Matariki Celebrations

Abbey's Kindergarten is so awesome!! They do some really awesome stuff. The last month they have had a focus on Matariki.

For those of you who don't know Matariki is the Maori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades star cluster or The Seven Sisters; and what is referred to as the traditional Maori New Year. The Maori new year is marked by the rise of Matariki and the sighting of the next new moon. The pre-dawn rise of Matariki can be seen in the last few days of May every year and the new year is marked at the sighting of the next new moon which occurs during June.

At the beginning of June the Kindergarten had a shared Breakfast which everyone was invited to to mark the beginning of Matariki and during the month they have had lots of activities planned around the 'Matariki' theme.

Last Wednesday we had a shared dinner and closing celebration of Matariki at Kindergarten.

There was a bonfire in the middle of a ring of stools

Riley and Abbey had fun watching the fire and it sure was nice on the chilly night!

We all sat down to a lovely shared Dinner

Abbey and Riley with Abbey's Kindy Friends, Grace, Jules and Lucy May

After dinner we had a Lantern Parade where we all went for a walk around the street with glass jar candle lanterns the children had made during the week.

Grace, Abbey and Zoe

After the 'Lantern Parade' we all sat around the fire, sang songs and ate toasted marshmallows.

It was an AMAZING Night! I had fun, the kids had fun and Grandma had fun too! I am continually amazed at the effort and passion that Abbey's teachers, Kim, Christine, Zair and Donna, put into the amazing activities they do. I LOVE Mairtown Kindergarten and am so pleased Abbey goes there!

To check out Mairtown Kindergartens version of events see HERE

If you are in Whangarei I HIGHLY recommend Mairtown for your child! They are AWESOME!