Summer learning journey week one day two: Its all in a days work

Activity one: A house or a home?

In the 1800s, most Māori lived in villages called pa. Each village had many buildings – kauta where people cooked, pataka where they stored goods and wharepuni where the Māori slept. A traditional wharepuni had a thatched roof and walls made of timber, fern, rushes and bark. Look at the picture below of a traditional wharepuni. Does it look like your house? On your blog, compare the wharepuni to your own home. What are two similarities and two differences between a wharepuni and your house?

Some interesting facts about these traditional houses...

- Wharepuni are what are described as rectangular sleeping houses, in the 1800s most Māori people lived in villages called pa.

- Each of the villages had a kauta as well. Kauta were where people cook. They also had Pataka where they stored some goods and wharepuni was where the Māori slept.

- The doorways of the wharepuni were very small.

- The roof was made with timber, rushes and things like that.

There are a few similarities between modern houses and the wharepuni.

For example one of the similarities is what these houses are made of. Both of these houses are made of wood. In most cases, wood is a traditional base for a house. They both also have a door, window, roof and have four walls.

There are also some differences with these houses. In the paragraph above, you may have noticed that I said that both of these houses have a window, but there is a slight differences with these windows. The window on the wharepuni isn't actually a window, it's just a square-shaped hole in the wall but in houses nowadays windows are an opening in the wall or roof of a house or building, fitted with glass in a frame to admit light or air and allow people to see out. The other difference is that this house is actually just a sleeping house. Normal houses these days are for shelter, to protect us, to keep us safe, but the wharepuni is just a house where the Maori people slept. 

The wharepuni's have some differences and similarities. But one question I have is does it look like my house? The answer depends on what angle you are looking at the houses from. If you where looking from the front of my house, there are most definitely some similarities between the houses. Like how there is the roof and then a window in the corner. So the answer really depends on what angle you where looking from. 

Activity two: The rules of engagement

During the early years in New Zealand, men and women would often marry at a young age. Women were expected to have babies and remain in the home caring for their children. Few, if any, left home in search of work. Men, on the other hand, were expected to work outside of the home. These days, we don’t have the same strict expectations about work. Girls and boys can choose their own path in life. In fact, I was lucky enough to go to university and to follow my dream of becoming a teacher! What is your dream job? Draw a picture of yourself doing your dream job and post it on your blog. You could be a doctor, an actor or even a zookeeper! I have drawn myself taking a picture of a beautiful castle in Poland because I would love to become a travel blogger and photographer one day.

My dream job is to star on Broadway. Since I was little I have always aspired to be an actress famous for her acting and singing skills. I have already done some acting things at school, such as the Lion King Musical performance. You can read about it here. I have drawn a picture of me on the Broadway stage, I really hope that it could be me in real life.

Bonus activity: Special meals

Back in the 1800s, most Māori ate a simple diet. They ate foods that they could catch in the water (eg. fish) or grow on the land (eg. kumara). They did not have access to a supermarket to buy food for their meals! Speaking of meals, what is your favourite meal? Mine is wood-fired pizza. Yum! On your blog, post a picture of your favourite meal. Be sure to tell us what it is and why it is your favourite. You could also include the recipe if you have it so that we can all try it!

My favourite meal comes from my mothers birthplace Malaysia, it is called nasi lemak. Nasi lemak is a Malay fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. We serve it with fried chicken. 

Here is the link to the Nasi Lemak... http://www.curiousnut.com/nasi-lemak-with-fried-chicken/