Bright Beginnings Early Learning Centre – BOOK A TOUR
Fun Matariki Activities for Preschoolers
Matariki marks the Māori New Year and is the perfect moment to spend time with your family and engage in fun activities with your children. We have selected a few Matariki activities for preschoolers to help you celebrate and teach your little ones about Māori New Year.
Providing Quality Childcare Since 2012 • Infants, Toddlers & Preschool • Daycare Centre
Teaching children from an early age about different cultures enables them to learn more about their origins and identity and to understand the diversity of the world around them.
Matariki has become a unique way to celebrate Maori culture and to unite all New Zealanders in a feast of people, culture, language, and history.
Matariki marks the Māori New Year and is the perfect moment to spend time with your family and engage in fun activities with your children.
We have selected a few Matariki activities for preschoolers to help you celebrate and teach your little ones about Māori New Year.
What is Matariki?
Matariki is the Māori name for the small group, also known as the constellation “Pleiades,” that appears in the night sky before dawn.
New Zeeland celebrates the Māori New Year when this cluster of stars is visible. The name Matariki, translated to English, means the “eyes of the god” (mata ariki) or “little eyes” (mata riki) and is connected to several legends in the Māori culture.
Matariki activities for preschoolers
Matariki Activities for Preschoolers
Make wall-hanging stars
This activity is an excellent opportunity to put your preschooler’s little hands to work to create a craft at the centre of Matariki legends: stars.
Materials you need:
- 3 pieces of driftwood, about the same size
- 1 sheet of felt, A4 size
- 1 special pencil to draw on felt
- Scissors
- String
- Beads your child likes
- Small craft-feathers
- Needles large enough for the string
- Thread
- Glitter and glue
How to make wall-hanging stars:
Make a triangle by uniting the pieces of driftwood and have your little one help you tie them together with string.
Have your child draw on the felt several stars and help cut them out (or cut them yourself if your little one is not using scissors yet)
Saw the beads on the stars using needle and thread.
Have the little one dip the feathers in glue halfway and glue them to your stars.
The next step is to put glue on both sides of the stars and sprinkle glitter on them.
Tie the stars with string to your driftwoods triangle.
Hang the triangle on the wall with the help of another piece of string, and enjoy the Māori New Year!
This activity has been adapted from Kiwi Families.
Tell Matariki Pūrākau (stories)
Stories and legends are the oldest way of passing a glimpse of a culture’s richness, values, and teachings to the next generations.
To introduce your children to Matariki’s significance, you can tell them the story of
Tāwhirimātea, the God of the Wind. His siblings separated his parents – Ranginui, the Sky Father, and Papatūānuku, the Earth Mother, and that upset him so much that he took his eyes out and threw them into the sky.
That is how Matariki stars – “eyes of the god” (mata ariki) or “little eyes” (mata riki) have been born.
Another legend tells the story of Whaea (mother) and her six daughters, Tupu-ā-Nuku, Tupu-ā-Rangi, Waipunarangi, Waitī, Waitā, and Ururangi. They travelled each year across the sky to visit their tupuna wahine (grandmother). During these visits, the daughters would help their grandmother prepare for the coming year using their specific talents and qualities, and they would gain new skills and knowledge from her, passed on to the next generations.
You can share these legends with your preschoolers at home or make the experience even more engaging by going to a library that hosts Matariki wā korero story time events.
This activity has been inspired by Te Papa.
More Matariki Activities for Preschoolers
Create Matariki tin can lanterns
All Matariki activities for preschoolers can teach your little ones what this celebration means, and this one makes no exception.
Materials you need:
- Gloves for you and the children
- Tins with lids that peel off
- Water
- 1 icepick or a small, sharp screwdriver
- 1 Long stick
- 1 LED light candle
- Masking Tape
- Hammer
- 1 nail
- 1 Pipe cleaner
- 1 Paintbrush
- Beads chosen by your children
How to make Matariki tin can lanterns:
Remove the labels and wash the tin cans thoroughly.
Fill them with water and put them in the freezer overnight. This will prevent the cans from bending too much in the following stages of the process.
Let your children have fun by breaking the melting ice with the ice pick or screwdriver while wearing gloves (if they are older and can safely handle these tools). Or wait for the ice to melt and drain the water.
Take the cans out of the freezer and draw the desired patterns (heart, star, etc.) on them, or use masking tape to stick those patterns onto them.
Put each can on a stable surface (like wood) and use a hammer and a nail to make holes into the outline of the pattern. When you finish, add two additional holes at the top of the lantern.
Remove the masking tape (if used) and paint the outside of the cans with two coats at least. Once the paint is dry, put one end of the pipe cleaner into the tin, thread it with your child’s chosen beads and connect the other end.
Put the LED light candle inside the cans. Hang the cans by the pipe cleaner on the long stick.
Take the lanterns for a Matariki night walk to embrace the spirit of the celebration.
This activity has been adapted from Kiwi Families.
Bake star cookies
Baking star biscuits is one of the most enjoyable Matariki activities for preschoolers, as all kids love cookies.
Ingredients you need:
- 125 grams of softened butter
- 1⁄2 cup of sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp of golden syrup or honey
- 1 1⁄2 cups of flour (a little more if you are using gluten-free flour)
- Crushed boiled lollies
How to make star cookies:
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Put the softened butter into a large bowl, add the sugar, egg, and syrup (or honey), and whisk until creamy. Sift the flour, add it to the mix, and stir until evenly blended.
