Hugo and Edward brought in little garden for us to plant. Everyone was so keen, so we grabbed some more from our shed. They chose the ones they wanted to plant then went through the process of planting them. Some wrote their names on ice block sticks to label their pots. Then they all placed their own ones up on the shelf outside. Max kept popping over to have a look if they had started to grow.
Our “t” word for today was Taniwha! We read a story about how a boy who was visited by a taniwha and given gifts from Rangi and Papa. The tamariki were fully immersed in our activities for the afternoon surrounding this, including making taniwha masks, and paper cut out Taniwha.
Recognise
The tamariki are discovering and some rediscovering the process of planting little gardens. They poured, measured, scooped, patted, peeled, stuck, poked, and wrote their names all in the process of planting a seed. Te Wheke-Taha tinana: The relationship of the child to their physical world. It concerns taking responsibility for ourselves, the respect and reverence of living things and the natural cycles of the physical world.
It was so exciting to witness the children embracing this aspect of Māori culture. We have been exploring different Māori myths and legends throughout the week and have been delighted to witness quite a bit of pre-existing knowledge on the persona in the legends of te ao Māori.
Respond
We will look further at ways to understand how long it takes a seed to transform into the next stage, a heuro (seedling).
We will continue to share different myths and legends with children. Future learning opportunities can take place when we are able to link the “message” of the myth and legend and how it links to tikanga.
