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Celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori with BestStart Gillies Ave
At BestStart Gillies Ave, for the month of September, the tamariki have been celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori.
Our focus during this week was on natural resources and creativity. We had lovely conversations explaining to the tamariki how during pre-colonization, Maori had a different way of passing on information that was different from today as they had no written language. Instead, they would tell stories and share tribal information based upon symbols that they put into their art, such as carvings and weaving. The little ones were amazed by these stories told by our amazing Kaiako David.
We then got involved in creative art! One of these activities was using coloured stones that the tamariki (with the aid of their Kaiako) glued onto a piece of cardboard starting from one through to ten. We extended upon this by asking the tamariki to go on a leaf hunt, and when they had collected enough of them, we supported them to glue them onto cards that we made into a whare, and after making them go from one to ten, the tamariki practised counting the leaves and stones on each card in te reo.
Within the sand pit, the Kaiako arranged the water trough and added some trays to which they filled with sand. Alongside their Kaiako, the tamariki got to learn about some of the traditional Maori symbols and what they represent, such as the koru, which is said to represent new beginnings, growth and regeneration, and the twist which represents the path of life and symbolizes the strong bond between two people to name a few. The tamariki were given printouts of the symbols and practised drawing them into the sand just like in the times of old.
As we have two big trees within our playground, we often have plenty of leaves, so once again, to extend upon this, we collected them, and this time we used them so that the tamariki could interpret their own meanings. It was wonderful observing the tamariki as they came up with their own working theories as to how things work and why, for example, how to make a flower, then rearrange leaves to make fireworks, or to be creative with no objective in mind, and once the “art piece “was finished, a huge heart was the end result. This was a calm and relaxing activity that the tamariki enjoyed sitting outside enjoying a lovely spring day.
At BestStart Gillies, all our children, families, and the lovely team have a sense of belonging. We have a special focus on culture and Identity and celebrate all cultures and family traditions throughout the year.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori week was an opportunity to celebrate our Maori tamariki and include all other learners to understand that all of us have a special culture.