Sprinkle flour on a working surface and roll the dough until 3 mm thick. Cut circles in the dough and then small star shapes inside each circle.
Place the stars on a tray lined with baking paper and fill each star shape with boiled crushed lollies.
Put the tray inside the oven and bake until the dough is slightly golden and the lolly crumbs have melted. Take the tray out and leave it to cool until the lolly centres settle.
Enjoy the cookies with your family and friends!
This activity has been adapted from Woman +.
Matariki is a time of great joy and reflection on the past, present, and future. This celebration will be more special for your children if you try one or more of these Matariki activities for preschoolers.
If you are in Auckland or Hamilton, check out our “14 Fun Toddler Activities in Auckland” or “9 Fun Toddler Activities in Hamilton” articles for ideas over Matariki!
We've put together some helpful articles about childcare and daycare in New Zealand
Toddler Milestones: What to Expect in the Second Year
Toddler milestones are exciting! Learn what to expect in your child's second year: physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Get tips for parenting a one to two-year-old and when to seek professional advice.
Soothing Separation Anxiety: 6 Tips for Parents
Building a Strong Parent-Toddler Bond: Quality Time and Connection is a explores the significance of nurturing relationships between parents and toddlers through meaningful interactions
Building a Strong Parent-toddler Bond: Quality Time and Connection
Building a Strong Parent-Toddler Bond: Quality Time and Connection is a explores the significance of nurturing relationships between parents and toddlers through meaningful interactions
How do you Juggle Being a Working from Home Mum?
Many people struggle to juggle work and personal life, especially for mums who want to contribute their best at work and raise their children. The good news is that you can do both, and in this article, we explore how you can juggle being a working-from-home mum.
How to Develop Communication Skills in Preschoolers
Explore practical tips and activities designed to foster effective communication abilities in young children, setting a strong foundation for their future success
How Do I Prepare My 2-Year-old for Daycare?
Discover essential tips for preparing your 2-year-old for daycare in this insightful article. Read on to ensure a smooth transition and help your child thrive in their daycare experience
Our Early Learning Centres
Our early childhood centre environments strongly reflects our inspiration – The Reggio Emilia philosophy, from Reggio Emilia, Italy.
We provide a creative and open ended environment that encourages infinite learning for the children and strong relationships between teachers, children and families.
The day’s routines are flexible. At the same time, care is taken to recognise and respect each child’s needs.
Why Choose a Bright Beginnings Early Learning Centre?
- Encouraging the use of natural materials
- A strong transition into school
- Teaching team inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach supports your child’s creative potential.
- Healthy, tasty hot meals cooked fresh on site
- 20 ECE hours available/free sessions for 3 year olds
- A boutique, homely feel to our centres
- Strong connections between teachers and whanau.
Here's what our parents say about our childcare centres
We are so happy that our son is a part of the Bright Beginnings family. The staff have been so welcoming and caring since the day he joined here. He has the freedom to explore and experiment as he learns about the world around him. With each passing day, he is growing into a confident and independent young boy, while building friendships and learning important life skills. We are also especially happy that he gets nutritious meals everyday, an important concern for us as parents. Most importantly, he loves it so much here that he can't wait to be back at the Centre every morning! As parents, we can go about our day with the assurance that our son is in good hands within a safe environment. Thank you to the entire BBELC team for that, Devika.
Bright Beginnings has and is a second home to both my son and now my daughter. Amber loves coming to the centre everyday and to see the relationship she has with the teachers is very special. We love everything Bright Beginnings embodies and are thankful to have found this centre.
- Best price
- Best service. From Jade Tavita
I was absolutely blown away by the presentation and the effort that went into the parent teacher interviews. I have not seen anything like it before and it made me feel very comfortable and welcome as a parent. From Darren Masters
Super duper loving, caring teachers. Awesome environment where our boy can flourish everyday. Thank you, Brad and Joanna.
Dillon absolutely loves his new big boy class. He even asks us if he can go on a Saturday and Sunday. Thanks all for making going to school so easy for us. Thanks, Anika.
I love and enjoy watching April develop and grow, I am so happy and grateful that she is in an amazing environment filled with people who care and look out for each other.
Beautiful Daycare. Thank you all.- Best price from Zara.
- Best service
Cherry: Our family is very grateful that we found BBELC. So far it is the best daycare we have seen. We are glad to enrol our kids here. Having peace of mind that our kids are safe, well fed, looked after and enjoy activities with the teachers and other kids is PRICELESS!!!
THANK YOU for helping my kids explore new things. You are all amazing. Like what I always say to the teacher, I don't know how you all do it but the teachers here at BBELC are SUPERHEROES! As parents we feel your passion, dedication and love.
Previous
Next
Come and visit one of our childcare centres and see for yourself why your child will love it
Talk to the Centre Manager, meet the team, see the natural outdoor play areas and educational rooms, learn about how we develop our programs and find out more about our unique approach to partnering with our families.
Our latest parent reviews from Google
Related Posts
What are the Different Types of Early Childhood Centres?
Selecting the right Early Childhood Centre for your child is very important. As they will spend a lot of their time in these learning spaces, feeling comfortable here is paramount. Read our article to ensure you choose the right one for you and your child.
What are the Core Values of the Reggio Emilia Approach?
The Reggio Emilia Approach sees children as valuable members of communities where they are encouraged to explore, wonder, question and learn to understand the world around them and reach their full potential in the first five years of life.