Matariki Poi

Last Friday we met again at our new place, the Te Nikau Chapel,where Eurika received us very warmly,the room had been warmed  up and she was doing some cafe. Immediately we felt welcome. Annie, our new creche helper, was already there, ready to play with the Children and very soon, after a healthy morning tea ( for the kids-the adults were lucky because Jo's husband had had a birthday the day before and she brought a delicious choco cake!) they started to play with play dough, to throw balls, to roll toy cars...

Just in time for Matariki Yossarian had the good Idea to give a Poi workshop.She did not only show us the technique, everyone had the opportunity to do one, but also to explain a lot about what a poi is, where and when it is used by Maori. The talk was very informative and culturally interesting! After this Yossarian taught us a song in maori and we tried even a little dance!

I just loved it, again in a friendly atmosphere to learn about the culture and to create somethings myself!
It was nice to involve the older kids. Malte enjoyed it very much, he knows poi from kindy and saw some dancing. Now he can extend his skills that already includes the haka.

The only wrong thing: why did we do only 1 poi? the dancers have often 2 poi, Malte wanted to be a real Maori, he wanted 2 poi!! and Loàn? he absolutely wanted 1 poi too (the only one we had, means Maltes poi...). And I?? I just please don't want fight! Now I know how to do Poi....I know what to do this weekend: 2 another poi!!;)

The longest walk?

This month we were treated with a fantastic autumn morning to go on our walk and the warmth of sun meant some of us were taking off layers of clothes before we even started.  Meeting at a playground was a great hit with the kids, who would of stayed there quite happily I'm sure if it wasn't for us getting on the go at 10am.

Great to see some new faces there.  Hopefully we didn't put you off as while it was our shortest walk in distance so far it managed to be our longest in time!!! Honestly we don't normally take that long ;)  We all made it to half way and then began to go our separate ways as time was running towards nap times and feeding,  however 3 of us finally made the full loop in time to head home for lunch.

Fingers crossed the weather for next month is as fantastic when we head into Queen Elizabeth Park.  Remember if you have any ideas for walks that may suit the group please let us know so that we can include them too.

Naturopathy

Today we met at our new venue for the first time, the Te Nikau Chapel, and just like the Women's Centre it is a lovely place to meet up in. Although there was just little toys available (thanks to Yossarian for the ones she provided), the kids soon found games to play and entertain themselves - you wouldn't believe what joy a ball and a few soft toys can bring. Thanks to Annie they were also supervised at all times so we could listen to Kerstin's talk about Naturopathy.

 

After Kerstin finally found the chapel - it is indeed a bit tricky :) - we got a brief but valuable insight into what Naturopathy is and how it works. In a world so full of technology and new inventions we forget to treasure the simple things. Doctors are neither gods nor magicians and sometimes going back to what nature provides us with - unless we exploit it too much - is just what we need to do. For our bodies' sake.

I really appreciated Kerstin to take some time to talk to us today. For me it was very informative and I'll definitely keep Naturopathy in mind the next time I feel unwell.

 

Enjoy your weekend and keep well! Eva

 

Oxfam's Biggest Coffee Break

One of the first things you notice after moving to New Zealand is Kiwi's love affair with the roasted coffee bean. New Zealand is one of the largest per capita coffee consumers in the world and not only are there cafes and coffee kiosks wherever you go, there are plenty of roaster's producing their own blends too. It seems most of us from the group have grown a big 'coffee tooth' since moving to New Zealand as our regular monthly children free 'coffee and cake' event is usually super popular.

Last Friday night we tried to blend into this Kiwi coffee blend craziness again - this time with a bit of Fair Trade flavour sprinkled on top.  We met at Branka's place to mark Oxfam’s Biggest Coffee Break http://www.oxfamcoffeebreak.org.nz/. This is an annual event which takes place during Fair Trade Fortnight (May 7-22), and aims at raising awareness of Fair Trade in New Zealand as well as money for Oxfam's work.

While there appear to be almost indefinite ways you could have your New Zealand cuppa - late, soy late, flat black, long black, flat white, mochocinno, cappochino, espresso - we joined with a standard homely 'coffee with milk' style. For the ones whose 'coffee tooth' still didn't come out, there was a fair trade hot chocolate and of course some homemade cakes.  We also watched "Living with Coffee", a documentary about Colombian coffee producers and NZ coffee roasters and have raised NZ$60 for Oxfam.

