Tane Mahuta has a forest!!

Tane Mahuta has a forest, A E I O U.........  This is one of our favourite stories at the moment, looking at the journey of Pukeko, Kiwi and Hoiho as they put on their packs and explore the forest........

Tane Mahuta is the guardian/kaitiaki of the forest and through the story we have learnt about all the wonders in the forest, the trees, bushes, plants, leaves and the creatures that live within.  

We have also recently discovered that the tallest Kauri tree in NZ is named after him, it is a really really big tree!!

This story has become very popular and is requested regularly for us to revisit and read.  As an extension to the interest in the story an idea sparked to create our very own Tane Mahuta and forest friends scene at Kindy.

This required important planning and so we began to discuss and gather idea's to inform our project.  Our tamariki shared their idea's of what we might find in the forest

Shaan says "Trees"

Leo says "Kiwi's"

Aiden says "A lemon tree like ours"

Sasha says "Birds"

Evie says "Spiders"

Marlo says "A cricket"

Blake says "A grasshopper"

Another aspect to consider in our project planning was what the different materials, resources, colours and textures we might need to carry out our plan.  We are so lucky to have such creative and thoughtful tamariki bringing their idea's to the table.

This project is going to be a big one! and will probably take us quite some time to complete but we are excited to get started!!  It is also a great opportunity for all our tamariki to become involved in some way, whether it's sharing idea's, painting, gluing, taping, planting, creating animals or even just observing and listening to the story.  It also enables us to build on our idea's over time and will involve a lot of teamwork, collaboration, problem solving and creativity.

And so we begin.....  We will ensure to keep you updated as we make progress.  We can't wait to see the end result!!

Bubble Speed the rocket came in
handy once again, using it for the Kauri Trunk.

Laying with wall paper and lots of glue

The tamariki chose the colour parauri brown
 A few keen painters then got stuck into mahi working on the trunk together, each choosing a brush or sponge to use

Many hands make light work

Leo looks up high as Laura gets those bits at the top we just can't quite reach
Nearly complete!

Now to make the branches for the Kauri tree!!  We stuffed stockings full of newspaper to make big long branches and then painted them brown.  We found using our hands to be the best technique.  A very messy task!  But one thoroughly enjoyed by those who love the feel of wet squishy paint!  They looked a little like long wriggly worms, we had a giggle.  Then when we put them out to dry hanging, we thought they looked like big fat long sausages from the butcher shop, even funnier!