Constructing correlations among self-image and location
At Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten, we're all about making our students feel at home—no matter where home originally was. Jacqui Lees and Olivia Ng, two kick-ass teachers here, wanted to work on a project that would celebrate our diverse immigrant community and help our kids connect with their roots, as well as their new environment.
So, we decided to dig into place-based education and pepeha—a Māori way of introducing oneself that reflects connections to land, ancestors, and community. Here’s what we did:
Connections between identity and place
We chose Maungarei Mt Wellington, our local maunga, as the starting point for our study, and our little learners eagerly pictured the mountain in their work. That way, they could see themselves right smack in the middle of where they lived.
Learning Outcomes
First up, we figured out what our kids might learn in this project:
- They'd develop a working theory of how the world—their family, their home country, and Aotearoa—fits together.
- They'd make connections between people, places, and things in their home countries and Aotearoa.
- They'd discover each other's cultural ways of being, knowing, and doing.
- They’d share their cultural funds of knowledge with their families—our students would be free to use their home languages to express themselves and explore their ideas.
- They’d gain a deeper understanding of their own mana atuatanga—their uniqueness and spiritual connectedness to the world around them.
Background
Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten is a community-based center that’s been around since 1974. With our students coming from China, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, South Africa, Samoa, and New Zealand, we've intentionally had a diverse teaching team to represent the broader community. We have 40 students aged 2-6, and we operate as a mixed-age environment—so it’s a big, beautiful melting pot!
Our kindergarten philosophy is based on providing a learning environment that nurtures head, heart, and hand. Our five core values—wonder, respect, collaboration, responsibility, imagination, and openness—guide everything we do. We’re all about questioning, listening, and learning together.
Creating Belonging with the Local Maunga
We used the mountains from the tamariki’s pepeha as the starting point to connect and "become friends" with the center’s local maunga. Equipped with curiosity and creativity, our little explorers began researching their mountains on the internet, allowing them to tell their stories, rethink, and refine their ideas.
Armed with their fresh insights, we set off on an adventure to visit our local mountains. But Maungarei was closed, so we switched gears and visited Ōhuiarangi/Pigeon Mountain instead. We wanted our students to document their experiences, so we gave each of them cameras to record the things that touched their hearts.
Back at the kindergarten, when the students revisited their photos, they had a new appreciation for the environment they lived in. Their learnings went beyond the concrete and visual—they understood that even though we may have different ideas, we can still be friends. And their 3D models, drawings, and stories personified the mountain, making it a friend they felt they made happy.
What Worked Well
Embracing uncertainty and following the learners’ ideas was the key to this project. Using their bodies and imaginations to think through the different elements allowed students across our age range to participate and share their ideas. Listening to each other helped children rethink and modify their theories, making learning a collaborative experience.
Challenges
A closed Maungarei threw us for a loop, but being open-minded allowed us to come up with other options. We also learned that we need to be sure who took which photos so we can give credit where it's due.
Children’s Learning
Besides learning about the local environment, our students developed rich oral language skills, explored the arts, and gained a deeper understanding of themselves as active citizens in connection with the local mountains and the ecology of these unique spaces. The connection to family, community, and culture was palpable throughout this project.
In conclusion, using place-based education and pepeha can create a powerful connection between students, their roots, and their new environment. It opens up opportunities for deep learning about culture, identity, and the world around us. We hope future educators can learn from our experiences and continue to make learning a journey of exploration, collaboration, and self-discovery for every child, no matter where they come from.
Students at Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten, through a project rooted in place-based education and pepeha, endeavored to enhance their understanding of their cultural identities and the connection between their roots and their new environment. This project facilitated the development of a cohesive theory of the world, fostered cross-cultural connections, and promoted the sharing of cultural knowledge, all while boosting the children's awareness of their unique identities and spiritual connectedness to their new environment.
In the future, educators can emulate this approach, leveraging place-based education and pepeha to cultivate a sense of belonging among students, foster self-discovery, and encourage deep learning about culture, identity, and their surroundings. This can serve as an enriching journey for all students, regardless of their origins.
