Playtime Hometime is jointly produced by Sydney mothers, Sarah Smith and Claire Gordon. Both ladies each have 2 Pre-school aged children and Sarah is a UK qualified childcare professional.

The idea for the book arose when Claire's own daughter, Eliza, started childcare for the first time aged 2 and a half. She had not been in anyone else's care - other than a family member, before. Claire sketched a one page story board to help Eliza understand how this new day would unfold.

The storyboard outlined what would happen between Claire dropping Eliza off and picking her up. They were able to talk through the different scenarios of the day and Claire could ask questions of her by pointing to the pictures i.e. Q: "What's happening here?" A: "Mummy picks me up".

The storyboard helped them both! While all children will settle into childcare at an individual pace, Claire felt more at ease, having seen a degree of understanding from Eliza, about how her day would pan out. That parents feel comfortable and confident with leaving their child in care, can only be a reassuring influence on the child.

Format & Content

Playtime Hometime is a board book, 20cm x 15cm and 14 pages long. Each page is bought to life with photography to help children better relate to each scenario. Bright colours and shapes are used in the background to further engage children's interest and assist in their learning.

The book starts with "today is kindy day" and then proceeds to walk children through the day ahead, building confidence by helping them to understand the sequence of events that will lead to them returning home again. Through the morning routine at home, until when they are picked up later the same day and the various stages of this new experience in between - play time, lunch time, rest time, home time!

5% of the wholesale price goes to Children's Hospital Foundations Australia