At Roskill South Kindergarten, we have been learning about Matariki through kōrero, books, waiata and games. We have also introduced the children to Michel Tuffery, a New Zealand-based artist of Samoan, Rarotongan and Ma’ohi Tahitian heritage. We intended to use Michel’s artwork to introduce children to various patterns and innovative ways to create stars. Michel’s artwork provoked children’s thinking, resulting in children creating unique pictures. Below are a selection of the children’s designs. We are interested in growing children’s creativity, which is why we DO NOT provide superficial adult structured ‘art activities’. We have used Michel’s artwork to inspire children, and children have used paint, collage, and drawing to tell their stories and share their emerging working theories about the Matariki star cluster. For further information about protecting children’s creativity, click here.

Continuing on from the Distance Learning Pack initiative we developed during the August 2021 rāhui, we have used this strategy to strengthen links between home and kindergarten during Matariki. All children received a Matariki Learning Pack. The packs were designed to provide the key elements of a Matariki celebration and included recipes and ingredients for Potato Balls and Lemon Muffins, how to find the Matariki cluster, the legend of The Seven Fish of Matariki, links to the waiata websites, craft supplies, 2x books and a bubble wand. 

Our celebrations ended with a Matariki Party, and there was a fabulous whānau feeling amongst the children and teachers as we celebrated the Māori New Year, a unique celebration to Aotearoa.