13/09/2026
💚🌿 Te Wiki o te Reo Māori & a very special Birthday Week at Megan’s 🌿💚
This week is Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week, but here at Megan’s, it is also a week that holds a very special place in my heart. 🎂❤️
For the past 8 years, I have had the privilege of celebrating Birthday Week with at least one child in my care — and sometimes myself and a child have celebrated our birthdays together.
Eight years of birthday songs, cakes, candles, crowns, excitement, laughter, little traditions and those beautiful moments that become part of the story of our home-based childcare. 🥰
It got me thinking about how we can make te reo Māori meaningful and relevant to the children, rather than simply introducing words because it is Māori Language Week.
So this year, our Birthday Table brings the two together. 🎂🌿
We have words connected to birthdays displayed in both English and te reo Māori, including:
🎂 Keke – cake
🎁 Koha – gift/present
🎉 Whakanui – celebrate
❤️ Aroha – love
👑 Karauna – crown
🎈 Rā whānau – birthday
🕯️ Rāmeneti – candle
These words aren't just decorations on a table. They are words the children can see, hear, say and use while they are actually experiencing something meaningful to them.
When we talk about whose birthday is coming, sing a birthday waiata, pretend to bake a keke, put on a karauna, give someone a koha or talk about celebrating together, te reo Māori naturally becomes part of our conversations and play.
🌿 This is what meaningful language learning looks like to me.
Children are more likely to engage with language when they can connect it to their own lives, interests, relationships and experiences. I want te reo Māori to feel like a natural and valued part of our everyday environment — something we use because it belongs here, not something we only bring out for a special week.
This also connects beautifully with Te Whāriki, particularly Mana Reo | Communication, as children develop confidence in communicating and experience language as a way of expressing ideas, relationships and experiences.
It also supports Mana Whenua | Belonging, as children see their own important experiences reflected within our environment, and Mana Atua | Wellbeing, as we create a place where each child feels valued, known and celebrated.
And perhaps my favourite part is that this isn't just about learning words.
It's about connection.
It's about creating a childhood where children feel that their celebrations matter, their voices matter, their culture matters and that they belong here. 💚
So while we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, we are also celebrating something very special about our own little childcare whānau — eight years of birthdays, relationships, memories and growing together. 🎂🌿❤️
He taonga te reo Māori — Māori language is a treasure. 💚
