We have been enjoying learning about Hinemoa and Tutanekai and our school Pepeha in Room 8. We thought it would enhance our learning to go for a walk over the school field to Utuhina stream on Friday. We were intrested to learn that Hinemoa and Tutanekai lived up in the hills behind our school; Tihiotonga, which our school is named after. We also learned that the stream was much bigger then and was used by Hinemoa and Tutanekai for many things including catching fish to eat. Here we are having lots of fun on our walk...
Here we are in Room 8 having fun together and working hard at measuring! We used beads as nonstandard measurement units to measure a range of things in our class. We worked together, as it was pretty tricky and we practised our counting skills to measure objects with beads. We learned that it is very important to line up the bottom of your object with the first bead on the bead string.
Room 8 have been learning about local history, our people, and our places. We are currently learning about Mokoia Island and the māori story of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai. We are learning about where they lived, and how land resources were special and useful at that time (looking at change over time also). Did you know that Hinemoa and Tūtānekai eventually moved to Tihiōtonga? This makes our area extra special to us! We will learn about how māori identify with their nearby land as a way of expressing identity, tribal affiliations, and making tribal links. This is usually done as an oral recitation called a "Pepeha" - We have a school Pepeha that we are learning, and by taking the children to view and explore these nearby special places (Tihiōtonga peak, Utuhina stream), we are giving them real context to support their learning. Below is a mixture of photos, videos, and bits of information about our current learning. We will keep you updated as we progress with our learning and experiences.
Some photos Whaea Callie took on Mokoia Island in 2014 and shared with Room 8. We discussed how the Island looks and where it is situated in the middle of Lake Rotorua. We looked at photos of 'Hinemoa's Pool' and learnt about the name of the pool - Waikimihia and what it means. We learnt about Lake Rotorua, and how Mokoia is in the middle of our lake. The children did a great job of retelling the story, and recalling information. Ka rawe!
This is Moko Ratana singing Pōkarakare Ana - the waiata (song) that tells of the love story between Hinemoa and Tūtānekai.
Our School Pepeha
One of the stories we have read and discussed in Room 8.
In Room 8, we learn about Manaakitanga and caring for others. The tamariki show Manaakitanga to themselves, their peers, and to their teachers. They find that Manaakitanga given out often returns. These are some of our ideas below, and a video we viewed to help our understanding.
This term we are learning about measurement and comparing sizes. Today we started exploring length and height. We watched a song about Jack And The Beanstalk and then used beanstalk pictures and made beanstalks which we compared and talked about using our size words. A great start to our Term 1 Maths mahi, Ka rawe Room 8!!
