Matariki

“Ko Mummy ahau,” announced Master Four upon his arrival home from kindy.

It’s just as well I remember some basic third form Maori else I might’ve been offended.

It’s Matariki time and Onerahi kindergarten is embracing it by revisiting the history of the suburb through story telling and waiata.

Matariki is a small but distinctive star cluster whose appearance in the north eastern pre-dawn sky signals the Maori New Year and the start of a new phase of life. To mark new beginnings, the children are also planting seeds and the celebrations will culminate with shared kai and a performance of their learnings.

Although the opening phrase was used out of context – “Ko (own name) ahau”, which means “My name is …” I was still very impressed with what they’d learnt.

Along with the Maori phrases, they have been learning waiata and the kids who aren’t shy, have had a chance to sing and record what they’ve learnt into the “microwave,” as Miss Four informed me.

I take it she was one of the shy ones for she didn’t feature on the CD which arrived home with them one day this week to bring parents, like me, up to speed and put them on a par with their childrens’ bilingual abilities.

Master Four did though. He conducted a solo of Kei Hea T Tuna and proceeded to go rather pink in the cheeks when we played it back at home.

When his big brother returned from school, instead of the predicted flak, he played it over, listening intently, perhaps impressed his younger brother had managed to make it onto CD.

The CD was accompanied by the lyrics to the songs along with some common words and phrases.

This cleared up the confusion over why the twins had come home one day saying one of their teachers was “maui-a-wee-wee”. It turned out the correct word for “sick” is mauiui – they’d added a few extra wee-wee’s in there.

Speaking of mauiui – the being under the weather part, not the wee-wees – I got a call from the kindy this week to say Master Four had had a head collision with another kid. One was going up the slide as the other was coming down and, such was the impact, they both went flying through the air.

Master Four is now sporting an impressive blue egg on his forehead while the other victim had a bruised cheek. I’m unsure if they are still hoa – that’s friends in Maori – but Master Four claimed to be too “maui-a-wee-wee” to go to rugby training that night.