At Lynfield Kindergarten, our journey with bicultural practice is a key component of our philosophy. This supports our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to our Māori akonga and whānau. In our diverse community, it also provides many whānau with their first experience of tikanga and Te Reo Māori.

In recent times, we have endeavoured to move our bicultural practice to a more meaningful place, using Te Reo Māori throughout our interactions with tamariki, sharing more tikanga at kindergarten, and incorporating the principles of Te Ao Māori throughout our assessment and planning.

We have come to recognise that our tamariki are enthusiastic about learning te reo Maori and that this builds their individual and collective whakamana. We have also noticed that many of our multilingual tamariki have a particular skill at learning Te Reo Māori. To ensure our tamariki are exposed to all three official languages of Aotearoa we have recently started using te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language together.

Our bicultural journey is an ongoing one, and we will continue to extend ourselves as teachers as we support our tamariki and community in learning about the unique status of the Māori language.

“Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria.”

My language is my awakening; my language is the window to my soul.

Photos:

1.   The mauri tau is a place for quiet reflection, and calm activities like reading books. It is often a refuge for tamariki separating from whānau for the first time.

2.  “Toia mai!” When tamariki or kaiako come to kindergarten, they are welcomed with a haka;

3.    “Haere mai, haere mai.”  Our tamariki take turns as karanga, calling everyone in for wa whānau (mat time) or kai.