At Ponsonby Kindergarten, there are a range of books on the adventures of Māui. These books are extremely popular with children as they are beautifully written and illustrated and the teachers find themselves reading them again and again! These books include several myths and legends by NZ author, Peter Gossage and the children’s favourites are ‘How Māui slowed the Sun’ and ‘The Fish of Māui’.
During the lockdown, Rebecca, their Head Teacher, made a felt sun and moon to use with the wooden storytelling props they already have. She recorded some of these stories and shared them with tamariki and whānau on Storypark.
Once everyone was back at kindergarten they have found that they were asked to re-read the stories using the props many times to different groups of tamariki. The props have inspired tamariki to create their own waka, Māui, and other characters including Te Rā, Marama and Te Ika a Māui.
Ponsonby Kindergarten have found that this interest in storytelling has led to tamariki
- Learning new te reo Māori words
- Developing confidence in their storytelling skills
- Sharing these stories with their whānau
- And for the team as kaiako to continue and build on their commitiment to Tiriti o Waitangi in their teaching practice.
Kaiako wonder how this interest will continue to develop and where it will lead to in the coming months as tamariki continue to grow and weave into their play their knowledge of our unique landscape and history that is Aotearoa!