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Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou! (Happy Matariki!)
Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou! (Happy Matariki) Over the month of July, we have been busy celebrating the Maori New Year. With this came lots of art. We worked on our fine motor skills as we squeezed spray bottles to create a glittery metallic shine, these were then cut into whetu (stars).
We also painted manu tū (kites), representing the story of "7 kites of matariki" by Calico McClintock. Through these art experiences, we spoke lots of te reo Maori, we talked about the different colours, mawhero (pink), karaka (orange), kikorangi (blue). The te reo Maori colours were then reinforced with different resources around the room, like puzzles.
Through the art, we are not only learning about the importance of Maori culture, history, and storytelling, but also learning different skills like fine motor skills as we hold paint brushes and squeeze spray bottles. We also are learning communication skills as our little wairoro (brains) absorb all the kōrero (talking) going on around us, with our e hoa (friends), we are adding words to our vocabulary ready to use at any time.
Tamariki also are learning different social skills like turn-taking as we waited for a turn to paint and get creative. We have had such a busy fun, art-filled month of July! We hope everyone had a wonderful Matariki. Happy Maori New Year!