Maketu Educare's innovative approach to using history to teach pre-schoolers

Chrissie Keepa, left, and Kelsi Robinson have been using technology to engage tamariki at Maketu Educare in the history of the area.

When history is on your doorstep - why not use it.

That's the thinking behind an innovative initiative at Maketū Educare.

Teachers Chrissie Keepa and Kelsi Robinson are behind the initiative that aims to look at history ''through children's eyes''.

The project began in 2018, but has flowed through the work of the early childhood education centre throughout 2019.

Through their own study Chrissie and Kelsi came up with an inquiry question: How can tamariki grow their learning through local pakiwaitara [folklore] and then share them in various ways with whānau, community and globally.

''We wanted something we were passionate about that whānau and the children are passionate about as well,'' says Kelsi.

''We thought, how interesting it would be to find out who we are.''

First up they had to learn some of it for themselves.

''We've learned from experts who know a lot about the history of Maketū, about local history.''

''There's only so much you can get out of a book,'' says Chrissie, ''so we had to touch base with kaumātua and rangatira and experts and go to wānanga and things like that to grow our knowledge and then pass it on to the tamariki.''

''We are tying to engage the parents as well in the children's learning and their interests,'' says Kelsi.

The story of the voyage of the Te Arawa waka was a major focus last year.

''We started with a book called the History of Maketū and we just started flicking through it and it took us on the voyage. We realised that when you look into history, especially Māori history, most of the time it's a male focus, so we thought, let's tap in the wāhine involved.

They discovered the story of Whakaotirangi, who had hidden her basket of kūmara to prevent them being eaten on the voyage, then planted them at Maketū giving Te Arawa a continual, good supply of kūmara.

Matariki and its importance in determining when to plant and navigation to Aotearoa were also integrated into the story.

''The learning that we did with the kids was in so many different ways - there was maths, literacy, reading, technology - all interwoven into that one story,'' says Kelsi.

Visiting the local maunga, Pukemaire, helped give children context to the story.

''When you go up to Pukemaire you can literally see where the waka came in. And we are up at the maunga that most of our tamariki whakapapa to, so to be on the maunga and talk about their history, they are fully engaged. We are pretty blessed to be where we are.''

While heading out of the centre, into the community, tamariki wore Go Pros to capture what they were seeing.

''We'd go for a hikoi down to the beach and they'd be wearing their Go Pros and they go: 'look there's Tokaparore' [the rock the Te Arawa waka was tethered to] and they will talk about the anchor of Te Arawa waka and they are talking about their history and they are recording it all on the technology,'' says Chrissie.

When asked if the pre-schoolers ''get it,'' Kelsi replies: ''I hope they do''.

''We have a student teacher with us and she said to me that the tamariki are so strong in their identity which is something we have been trying to feed into them and to hear that it was 'thank you', because we don't know - we are almost too close to see.''

The project will continue this year and Kelsi says the possibilities are almost endless, both at Maketū Educare, and in terms of sharing the ideas with others.

''I think we have lifted the confidence of our whānau too, because we are telling them they are their children's biggest teachers they are the ones that their children look up to the most.''

Kelsi and Chrissie envisage more interaction with the community, including the kura, in 2020.