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Year Three Connecting with Kai & Eating Kumara

 

Today Year 3 were the first year group to try our 2026 Matariki kumara.  What a great way to restart our "Connecting to Kai" Unit.  Did you know that Pacific Islanders couldn't fully settle in Aotearoa until they had established kumara gardens? That's what makes kumara such a special vegetable here.

How did the kumara taste?

Sammy "The kumara tasted quite sweet"

"It tasted juicy, sweet and salty" Jonas

"It was mushy" Milan

"It was delicious" Reyna

"It's too mushy to put in a burger" Jaxon

We talked about how kai can effect our mood.  If we don't eat regularly we can feel 'hangry' and if we eat too much it can make us feel sleepy or ill.  Eating a variety of food regularly helps our us feel good and grow. Some food makes us feel happy because it connects us to special times and people.

Chloe "My grandmother makes me corn and beef dumplings."

Harvey "I ate too much cake at Christmas time and I felt sick."

We drew our favourite meals and the meals that we think will help us to grow.

Next time we're going to think about processed vs. unprocessed food and make a healthy snack.

2026 Year Six Finish Off the Kumara Harvest - 40 = 458 grand total

 This morning, K1 dug up the last of the kumara making the 2026 harvest 458 in total! Incredible. 

"When we went to the big bed Harry found six kumara." Ren

"Me, Richard and Luca kept finding pink or purple roots and we'd get excited but then annoyed because there were no more kumara." Hunter

"We found like twenty fat worms in the garden" Alysia

"When we were digging up I found a giant kumara" Emily

For the rest of the day Year Six worked in the sunshine weeding the Mara Kai. Thanks Year Six for your hard mahi!

2026 Kumara Harvest Still Going with Year 4 - 141

 This morning was another bluebird winter's day,  Room 5 were first out to harvest kumara.

"It was very fun digging up kumara and seeing how big they could get.  I hope we get over three hundred today" Nick

Amelia "My hands were very stiff from the cold dirt, but it was worth it find six kumara."

Theo "There were still a lot of kumara in the other patches. I felt excited."

Alyssa "It was very hard to dig to get the kumara out but it was nice seeing we had a lot of kumara."

In total they dug up 77 kumara!

After morning tea Room 4 found 42 kumara.  Unfortunately the buttercup had taken over the beds where they were digging, so the kumara hadn't had room to grow.

In the afternoon Room 6 dug up 22 in a shady bed.  Valentin dug up the biggest kumara of the day by far!

So that's 77+42+22 = 141 kumara dug up by Year 4.  WELL DONE & lots of fun too.

We're looking forward to eating them!

Room 3 Moth Discovery

 

Today Room 3 were excited to find two butterflies or moths.  We did some research and discovered they are called Magpie Moths and are only found in NZ. These endemic moths are unusual because they often fly around during the day. Their caterpillars are black and furry.

We found out more by listening to this: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/collections/critter-of-the-week/audio/2018977910/critter-of-the-week-the-magpie-moth-nyctemera-annulata 

One was dead so we put it in the bug magnifier on the science table.  You can see if next time you are in The Green Room.

2026 Kumara Harvest Continues with Year Five - 212

 Today Year Five got out into the misty Mara Kai to continue our late Matariki kumara harvest.  Room 1 worked together to dig up 62 kumara!

Orlando "I saw delicious kumara in the soil."

Constance "I saw a gigantic kumara in the place I was digging so I had to keep digging and I twisted it and it finally came out."

Harvey "I found a kumara attached to the vines and it was super long.  It felt awesome."

Liam "I dug out a pink kumara"

Diego "I found a kumara shaped like a gun."

Room 3 dug up 72 more kumara.  Ranger was particularly lucky at finding them on her birthday.

Ella "The kumara were all different shapes and sizes."

TJ "We had big and small kumaras."

Ranger "We had some that looked like potatoes because they were yellowish."

Quinn "We had dig around the kumaras because if we pulled on them they would snap."

Ciara "I saw two roots that looked like swords"

"We found more stashes than we thought" Tino

Room2 dug up 80 little kumara in the afternoon and found a skink and grubs too.

Jessica "It was really fun digging up kumara, but it was not fun getting dirt everywhere."

Madeleine "The kumara came in all different sizes: big, long, short and skinny."

Hazel "We had to be careful not to snap the kumara."

Milana "Finding the kumara was really fun because it was a bit like a mystery.  You didn't know if you would find one or not."

Next time we are looking forward to easting the kumara!