Felting in the Sunshine

Last Friday we had the Felting workshop, hosted by Ursa and run by Ursa and Mae.  Thanks so much both of you and thanks Ursa for writing this week's blog entry.  Think this may be a good recurring theme - one of us take turns to write a wee paragraph to add on here.

On our get together on Friday we were blessed with sun so we could do what we had planned - making felt balls. After short tea and snack time, we rolled up our sleeves, filled our buckets with some hot soapy water and started with the making of our own wet felted balls. Kids were enthusiastically the first ones on a mission to form the balls from raw unspun wool... and after some time handed it over to mums. In the company of nice people the time just flew and then it was again time to say "see you on the next meeting"!    

We have funding!

After form filling, e-mail exerts and a hasty hand-in we finally have some funds to create a creche at group!

I had to attend the Community Board Meeting, Major Jenny Rowan included, last Tuesday night and make a small presentation about who we are and why we needed the funds.  Somehow I had the false idea that I was just going to answer some questions and so was completely unprepared when it was announced that the groups requesting funds would make a 3 min presentation!!  Thankfully I'm used to speaking in front of others and it all went smoothly. 

Guru was very supportive, putting in an extra good word for us for our involvement in the Race Relations Day, which I'm sure helped. Funding granted and today I received a letter to confirm that the money would be put into our newly formed bank account. 

Jenny Rowan gave me her card at the meeting with a note attached saying that she would like to attend one of our get-togethers.  So we'll have to work out a time when the maximum can attend so that they can see their money is being well spent!!

Now to find someone willing to entertain all our little darlings on Fridays.  If anyone knows of someone that may be interested let me know. Otherwise enjoy your holidays and see you at the Walk on 6th May.

Holiday Time

After a busy term we are now having a two week break for the school holidays.  Thanks to everyone that gave time, energy and resources which made our fund-raiser for Japan such a success.  We raised a grand total of $637.20 on the day of our stall and then an additional $100 from the washi eggs and origami being sold at Te Ra School.  The funds will go to Oxfam Japan and Save the Children. Oxfam is focusing on Mothers and babies, and Save the Children is supporting displaced children through 'children spaces' at refuge centres.

With the rain setting in outside I thought it was a good time to post on here about Yumiko's next project.  If you have some spare time during the next two weeks to create something for these children, many of whom have lost everything, they will be warmly received.  Have a great break and see below for details from Yumiko:

FUKUDAMACHI KINDERGARTEN PROJECT
Two weeks after the quake, I spoke with my cousin, who teaches at Fukudamachi Kindergarten. The teachers had just completed most of the clean-up of the kindy and were now ready to welcome the children back. While almost all 200 students were safe, some had lost their homes, leaving them without clothing, toys and other basic necessities. Many children will be traumatised from the disaster.
The head teacher of Fukudamachi Kindergarten has welcomed an offer of a care package of clothing and toys which will be distributed to children in need.
We welcome any donation of handmade new items that reflect the following considerations:
?       Children are aged 3-5
?       Clothing items are required more than toys.
?       Clothing can include skirts, shorts, tops, dresses, polar fleece, hats
?       Japan is heading into spring, but it is still very cool in the mornings/evenings in this part of the country (in March it is still snowing!).
?       Please consider weight and bulk
When delivering your items:
?       Include details of age/size and if relevant, gender
If you?d like to...
?       Take a photo of you/your family/group and your item and email it to hapachica@gmail.com please do this as soon as possible (preferably before delivery of item)
?       Include names and ages of those in the photo
These will be assembled into a montage for the kindergarten.
Photos of the kindergarten and its children can be seen here:
http://www.fukudagakuen.com/
Handmade items can be purchased if you are unable to make them. Purchases at felt aid (http://felt.co.nz/shop/feltaid) also help those affected by the Christchurch earthquake.
Please deliver items between 10am-2pm 28th April 2011, to 113 Riwai St, Paraparaumu 5032, or on Monday 2 May to the Te Ra school office