As we draw close to the end of 2024, we take a moment to reflect on the challenges and triumphs of the year. It has been a year of hardship, scarcity, and heaviness for many of us, and we acknowledge the loved ones who have passed from our midst, including Kīngi Tuheitia, Aunty Titoki and Nanny Piki, Nanny Huia, Nanny Hera and the long list of names of those who dedicated their lives to Kōhanga reo and Te Ao Māori. Their presence and contributions to our kaupapa will never be forgotten, and we carry their legacy forward.

Through all the challenges we’ve faced, the strength, aroha, and resilience of our whānau have shone through. Together, we’ve supported one another and continued to uphold the kaupapa and whānaungatana that makes Te Kōhanga Reo so special.

As we look ahead to 2025, we embrace the promise of new opportunities, strengthened connections, and our shared commitment to the kaupapa of Kōhanga Reo. Together, we will continue to uphold the mana of te reo Māori, our tikanga, and our aspirations for the future.

Please join us in watching our Christmas video, celebrating the year that has been and looking forward to what’s to come….

The Kōhanga Reo movement is world renowned in education circles for its pivotal role in revitalising te reo Māori and transforming whānau through our tikanga and whanaungatanga. It serves as an inspiring example for indigenous peoples worldwide who strive to preserve their language, traditions and way of life.

Kōhanga Reo has received international recognition for its simple yet seemly innovative approaches to language revitalisation and whānau transformation. Te Kōhanga Reo shared its insights when they were invited to speak at the United Nations in New York on traditional child-rearing practices, and the acknowledgement of a Māori perspective to revitalise language and culture within the framework of a language learning nest.

A group of passionate Hawaiian educators and officials recently visited Aotearoa to learn how Kaupapa Māori has been embedded within government systems, to create a self-management model that supports the survival and development of te reo and thereby Te Ao Māori within a westernised system.

Hosting our Hawaiian whanaunga to support their own language strategy is one of the ways we can honor the legacy of those Kaumātua who provided the blueprint for Kōhanga Reo. The first Hawaiian Pūnana Leo was established in 1983, just one year after the first Kōhanga Reo, Pukeatua, opened in 1982 in Wainuiomata.

Like Kōhanga Reo, Pūnana Leo had to develop its own curriculum, like Te Whāriki, and create resources from scratch. In its early days, many of their resources were English books adapted with Hawaiian language taped over the original words – a process reminiscent of our kuia and koroua creating teaching materials and using the natural environment as their classroom.

The ongoing challenges of growing kaiako (teachers), creating resources, and providing access to ‘ōlelo Hawai ‘i, (Hawaiian language) are familiar to us. The ability of Māori education initiatives, such as Kōhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kura ā Iwi and Whare Wānanga to integrate into the established systems under Mātauranga Māori is a source of hope for our Hawaiian whānau. In contrast, the Hawaiian education system is highly centralised, with a single board and a union structure that can be difficult to adapt or reform.

The consensus from the hui was clear for our Hawaiian whānau: that there is a need for more kōrero to inspire bold and unapologetic decision-making to ensure the survival of the Hawaiian language, and the flow on effect it will have on the well-being of their communities and the survival and prosperity of the Hawaiian culture.

Kōhanga Reo from Te Rahuitanga and Te Awatea Hou Purapura in Wellington celebrated their 40th birthdays with a trip to the movies, to watch Moana Reo Māori 2. It was a great event, bringing together our whānau and mokopuna to celebrate te reo Māori and the amazing milestone achieved by all Kōhanga Reo in their two Purapura.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year, e te whānau.

On the 2nd  of December Ngāti Kahungunu hosted its Mokotini festival, at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga. The hall was packed with parents, friends and whānau, all excited to watch their tamariki mokopuna hit the stage and witness the hard work of each Kōhanga Reo who had been working towards their Mokotini performances.

Over 20 Kōhanga Reo from the Ngāti Kahungunu region performed, and over 400 mokopuna eagerly hit the stage to entertain and perform for their whānau and friends. The festival was jam packed with awesome performances and exciting activities, such as train rides, face painting, bouncy castles and more.

On the 28th of November Te Tairāwhiti hosted the Mokotini festival at Te Poho o Rawiri marae. Many from across the region and beyond attended this auspicious event in support of all the tamariki mokopuna who performed, and this event was organised and hosted by Ngāti Oneone and the many kaimahi and kaiāwhina of Te Poho o Rawiri marae.

Ten Kōhanga Reo performed at this years Mokotini, and over 200 mokopuna crossed the stage to perform for their whānau and entertain the masses, and all ten Kōhanga Reo belonged to the Tairāwhiti region, stretching from Potikirua to Te Toka a Taiau.

Some parents told us that they are grateful for opportunities like this, where their tamariki and all Kōhanga Reo mokopuna experience performing on stage. Mokotini is a kaupapa that serves to grow confidence among little people, and it gives them the opportunity to practice their Māoritanga, and to stand proud in the Māori world they are being raised in.