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Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori
This week in the Adventurers Room (2 to 3.5 year olds) at BestStart Oraha Road, we celebrated Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week.
This was a fun opportunity to celebrate and learn more about the Māori language, and to use more of it in our day to day practice. Each day, we encouraged the tamariki (children) to learn and use new words and phrases that were relevant to their current interests and related to our daily routine. These included the Māori words for different modes of transportation, which is our current learning focus, as well as the Māori names for the fruits we often have at morning and afternoon tea.
Our tamariki were also provided with a wide range of fun experiences relating to the Māori culture. These included singing waiata (songs), making our own poi, and learning how to use and kanikani (dance) with them.
In making a conscious effort to use more reo Māori in our day to day practice, we are helping to secure the future of this dynamic and rich language, and inviting tamariki and their whānau (family) to treasure and celebrate something that is part of our identity as New Zealanders.
Kaua he whakamā ki te korerō Māori,
Ahakoa he iti, he tāonga.
Don’t be shy to speak Māori,
No matter how little, treasure it.