teti pea
teti pea
Teddy bear - a soft toyMaori | Noun
Kupuāhua
kupuāhua
Adjective - a word that describes a person or thing or gives extra information about them. In Māori these words often come after he or after a noun, in which case they are called modifiers in this dictionary. They are often words that can also be used as nouns or verbs in other contextsMaori | Noun