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The power of Tawhirimatea

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Tawhirimatea is the Maori God who controls the wind, storms and other weather, we've been thinking about him lately when it has been soooo windy. When we're outside we talk about the clouds blowing up in the sky, the neighbours trees over the fence blowing around and we feel the wind on our face and blowing our hair. We even wonder about how the birds fly in the wind and talk about the power of Tawhirimatea who is the son of  Papatūānuku (earth mother) and Ranginui (sky father).

To explore the power of Tawhirimatea we decided to make some quick and simple kites. We  found some small plastic bags (which would later be recycled for wet clothing bags), tied some string onto the handles and we were set to go.  Tamariki climbed up onto the box, held the string and set their kites free. We noticed the power of Tawhirimatea when the kites stretched out with the strings tight, always in the same direction because the wind was blowing one way. We had to be extra careful not to let go or the wind would blow our kites far far away. We decided to be a bit more creative and make some other kinds of kites. We tried colouring lengths of paper to attach to string and fly, as well as experimenting with rolling  paper into tubes with the ends cut into strips to fly. Luckily they all worked, but the initial bags flew the best. It must have been fun as tamariki asked to make kites again everyday for the next week and more. Soon ti will be Matariki and we will further explore kites and the role they play in the Māori new year.

Tawhirimatea and our kite making provided lots of learning. Tamariki are developing curiosity and strategies for reasoning and problem solving. They are developing working theories for the natural world around them as we have shared discussions about the wind and use trial and error with our kites. They are also developing communication and social skills as we work together and talk about what we see, hear and feel.  It is also important to develop an interest in their culture, including Tawhirimatea and other Māori Gods.