Day 4: Hitting a High Note…

Day 4: Hitting a High Note…

Activity 1: The Waiata - A Song in Your Heart

In the past, Māori would often use song as a way of sharing information or communicating emotions.  A waiata is the name given to a traditional Māori song. One of my all-time favourite waiata is Kia Paimarie. What about you?

Use Google to research traditional Māori Waiata. Listen to a number of Waiata and read the lyrics. On your blog tell us which one of the waiata you found you like the most. Why do you like it?

The Maori Waiata I like most was Tiaho Mai Ra. I liked this song because its meaningful. Its for a person who has passed. It has the words "Hoki mai rā ki ahau, e te tau" meaning "Come back to me darling". It is a very insightful Waiata and I can strongly connect with the words. I thought that this song was explaining how you miss someone that has passed but in a different and beautiful way.

Activity 2: Acknowledging Ancestry

Activity 2: Acknowledging Ancestry

All of us are members of a family. Some of us have large families and some of us have very small families. When I have the opportunity to talk about my family and my ancestry I sometimes choose to use a pepeha. It is a very special way of identifying who I am and where I come from. There are many different versions of pepeha but most provide people with information about who you are and where you come from (i.e. your whakapapa). Use the template provided below to prepare your own unique pepeha. If you need help please watch this short movie clip on preparing a pepeha.

SAMPLE PEPEHA

Ko ____Rangiputa___ te maunga    The mountain that I affiliate* to is…

Ko _______Awaroa________________ te awa          The river that I affiliate to is….

Ko ___Mamari___________________ te waka The waka that I affiliate to is…

Ko ________One-one________________ tōku tīpuna My founding ancestor is…

Ko ___________Te rarawa_____________ tōku iwi          My tribe is…

Ko _______Ngati ____ Haua-Te Apouri__________ tōku hapu My sub-tribe is…

Ko ______Te kotahitanga__________________ tōku marae My marae is…

Ko ____Anna-Lisa____________________ ahau I am from…

Ko__Tracey______ rāua ko ___Niko________ōku mātua  My parents are … and …

Ko ________________________ tōku ingoa. My name is …

*affiliate means to associate with, or be close to.

Day 3: It’s All in the Family

Day 3: It’s All in the Family

Activity 1: The More, the Merrier?

In the 1800s, most families were pretty big. In fact, many parents had an average of seven to nine children.  Imagine that you were a child in the 1800s and you had nine siblings.

On your blog, please tell us how you would feel. Would you enjoy being a member of such a large family? Why or why not?

I would love to have a family of 8. 4 boys and 4 girls. I would love to have sisters to tell me what clothes match, to give tips, help me, talk too. I would love to have brothers so we can play sports with and they can look after me.

Activity 2: The Rules of Engagement

Activity 2: The Rules of Engagement

During the early years in New Zealand, men and women would often marry at a young age. Women were expected to have babies and remain in the home caring for their children. Few, if any, left home in search of work. Men, on the other hand, were expected to work outside of the home.

These days, we don’t have the same strict expectations about work. Girls and boys can choose their own path in life. In fact, I was lucky enough to go to university and to follow my dream of becoming a teacher!

What is your dream job? Draw a picture of yourself doing your dream job and post it on your blog. You could be a doctor, an actor or even a zookeeper! I have drawn myself taking a picture of a beautiful castle in Poland because I would love to become a travel blogger and photographer one day.

Day 2: It’s All in a Day’s Work. Activity 1: A House or a Home?

Day 2: It’s All in a Day’s Work

Activity 1: A House or a Home?

In the 1800s, most Māori lived in villages called pa. Each village had many buildings – kauta where people cooked, pataka where they stored goods and wharepuni where the Māori slept. A traditional wharepuni had a thatched roof and walls made of timber, fern, rushes and bark. Look at the picture below of a traditional wharepuni. Does it look like your house?

On your blog, compare the wharepuni to your own home. What are two similarities and two differences between a wharepuni and your house?

Differences:
Wharepuni

• Where family comes together. 
• Everyone talks 

My home

• It doesnt feel like a home. 
• No one talks

Similarities:

Wharepuni

• Has a roof
• Has windows

My home

• Has a roof
• Has windows

Activity 2: Setting Sail

Activity 2: Setting Sail

The first settlers to come to New Zealand must have been really brave! They had to leave their original homes and sail thousands of miles across the ocean on a special boat called a ‘waka’ to reach New Zealand.

Imagine that you were on board one of the wakas. On your blog, write a short letter to a friend telling them about your voyage to New Zealand. In the letter be sure to tell them how you feel about moving to a new country. If it was me, I would have felt really nervous…

My letter to my friends:
Hi guys, I know you guys miss me. But don't worry, i'll be back as soon as you say "Get out". The first day I was voyaging I was so nervous I started sweating and looked like a burnt potato. I feel really lonely without yous annoying me all the time. Im missing yous like crazy. I made new friends with a family of fishes. I love and miss yous.

Day 1: Arriving in New Zealand

Day 1: Arriving in New Zealand…

Activity 1: The First Settlers

It is widely believed that the first people to arrive in New Zealand came from Polynesia. Most historians believe that they landed in New Zealand over 700 years ago. Although they were originally from many different countries, these settlers learned to live together and, eventually, formed their own distinct culture known as ‘Māori.’  Māori have their own language, traditions, and culture.

Follow this link to read a short story about a famous man in Māori mythology – Maui. On your blog, post three facts that you learned about this interesting man. What other stories have you heard about Maui?

What I learnt about Maui

• I read about the story of Maui and the giant fish. I learnt that he made a fishing line from flax and as he was weaving it he recited an old Karakia to give his fishing line strength. 
• Another Maori name for the south island is Te Waka-a-Maui which means The canoe of Maui. This is because Mauis canoe became the South Island and Banks Peninsula is where the place which supported his foot when he pulled up the large fish. 
• When Maui was an infant, his mum wrapped him around in a tress of hair from her topknot. Then the ocean spirits found Maui and wrapped him in seaweed. Sharn divine ancestor, Tama-nui-te-ra or Rangi takes Maui and nourishes it to adolescence. 

What I have heard about Maui

• He pulled the sun with his hook and made it go slower so we could have a longer day.
• Maui's parents is Taranga (His father) and Makeatutara (His mother.)
• Maui has four brothers.

Art project

This is my un-finished art work. We have been making paper mache. If you can not tell my art work is a pig.