Why do it?

  • 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

Kōrerorerohia Discuss, chat
Arohia Paying attention to, interested in
Tapanga Naming, label
Whakahahakitia Point out, draw attention to
He aha tērā What's that? (over there)
He ........... tērā That's a ........ (over there)
He aha tēnā? What's that? (near you)
He ........... tēnā? That (near me) is a ......
He aha tēnei? What's this? (near me)
He ........... tēnā That (near you) is a ......
Paoro, pōro Ball
Pukapuka Book
Teti pea Teddy bear
Tepū Table
Tūru Chair
Moenga Bed
Panana Banana
Āporo Apple
Kaitohutohu Advisor, instructor
Kupuāhua Adjective, describing word