At Wesley Kindergarten our tamariki have shown a strong interest in te pūrākau ō Māui (the legends of Māui). Some stories we really enjoy reading together are Te Ika-a-Māui (Māui and the big fish), how Māui found his father and the magic jawbone, how Māui found the secret of fire, and how Māui slowed the sun. Our tamariki have enjoyed dancing, acting, and singing to all the different pūrākau and are connecting these stories back to their own whānau, identity, and culture.
One Pūrākau our tamariki were really interested in was how Māui slowed the sun. They just couldn’t believe that anyone could really slow the sun. It’s too hot! It’s too far! They said. So we looked at how Māui caught the sun? Māui did this by harvesting Harakeke with his brothers, they extracted muka (fibres) from the inside turning these into strong taura (rope). He and his brothers walked to the end of the earth where Tama-Nui-te-rā would rise. They chanted karakia and haka as the sun rose before them and Māui caught him using those strong ropes he made together with his brothers.
We thought that we could make some strong taura (ropes) just like Māui and many other tipuna (ancestors) did as a way of life before us. We went on a hikoi (walk) to our local reserve to harvest Harakeke just like Māui. Before cutting we talked about tikanga and some important things to consider when cutting Harakeke. These include saying a karakia to show respect and give thanks to Papatuānuku and Tāne Mahuta for taking from them, what instrument to use to cut, what leaf we can and can not cut, and that it is bad to harvest Harakeke when the plant is flowering or when it is raining as this can harm the health of the plant restricting its regrowth. Once we had enough leaves to extract muka out of we went back to kindy and started the process of extraction. This mahi was hard however our tamariki persevered and we found that Māui would have needed a lot of Harakeke to make ropes as strong and as long as he did.
Throughout our mahi around pūrākau our tamariki have been able to connect with Māui and his way of life as they see connections between different cultures and identities. They have been able to become flourishing kaitiaki of our environment and show manāki for people, places, and things within their worlds. They are learning different concepts of te Ao Māori and Pasifika that align with their own strengths, interests, and abilities.
At Howick Kindergarten, we love engaging with our community! This year, we have invited police officers, librarians, and firefighters to visit and share their important work with the children.
To prepare for these visits, our teachers create meaningful learning experiences—for example, transforming an outdoor space into a police station and encouraging discussions about the roles and responsibilities of police officers.
It was wonderful to have two constables visit us this month, and we look forward to welcoming them again later this year. We’re also excited to meet more community visitors who help make our neighborhood such a special place!