Te Rito Toi

Te Rito Toi provides research informed practical classroom activities and lesson plans to help children better understand their changed world and to begin to see themselves as being part of the promise of new and better futures.

Te Rito Toi seeks to fill the return to school with the joy, possibility and the beauty of the arts to re-engage students with the wonder of learning. Te Rito Toi is based on understanding that the arts are uniquely placed to lead a return to productive learning when schools reopen.

At the heart of Te Rito Toi is the understanding that schools must not just prepare students for the future but also help them make sense of the present. The arts are a bridge to a better future.

Te Rito Toi builds on research about schools operating post-disaster, including Christchurch post-earthquake and post-terror attack, using the arts to manage the stories, questions and issues children bring to the classroom after trauma or crisis.

In 2023, with the support of a National Commission grant, work began on developing an Early Childhood edition of Te Rito Toi.

An extensive research phase identified a global lack of arts-based resources to support children’s well-being post-crisis, in particular for early childhood learning.

The project is underpinned by a trauma-informed and holistic well-being approach while aligning with the Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood curriculum, Te Whariki.

The resource was designed by a collaboration of 20 early childhood educators, school leaders, teaching artists, academics, librarians, and well-being experts. Three design workshops were held which resulted in the co-development of eleven art and play-based learning experience activities.

Five of the activities were piloted in childhood environments in Napier, Auckland, and Maui (Hawaii, USA). The pilot received positive feedback and enabled the revision of activities to strengthen their impact and delivery.