During Matariki we celebrate our unique place in the world. We give respect to the whenua on which we live, and admiration to our mother earth Papatuanuku. Throughout Matariki we learn about those who came before us.
Our history. Our family. Our bones.
Matariki signals growth. It’s a time of change. It’s a time to prepare, and a time of action. During Matariki we acknowledge what we have and what we have to give. Matariki celebrates the diversity of life. It’s a celebration of culture, language, spirit and people. Matariki is our Aotearoa Pacific New Year (Roimata Macfarlane)
Matariki is a time of reflection.
Our traditional Matariki breakfast provided the perfect opportunity to get together and reflect on the year we've had and make plans for future learning experiences to celebrate Matariki.
What
a whirl wind of a year we’ve had, off the back of Covid and the impact this has
had on our lives.
During our Matariki breakfast we asked whanau to think back to the time just after we’d come out of isolation. We asked, what was important for you as
we recalibrate back into life.
Whanau aspirations included...
·
Getting back to nature
·
Enjoying more whānau time
·
Spending quality time with your children
·
Showing compassion and having empathy for others
·
Appreciating the simple things in life
·
Being together
·
Love
·
Respect
·
Kindness and consideration
·
Having an attitude of gratitude, showing appreciation
We asked whanau, have you remembered what’s really
important in life? Have you made
changes, do you stop and appreciate what you have, the people in your life…
Opportunities to share yummy food in the company of good friends provided the perfect time to share memories, reflect on and think about the year just past.
During Matariki breakfast we set the direction for learning throughout the following month. This year we decided part of our journey would focus on...
- Learning about two Matariki stars...Pohutukawa and Hiwa i te rangi.
- We would learn new waiata with the help of our friends over at
- Bream Bay College.
- We would offer weaving experiences for tamariki
- And finish up with our traditional Matariki Hangi.
Pōhutukawa…is the star that acknowledges those who have passed on from this life. This year our goal was to pay tribute in remembrance of loved ones lost.
Over the following few weeks tamariki spent time thoughtfully reflecting on the special and significant people in their life and created some beautiful art pieces that honour the aroha and respect they feel for these people.
"Gaga and Nana, they are in heaven. They talked to me. I'm happy they can still hear me when they are in heaven. They can see me. I can hear them. I can talk to them" said Katie.
"Poppa, that's Mum's Poppa. Poppa gave Mum the guitar when she was little" said Phoenix.
"Koro brother has died. He's special to Koro, Koro is special to me" said Tai.
"My Grandad, he is up in the sky. He made a wood swing, it's at our house. I'm sad that he died. I like him" said Heidi.
Hiwa i te rangi …is the wishing star that we send up our dreams and aspirations for the coming year; the desires of the heart that determine and focus our pursuits.
We spent time with children creating a 'Dream Space' by talking about the things that were important to them for the upcoming year...what their goals and aspirations would be.
We asked tamariki "If you could learn anything what would you learn?"
We've learnt that tamariki at Bream Bay Kindergarten have got big dreams!
Here is a snippet of children's dreams and aspirations for the upcoming year...
Learning how to sit still and wait…how to cook carrots…how to be someone's friend...how to do the monkey bars...all about numbers...learning about 'heart beeping'…how to swim…how to write...how to do backflips, cartwheels and handstands...how to grow flowers from seeds…yoga…how to make donuts…juggle, dance, sing and how to drive a car!
Phew...it sure is going to be a busy year with all this learning to do and we can't wait!
This year we were blessed to have Julia come on board as a student teacher. Julia has a passion for weaving and was happy to share her expertise with tamariki. It was awesome to see creativity emerge as tamariki worked their magic to weave special art pieces.
This year our goal was to learn new waiata with the tamariki. We were very fortunate to have special friends come over from Bream Bay College to help with this. We really enjoyed listening, singing and dancing as the college students sang waiata for us. They sounded so beautiful and inspired us to keep learning our waiata at kindergarten.
This year seemed extra special as last year we face restrictions following Covid 19 that meant we were unable to gather together in this way. We missed out Matariki Hangi celebrations!
"My favourite part of the hangi was getting to see the light jars hanging up in the tree. My jar was for my great, great grandma. I got named after her" said Clara.
Traditionally, our hangi is placed within the kindergarten grounds and children are free to come and go as they please. During many parts of the day tamariki gather to sit and watch proceedings. Pen and paper placed strategically near by so children are able to draw and write their reflections and ideas of what is happening.
It's an interesting and exciting day!
Not just learning for the tamariki...adults are learners too!
"When the trees were glowing that was my favourite bit because my name was on the jar. It had a rainbow and hearts for Nana Donna. She was helpful for me and I was sad when she died. She did a lot for us" said Tessa.
"The trees and jars were just so beautiful with the lights in them. The potato was so yummy. The pumpkin was so yummy, it tasted like pumpkin and it had nice colour in it. Its colour was orange" said James.
"I know what I liked about the hangi, I liked the fire. I liked the face painting. I liked all the baskets and all the food. I ate potato" said Finn.
"I liked the fire and wood and the wheelbarrows. We eat kai, I like kai" said Taumauri.
"I liked digging the dirt out of the hangi pit. I liked the fire in the day time. Eating the chicken was yummy and I liked the lights at night time. I liked digging in the sand pit at night time after the talking" said William.
"I liked eating the hangi. Chicken was my favourite. The fire was cool. I liked the different face painting and I liked the glow sticks and I like the bubbles" said Tangaroa.
"Eating the lamb was yummy. The kumara was yummy. I loved the chicken. I liked the lettuce, you know, the greens. I mean the cabbage. Putting on the lights was fun. Having the face paint was fun. I got a dinosaur. I only have one more that was the best part...eating and bringing my own plate!" said Harvey.
"I feeling happy cause I was playing on the trees and swinging at night" said Jackson.
"I loved the hangi cause I really loved m Mum and Dad and Jack and Narna here" said Hazel.
"I loved the pumpkin cause I just liked it. I just liked the chicken and the meat actually and the potato and kumara. I did have have the stuffing and it tasted yum" said Irie.
There are so many people to thank for their support this year. The aroha throughout the day and leading up to hangi day was humbling and gratefully appreciated.
The traditions of Matariki in this space with these people has become so precious to us as a teaching team. When we started this journey 6 odd years ago we never dreamed that it could become such an intrinsic and valuable part of our kindergarten year. Quite literally it’s times like these within this community surrounded by aroha that makes life feel really good. In every little way that you have participated, know that you are part of this and for that we thank you.
Mauri ora ki a tatou
The team at Bream Bay Kindergarten
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