Our last bit of learning for the term was about the celebration of Matariki. We learned it is the Maori New Year and a time for reflection and preparation for the year ahead. There are nine stars in the Matariki cluster and in early times, the night sky was an important part of daily life for Maori. The changes would tell them when it was time to plant and harvest crops, to hold ceremonies and to celebrate. The stars have connections to the environment and people’s lives.
We created a night sky using coloured chalk on black cardboard and then cut out a silhouette of the landscape to show contrast and depth. Then we added the nine stars which were kindly folded into tiny stars by our friends in Room 7. This is what they look like:
We also created some stars using wool and a round cardboard shape that looks like a clock (numbered 1 – 12.) We wove the wool from different numbers evenly around the circular shape. We had to be careful to count evenly as we worked our way around the circle. Some of us used two or three different colours. We are very happy with the outcome:
We wish all our families a happy and restful holiday.