This lesson suits intermediate learners. After listening, scroll down and test your knowledge with our quiz.
Learning notes
Language objective
Organising playdates for your children
How to ask for a playdate
- What about we set up a playdate for the kids this Saturday?
- They can hang out at ours.
- Perhaps you are available to join us?
- What about we pencil in 2 pm?
- My son is having a sleepover this weekend.
- We’ll be checking in on them.
- Would he like to come?
Ways to accept a playdate invitation
- I can drop him off at 1 pm.
- I’ll pick him up at 3 pm.
- I can drive him to yours.
- Appreciate it!
- What time should we meet up?
- See you then!
Ways to decline a playdate invitation
- Thank you for the invite, but we can’t make it. Sorry!
- Weekdays have been hectic, so we are trying to keep weekends for family time.
- Thank you though!
- Maybe next time!
Vocabulary:
Settle into - To start to feel comfortable
Non-stop – All the time
Set up something–make a specific time for something schedule
Playdate – A time that is arranged for children to play together
Hang out – To spend time with someone
Drop off – To take someone or something to a particular place, usually by car
Pick up – To go somewhere to collect someone, usually by car
Let’s go to yours - Let’s go to your house
Let’s go to ours - Let’s go to our house
Acquaintance – Someone you know only a little
Skateboarding - A popular sport in which a person rides a board with four wheels
Sleepover – A night that children spend at a friend's house
Movie night – A night on which friends watch movies together
To check in with someone – to make contact with someone to find out how they are
To decline – a formal way to say no or to refuse
Hectic - Busy
Family time – Time that is spent with family
To socialise – to mix with other people
Colloquial expressions:
How ya goin’? is an expression used to ask someone how they are. It is often used informally instead of hello.
To pencil in means to put someone or something in a schedule, to agree to do something.
Saying see you is a way of saying goodbye to someone. It can be used whether or not you are going to meet each other soon.
To be in the same boat means to be in the same difficult situation as other people.
Cultural information:
Playdates are times when children to meet and play. They are usually organised by their parents. Usually, at least one parent is parent during the playdate.
The kind of playdates parents arrange varies. Playdates can be at home, in a park or in other places where children can do activities and spend time together.
Sleepovers are a kind of playdate where children spend the night in their friend’s home.
Playdates are good or children because they help them to develop language, social skills and problem-solving skills. They also help build friendships, and of course, they’re a lot of fun!
Transcript:
(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)
SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia.
Hi, my name is Nikki, and like some of you, I have very active children who love to play with their cousins and friends!
Playdates are great opportunities for my kids to spend time with other kids.
What is a playdate, you may ask? A playdate is a time thar parents arrange with other parents so that their children can spend time and play! Having playdates has many benefits, which we’ll learn about later in this episode.
In the meantime, let’s listen to a conversation between friends Claire and Allan. They’re arranging a playdate for their sons, who are friends.
Claire
Hi Allan! How ya goin’?
Allan
Hi, Claire! Yeah, good. Work’s not too bad, and the kids seem to be settling into school OK. By the way, my son can’t stop talking about your son Noah!
Claire
Yeah, Noah talks about Eric non-stop too! What about we set up a playdate for the kids this Saturday? They can hang out at ours.
Allan
Oh, thanks for the invite! Yeah, I can drop Eric off at 1 pm and maybe pick him up at 3?
Claire
No worries! Or we can drive him back to yours if that’s easier?
Allan
Appreciate it! Thanks, Claire. See you!
Did you hear the casual way that Claire greeted Allan? She said,
How ya goin’?
As you’ve probably noticed, it is very common in Australia to shorten words. So instead of saying ‘How are you going?’, this is often shortened to: How ya goin'?
Work’s not too bad, and the kids seem to be settling into school OK.
Allan's work is not too bad, which means everything is fine.
He also said that his kids seem to be settling into school OK.
If you are settling into something, you are starting to get comfortable.
You can use this expression to talk about becoming comfortable in a lot of different situations. For example, if you started a new job, you could say, "I'm settling into my new role." You can even use it to talk about living in Australia… “I’m settling into Australia well”.
Allan's son Eric always talks about Claire's son Noah.
Noah talks about his best friend Eric non-stop too!
Non-stop means always or all the time.
What about we set up a playdate for the kids this Saturday?
To set something up means to arrange to do it or to schedule it.
They can hang out at ours.
To hang out means to spend time together.
Ours is a shortened version of ‘our place’ or ‘our home’.
Allan then says,
I can drop Eric off at 1pm and maybe pick him up at 3?
To drop someone off and to pick someone up are opposites of each other. To drop someone off means to take them to a particular place, while to pick them up means to collect them from a place.
