Te Ika a Māui - Mahi Toi

Harakeke has been really fasinated by the pūrākau about how Mauī fished up a land. We have read the book by Peter Gossage so many times - every day for some weeks as chosen by the tamariki as we come inside after lunch. Tamariki have had so many questions about what is described in this book - as well as the art.

Harakeke created their own artwork in response to their interest. We have worked on this over a number of days. Only a picture of each tamaiti features instead of Mauī. We have some pretty amazing tamariki in Harakeke - every bit as clever as Mauī.

Harakeke shared their mahi toi with the kura at Hui-a-Kura.

Duffy Theatre - Duffy and Scruffy's Pawsome Adventure

We are a school that is supported by Duffy Books in Homes.

Duffy Books in homes vision;

To inspire a love of books in Duffy children so they become adults who inspire a love of reading.

The tamariki all are given books from this foundation in the time they are with us. The theatre comes once a year and is something we all look forward to. The Duffy Theatre visited us today.

A brief synopsis of the kōrero taken from the Duffy Books in Homes site. (https://booksinhomes.org.nz/duffy-theatre/)

Duffy and Scruffy’s Aunty Ana/Uncle Ben is the best! They are the epitome of a cool aunty/uncle but they have some sad news, they need to move to Australia for their job! Duffy and Scruffy are devastated until Ana/Ben suggests they start a book club and write physical letters to each other as a way of staying in touch. The letters spring back and forward between Aotearoa and Aussie until one day when they mysteriously stop; Aunty Ana/Uncle Ben has gone missing! Scruffy thinks they know why and is ready to solve another mystery. This story is full of super-hero adventures and furry animals, will reading be able to save the day again!

It is such an awesome opportunity for the kura katoa to watch live theatre. The show is extremely entertaining and engaging for all. 

Whakawhiti ingoa/name change - Rourou/Kete Harakeke

 Due to the rise in our numbers in the nohinohi class - new entrants. After consultation we have opened a new classroom which will be called 'Rourou' - with Room 8 taking on the permanent name of Kete Harakeke. 

He pānui whakamohio tēnei. Just to let you know of the changes. The blog address will stay the same however, for those already following for their tamaiti. But from this point ko Harakeke te ingoa mō te nohinohi o Ngāi Kete.

Ngā mihi.

Kaitiakitanga - wai āporo!

 Nā mātou te waimārie! We are so lucky at Ōtaki School to have a maara kai! There are a number of fruit trees and garden beds in the maara. At this time of year tamariki can be found foraging for fruit. It is important to know when to harvest the fruit and how to do so carefully so as to not damage the tree.

Last week Rourou went down to the maara to pick some apples - noting which ones were ripe for picking and carefully pulling them from the branches without breaking the branch.

We picked an abundance of apples - with the plan the next day to juice them.

It was a lovely way to finish off our week creating some wai āporo - apple juice together. 

Reka rawa! Delicious!

Sock Puppets!

Sock puppet making is somehting tamariki really enjoy - it is a chance to be creative and express their own ideas about the character they are creating. As well as a medium to have conversations with each other in a fun way. The joy of being with five year olds is that we can completely get caught up in our characters! Here is some of our process of making our sock puppets...

Kaitiakitanga

 We turn our focus to the matapono - Kaitiakitanga - for this term. 

We sowed some seeds at the end of last term and over the holidays these have germinated. These are perpetual spinach. We have added to our containers by sowing more seeds this week. We have been talking about what seeds need to germinate - soil, water and warmth. 

Here we are at the beginning of the week with our new seedlings and some freshly sown seeds...

We are developing our ideas about kaitiakitanga and what it means to be a good kaitiaki. Over the coming weeks we will work together in the maara to take care of Papatūānuku. To feed the soil to make it a good place to grow our seedlings. To prepare one of our maara for spring sowing. We will grow this knowledge alongside the growth of our tipu, our seedlings.

Sowing our seeds.

Placing them in our nursery outside the classroom.

Easter Egg Hunt! Oma Rāpeti!

 On the last day of Term 1 2025 to celebrate our awesome tamariki following our school values this term, we had an easter egg hunt. While we were at karakia, chocolate eggs and bunnies were hidden around the school playground. 

Rourou was first off the mark as the nohinohi, the youngest of the kura.

It wasn't long before eggs were being found!

They ran here, there and everywhere!

Nearly 200 eggs and twelve rabbits were found around the school. There was an egg for everyone taking part. What an awesome way to finish our first term for 2025! 

Kia pai te hararei e te whānau! Hei te wahanga tuarua!

Have a great holiday! See you next term!