Matariki, the Māori New Year, is a time of reflection, celebration, and looking forward. The rising of the Matariki star cluster signifies this special time, bringing with it themes of renewal and community. For us, it offered a perfect opportunity to weave these themes into our daily practices and environment, ensuring they resonate with the cultural backgrounds of our tamariki and whānau.
We introduced Matariki through rich storytelling sessions, sharing many Māori legends. Firstly, by exploring the story “In the Beginning” of Papatūānuku and Ranginui being separated by Tāne Mahuta, this then led into the legend of Tāwhirimātea and the creation of the Matariki stars. During this time, we incorporated waiata, which was another important aspect. These practices not only celebrated Matariki but also supported tamariki in developing their language skills and cultural knowledge.
Other art activities included the use of our hot glue guns and clay to create the whetū/stars from the Matariki cluster. During this time kaiako shared knowledge of each of the nine whetū.
Māori use the name Matariki to describe the entire cluster of Pleiades. The different names of the whetū (stars) in the Matariki group are significant to Māori, as each individual has a defined purpose and is intrinsically connected with the Māori world.
Source: Matariki The Star of the Year by Dr Rangi Matamua.
While researching into the meaning of each whetū, we discovered many pictures and artwork associated to each, which served as inspiration for ongoing creative activities and provocations. It didn’t take long for our environment to be enriched with all the beautiful artwork created by tamariki.
On Thursday 20th June we hosted our annual harvest day, inviting tamariki and their whānau to bring a gift from their garden or a home-made treat along with a whakataukī or thought to nourish the receiver’s heart. We had such a lovely response, and it was evident that lots of joy and love was shared, given, and received throughout this day.
Tamariki also decorated stars on
which their aspiration for the coming year was written. These were then displayed on our tree and during our Matariki evening event we then placed these
stars on the Matariki fire, sending their wishes skyward to Hiwa-i-te-Rangi.
Engaging our whānau in the Matariki celebrations was a key aspect of our approach. We hosted an evening event on Thursday 4th July, where families joined us for a shared meal. Preparations for our Matariki evening included tamariki and kaiako preparing vegetables for our soup. Whānau were also invited to be a part of this process. Mince stew and fried bread was also prepared.
As part of
our post-Matariki event reflection, we invited the tamariki to share their
thoughts from the evening.
“I liked
when I sit with P and O and I loved umm when me and Drew played games. I like
that there was music” – Billie
“Dark,
seeing the Matariki stars, having some fun, having some food, macaroni and
cheese” – Drew
We asked for feedback from our whānau, as this was our first
evening event since 2021. Here are a few of the comments we received:
“Absolutely amazing! Well done and thank you!”
“Nice that there was the firepit, Vege soup was yummy.”
“It was stunning. Loved the lights and lanterns.”
“Thankyou for bringing this all together for an amazing meal
and chance to meet and catch up with other whanau! Wonderful ambience you
created, so cool!”
“Thank you very much for such an amazing family event! We enjoyed
it so much.”
“Thank you, Mairtown Kindergarten team, for all your efforts
in making such a wonderful family/community evening. We all had such a great
time and appreciate your hard work.”
“What a lovely evening, fantastic opportunity to bring Kindy
families together. Thank you for all your hard work organising!”
On behalf of the teaching team I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported, helped, participated and shared in all of our Matariki festivities over this time.
Ngā mihi nui,