Matariki - Maori New Year

What is Matariki?

Matariki is the Maori name for the Pleiades, a cluster of stars that can viewed from anywhere in the world.  The rise of the Matariki constellation is an important time in the Maori calender, as it signifies the New Year, and a signal for plantation of crops.

Why is it important?

The Matariki celebrations were held from pre-European settlement right into the 1940's, then reducing in popularity until the dawn of the 21st century where celebrations have been revived and have become a special time of celebration. Matariki was thought to determine the crops for the next season therefore it was important to embrace the New Year to ensure a good crop for the next season.

How is Matariki celebrated?

Historically New Year celebrations provided opportunities for community to come together and acknowledge the year gone by and look forward to the year ahead.  This often included the gathering of whanau (family), sharing of kai (food), korero, traditional rituals and entertainment.  Nowadays celebrations of the Matariki are often extended with a series of festivals, exhibitions and workshops.

Some of the workshops we have done for the festival have inlcuded:

• Time Capsules
• Navigation Boats

3 ingredients Nutella cookies

I saw this recently on the internet and thought I just had to try it!  It's looks super easy, and although I had never tasted Nutella before, I thought it was a good excuse to try it!

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15mins
                                                                                       

Ingredients
1 cup Nutella
15 T Flour
2 eggs

Method
Mix all together in a bowl and spoonfuls onto baking tray.  Add chopped nuts to decorate each biscuit if desired.  Bake 170degC for 15mins. Makes approx 18.

Sight Word Caterpillar

When I saw these I thought these are a great idea for the motivation for the kids to learn the words.  As soon as we started the caterpillar, Freya then said she wanted to reach to the 'other hull' which in about caterpillar parts is about 6 metres!  So at least she has the vision in mind!

The sights words from this website are American so the standards for your country might differ from those printed on the cards.  There are blank 'body circles' for you to write other words on which is very helpful.

Download the following Sight Word Caterpillars.

      To download the Kinder Sight Words
Click here.

To download the 1st Grade Sight Words
click here.

To download the 2nd Grade Sight Words
click here.

To download the 3rd Grade Sight Words
click here.

Workshops on the Wharf - Story Cubes

Today it's a howling gale and lovely horizontal rain so what better things to do than to join the great team and make a story cube!  These are fabulous not only for story telling, but for using for spelling words, initial blends, final blends and could even be used for bingo word mats!

All you need is a template for a cube like this one here.

Print out the template - at least 3 copies per child.  Then decorate with your favourite stickers.

Once complete, cut out the template, tape together to form a cube.

Roll the first cube to start your story, then the 2nd to add to it, then the 3rd cube to add something different to your story and so on.  There are endless possibilities!

Enjoy your creativity in both making these funky and simple cubes, and watch your child's imagination grow!

Workshops on the Wharf - Bubble Maker

Once again the lovely ladies at the Workshops on the Wharf put together another great day of making Bubble Makers out from wire and beads.  These are so easy and the kids make them truely unique by the collection of beads they want to use.  There were some fantastic patterns happening!

A length of wire of approx 400mm was cut, then one end 'curled over' to form a stopping loop for the beads.  Then the beads were threaded to make the handle to whatever length was wanted, and the final 'bubble' loop was then formed and twisted around just above the last bead.  It was that easy and I even found myself making these!  We even made different versions to try and make 'double bubbles' so the possibilities are endless!

Workshops on the Wharf - Orienteering

Celebrating Queen's Birthday in New Zealand means a day off work (for most) and usually a celebration of her birthday with fun, expos and events both on and off the water.  This weekend with the Workshops on the Wharf kids programme they celebrated 'Finding the Crown Jewels'.  The lovely ladies had printed out an 'orienteering' sheet - basic layout of the Wynyard Quarter, where the kids had to find each 'jewel' that had a hole punch animal on it.  They then had to 'clip' a hole (much like a train ticket) onto the correct number.

Once compete they then got to make a crown out of cardboard and jewels!!

Click the image to go to our blog post of the "Best of British" expo.

Sustainable Coastlines - Plastic Recycling Artwork

Once again Sam and the incredible team at Sustainable Coastlines have put together another great Education day for the kids showing them a great presentation on the impact of plastic to the waterways, and subsequently to the ocean marine life.  Although the weather was rain then shine they delivered a great day of recycling different coloured plastic to make pieces of artwork that the kids could take home.

They each were presented with a sheet of wood that they could glue their plastic to, and built up great art pieces.

Good friends of Freya and Blake, Ruby & Hamish Douglas also came along to have some fun!