The Essence of Learning
Te reo Māori within Akoranga Preschool
Te Whāriki discusses how in an early-childhood education setting all children should be given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages. An aspect of this is having a commitment to the recognition of Māori language – stories, symbols, arts, and crafts – in the programme. Having this within our everyday programme at Akoranga Preschool allows children to develop an appreciation of Te reo Māori (Māori language) as a living and relevant language.
As you may have noticed around Akoranga there are cards that look like the ones below. They have sentences that are in Te reo Māori with the English translation under it. These sayings are what we believe to be relevant to what we do every day in the centre. Every fortnight we introduce 2 new sentence's that the teaching team will use with the tamariki (children) and follow it with the English translation.
Kei te hiakai e hoa mā? - Are you hungry my friends?
This is working really well before kai time when we are having whāriki (mat) time.Ki runga tō mahunga - On top of your head.
We are using this one when the tamariki need to put their pōtae (hat) on their head. But can also be used when the children are engaged in their play.Kei te hianu e hoa mā? - Are you thirsty my friends?
This is said in the kai room before giving out the tamariki's drink.Kua mutu e hoa? - Are you finished my friend?
The use of these cards around the centre are working really successfully and I will keep all whānau up to date of what te reo Māori we introduce every fortnight to Akoranga Preschool.If you like you could try these sentences at home with your tamariki and whānau. (children and family)
Also before each kai time, we as a centre say a prayer to bless the food we eat. Please see the pictures.
This is a welcoming for the children to come a sit on the mat for mat time