Claire offers,
We can drive him back to yours if that’s easier?
Yours in this case is a shortened version of ‘your place’ or ‘your house’.
Sometimes it’s easier to set up playdates when you’re friends with the other parents. But what if you don’t know them or are only acquaintances, meaning you don’t know them very well?
Let’s look at another scenario with Allan and Claire. This time their children are older and Allan and Claire are only acquaintances and so don’t know each other very well.
Allan
I hear your son is into skateboarding. We’re planning to go to a new skate park this Saturday. Perhaps you could join us?
Claire
I’m sure my son would love it! What time should we meet up?
Allan
What about we pencil in 2pm?
Claire
Yes, sure. See you then!
Have you ever gone skateboarding? Skateboarding is a popular sport in which a person rides a small board with wheels.
Allan says,
I hear your son is into skateboarding as well. We’re planning to go to a new skate park this Saturday.
To be into something means to like or love it.
In this situation, you’ll notice that Allan did not say the word ‘playdate’. The word ‘play’ is generally used for younger children only. For older children, often from around the age of 8 or older, we usually say ‘hang out’ or ‘meet up’.
Allan also asks,
What about we pencil in 2pm?
To pencil something in means to agree to do it and make a time for.
In our previous scenario, Claire accepted the invitation from Allan. But sometimes, we may want to say no to an invite, and that can be difficult to do. How do you say no to an invitation in a polite but friendly way?
Let’s learn from Claire.
Allan
My son is having a sleepover with some classmates this weekend. They’ll have a movie night and eat pizza! My wife and I will be checking in on them, of course. Would your son like to come along?
Claire
That sounds fun! Thank you for the invite, but can’t make it at the moment. Sorry! Our weekdays have been so hectic lately, so we are trying to keep weekends for family time.
Allan:
Ah, no worries! We’re in the same boat. I understand.
Claire:
Thank you, though! Maybe next time!
Allan's son is having a sleepover. A sleepover is a playdate where children spend the night at a friend's house.
Do you remember what Allan said his son and friends would do during the sleepover?
They’ll have a movie night and eat pizza! My wife and I will be checking in on them, of course.
A movie night is a night in which friends watch movies together.
To check in is to make contact with someone to find out how they are doing.
Claire refused the invitation, but she did it in a polite and friendly way. Let's hear her again.
Thank you for the invite, but we can’t make it at the moment. Sorry!
Adding in ‘sorry’ makes the ‘no’ sound polite and kind.
It's also good to give a reason why you are declining an invitation, just like Claire did when she said,
Our weekdays have been so hectic lately, so we are trying to keep weekends for family time.
Hectic means busy.
By giving this reason, Claire is saying that she would love for her son to spend time with other children, but right now is not a good time. It’s a nice and friendly way of saying that when her son is free in the future, he will be able to join his classmates.
Allan then says,
We’re in the same boat.
To be in the same boat means to be in the same difficult situation as Claire.
Remember that you can always say yes or no to a playdate invite, depending on whether you’re comfortable with it or you have other things to do.
But there are benefits if you decide to let your child go on a playdate.
And here to talk about the benefits of playdates is educator and owner of a family daycare in Melbourne, Sulekha Rani!
Hi Sulekha! Thanks for joining us today.
Sulekha
Hi Nikki! My pleasure.
Nikki
So Sulekha, tell us, what are the benefits of playdates?
Sulekha
Well, for one, playdates are important for helping kids develop their social skills. When they can socialise and interact with other children, they improve their language skills and learn about how to share with others and take turns.
When they get more comfortable socialising with other children, they become more confident and can adjust better to social situations in school and life.
Nikki
That’s true! I know that playdates are also good for learning new things and problem-solving.
Sulekha
Definitely! Children can do all kinds of activities when they are on playdates, such as crafts, sports, or even cooking. It depends on what the children want to do and what the parents can or want to prepare for the children. Sometimes they can simply play together. But no matter the activity, playdates allow children to learn how to become problem-solvers and cope with big feelings such as frustration, especially when they get into disagreements with their friends.
But you know what the most important thing about playdates is?
Nikki
What?
Sulekha
Playdates are fun! It’s a great way for kids to have fun, do activities they want, and build friendships.
Plus organising a playdate and talking with other parents are great ways to get to know people, practise your English and get involved in your community.
Nikki
Absolutely! Thanks so much for the information, Sulekha!
A big thank you to our educational consultant Professor Lynda Yates, our guests Sulekha Rani and Federico Solchi.
Paul Nicholson and Lily O'Sullivan voiced the characters of Allan and Claire.
