Matariki Week

What is Matariki?

Matariki is the Maori name for a group of seven stars known as the Pleiades star cluster. Some people think of Matariki as a mother star with six daughters, and often referred to as the Seven Sisters.

The 10 June signals the beginning of Matariki for 2013, this is the start of Maori New Year.
Matariki celebrates the diversity of life. It's a celebration of culture, language, spirit and people.  Matariki is visible to the naked eye in the pre-dawn sky after the full moon from mid to late June each year.

On Friday the 14th June Room 28 did  weaving using coloured paper to create placemats. 

1.		Cut a piece of construction paper or any coloured paper into a square.
	2.	Fold the square in half.
	3.	Cut evenly-spaced slits starting from the folded edge and continuing up to about a half inch from the opposite edge. It may be helpful to draw vertical lines to use as guides while you cut.
	4.	Open up the paper.
	5.	Cut coloured paper strips. The strips should be longer than the length of your square's side.
	6.	Take one paper strip and weave it horizontally across the slits, going over and under the slits.
	7.	Push the woven strip to the top and start with another one. The second strip should be woven in an opposite pattern as the first. If your first paper strip goes over and under across the slits, the second strip should go under and over the slits.
	8.	Weave more paper strips in an alternating pattern until your paper weave is full.
	9.	Flip the whole square weave. Apply glue at the ends of each paper strip.
	10.	Fold the excess length of each strip inwards and press to glue them in place.
	11.	Flip the square weave again so that the folded ends are concealed at the bottom.
	12.	Cut a larger piece of construction paper or craft foam to frame your paper weave. You can use a pair of craft scissors to create a more interesting border.
	13.	Glue your paper weave on top of the frame. Decorate the frame with any or a combination of these materials: glitter glue, puffy paint, sequins, beads, small craft foam shapes, stickers, buttons or other decorative materials.