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Stories of Aotearoa
This term, Preschool has been discovering more about our local culture through story-telling.
'In the Beginning' was a good introduction to the Māori gods, and the tamariki got involved by acting out the role of Tāne Mahuta.
Lying on their backs with legs in the air, the tamariki pushed with all their might to separate Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Our story-telling progressed as we learnt about Māui and his magic jawbone. The tamariki were thrilled to hear how Māui slowed down te rā, caught a great ika (which we live on) and learnt the secret of fire from Mahuika (the goddess of fire).
Many activities have engaged the tamariki and extended their learning as they created their own hooks from cardboard and also clay, drew pictures based on the stories, experimented with koru designs, re-enacted Maui and his brothers fishing in their waka, and played a cultural bingo that created opportunities to use and learn new Māori kupu.
We ventured further into Te Ao Māori by exploring stories such as 'Tangaroa's Gift' and 'How the Kiwi lost its wings'. We admired the beautiful colours of the paua shell and understood the significance of Kiwi's decision to help Tāne save the trees from sickness.
These stories are helping tamariki develop their knowledge and understanding of their world through its cultural connections to our land.
We love using our learning in context throughout our day, like referring to Tāwhirimātea when playing outside. We believe our learning has made our environment richer as we share these stories and experiences while expanding our view and appreciation of Aotearoa.