Play time is important! Find time this week to play with your friends and whānau.

Play Week Aotearoa 2026 celebrates the many ways whānau play, including tākaro Māori, inspiring tamariki, whānau and communities to be active, have fun and connect with their people and place. This year's theme is "whānau play where whānau are". Play is how our tamariki build a life-long love of being active, make sense of the world around them, get creative, build friendships, and learn skills.

Looking for ideas? Check out this Waimakariri Play Week Challenge Sheet or the scavenger hunts on the council website for inspiration.

Ways to play at Waimakariri Libraries:

• Join us for LEGO Club on Tuesdays from 3.30-4.30pm
• Take out one of the board games from our board game collection
• Make a creation in our Tinker Zone
• Colour in a picture at our colouring -in stations
• Learn how to knit, sew, paint and more with our eLibrary resource Creativebug
• Learn a new skill on LinkedIn Learning
• Play educational games and activities on our new eLibrary resource Busy Things
• Play OSMO games on our iPads
• Take a walk around one of our StoryWalk locations
• Ask for this month's Take and Make Craft Pack. Be quick! There's a limited supply.
• Join this term's Dungeons and Dragons campaign at a Kaiapoi Library

Check out more ways to play in Waimakariri via the council website