Expert teaches Hong Kong families how to play meaningfully with children
Catalina Parentini designs custom-made plans for children as young as 6 months old to learn through play. Many parents and carers don’t know how to stimulate young kids, says the educator
Early childhood educator Catalina Parentini is a great believer in the idea that children learn by doing. “Even through daily tasks, we can introduce the whole world to kids,” she says. “We can teach them everything from maths and science to language, the arts and history.”
This conviction led Parentini to set up a novel education service shortly after she came to Hong Kong one year ago. The Chilean-Italian calls it We Play At Home to reflect the type of learning she aims to facilitate.
For a fee, parents receive a personalised weekly “planner” that sets out creative activities that parents or their helpers can undertake with children every day.
Programmes are based on the Reggio Emilia approach, in which parents and teachers are partners with the child in the learning process and make use of recycled or everyday materials found in the home to guide youngsters in exploring their environment.
These learning schedules help parents and caregivers to structure home-based learning for children from six months to three years of age.
