This article reports a multiple-case study project into early childhood teachers' thinking and reflection on their teaching interactions with children in three New Zealand early childhood education centres. Using stimulated-recall interviews, teaching teams viewed video-recorded episodes of their teaching and discussed their thinking and reflections, during and after the episodes. Key findings included teachers' emphasis in their thinking and reflection on children in comparison to their teaching intentions, beliefs and practices. The article concludes by presenting a model for understanding New Zealand early childhood teachers' thinking and reflections on teaching and learning and the implications for practice emerging from this research.