Living local, eating locally and appreciating our Kiwi heroes is the way to go these days. So while I wait for my feijoas to ripen I have been looking at some local resources for kids.
One of these is HEIHEI, the ad-free, safe online platform for Kiwi kids, aged 5 to 9 years. It also includes some tween and teen shows on the platform, and lots of things that are pitched to those younger than five. On its free website and app, HEIHEI delivers predominantly locally-grown shows with associated music and web-based games and apps. HEIHEI, which is te reo Māori for ‘commotion’ or ‘chicken’, is a collaboration between TVNZ and NZ OnAir, and with over 50 themes like Aotearoa, Cool Kiwis, and animals. There is something for the whole whānau to enjoy.
Local heroes such as Eve and her mum fuchsia-haired Dr Siouxsie Wiles appear in Siouxsie & Eve Investigate and Nanogirl, science educator Dr Michelle Dickinson is in Nanogirl & The Imaginauts, as well as explaining about Coronavirus on the Heihei Facebook page. Other locally flavoured shows include Māia The Brave, cooking show Kai Five, The Moe Show (the Kiwi answer to Sesame Street), and the cartoon comedy Legendary Polynesia.
There are some hand-picked international titles including 199 Little Heroes, Peppa Pig and (for those who like a little stilton in their life) Geronimo Stilton. You can watch now for free on the HEIHEI website or on the app, which is available to download for free on iOS and Android within New Zealand.
Keeping it local, there are many library resources that link to the content found on HEIHEI, including:
- fun for kids
- cool Māori resources we have for tamariki
- things to keep busy
- eBooks for kids and adults to read including Geronimo Stilton, and books Nanogirl and Dr Siouxsie Wiles.
And I might read Michele Leggott’s poem ‘nice feijoas’ while I wait for those feijoas…
Andrea
Children's Librarian, Tūranga
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