15 Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids

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These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

When someone says ‘kiwi’, what do you think about? Well, you could think of any of three things, and you would be right! You could either be referring to the kiwi bird, the kiwi fruit, or simply a person born in New Zealand!

The first time I came across this term was when I was watching a cricket match between India and New Zealand and heard the commentators refer to the New Zealand players as ‘Kiwis‘. And little me was wondering if it was because they couldn’t fly!

Well, the name isn’t the only thing interesting about the people of this country – it is truly an amazing place to learn about! New Zealand has its own unique culture, also called Kiwiana. In fact, New Zealand itself has another name – Aotearoa – which means ‘the land of the long white cloud’ in Maori.

Who are the Maori?

Maori is both a language as well as a term used to describe the indigenous people of New Zealand, who migrated from Polynesia. Today, about 17% of New Zealand’s population is Maori, and they have a rich and varied culture.

In 1840, Maori chiefs signed a treaty with the British Crown, which ensured them equal rights and ownership of their lands and forests. This is known as the Treaty of Waitangi, and the day of its signing, 6 February, is known as Waitangi Day. 

Waitangi Day is a national celebration in New Zealand today, and many events are staged as part of the festivities. We’re going to do our own version of the celebration right here at home, with some gorgeous New Zealand crafts for kids!

15 Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

1. New Zealand Flag Craft

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

We begin our list of New Zealand crafts for kids with the country’s flag! You’ll notice that the New Zealand flag is very similar to the Australian flag, and both countries’ flags look like versions of the British flag. This is because of the Union Jack in the top left corner, which signifies New Zealand’s history of being a British colony. The stars symbolize the Southern Cross constellation since New Zealand is located in the South Pacific Ocean. Ask kids to find out the difference between the New Zealand and Australian flags as they make this craft from Baker Ross!

2. Maori Koru Art

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

 Crayola shows us how to paint a ‘koru’, which is the Maori name for an unfurling fern frond. The spiral structure represents new life, growth, and strength in Maori culture. You’ll often find this motif in Maori art and tattoos.

3. Korowai Craft

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

Traditional Maori costumes are quite elaborate, and the Korowai is one of them. Korowai are outer garments or cloaks and are made with flax fiber tassels called hukahuka. The Korowai are highly prized and worn for special occasions like Waitangi day. It is said that if made correctly, the cloak would move gracefully every time the wearer moved! Let’s make our own Korowai with paper and feathers, following this tutorial from Golden Carers.

4. Kiwi Magnet Craft

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

Baker Ross gives us a cute craft to celebrate the kiwi bird, which is also the national bird of New Zealand. By the way, did you know that the kiwi fruit is not native to New Zealand? It is actually from China and was named so because of its resemblance to the bird!

5. New Zealand Coloring Pages

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

Kindergarten Worksheets and Games brings us a bunch of printable activity pages to learn more about New Zealand. New Zealand is an amazing country for equal rights and freedom – it is the first country to approve of women’s right to vote. In fact, in 2006, the Queen, Governor General, Prime Minister, Speaker of the House, and Chief Justice were all women – the only country in the world to achieve such a feat to date!

6. ‘Little Kiwi’s Matariki’ Craft

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

This list of New Zealand crafts for kids isn’t just perfect for Waitangi Day, it’s also great for Matariki, the Māori New Year. Matariki is the Maori name of the Pleiades star cluster, the rising of which begins the New Year. The Teacher’s Mag brings us a craft based on the book, ‘Little Kiwi’s Matariki‘, where a little kiwi comes out to look at the rising of the stars for Matariki.

7. DIY Maori Poi

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

If you’re looking for New Zealand crafts for kids that they can also play with, Spin Poi has got something for you! Poi spinning is an ancient Maori game, that was used both for entertainment as well as to boost strength and flexibility. The actual poi is some kind of weight tethered to a string, and you can make your own with a sock and cord!

8. Tukutuku Cardboard Panels

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

The Maori people love art, and they’ve included it everywhere – in clothing, jewelry, tattoos, and architecture. One example of this is the decoration done on meeting houses called wharenui. The houses are decorated with a kind of latticework called Tukutuku, which have symbolic meanings. Try making your own Tukutuku panels out of cardboard, with the help of this tutorial from Garcia’s Galaxy.

9. Maori Coloring Bookmarks

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

Why not include some Maori art in your everyday life with these Maori art bookmarks from Maori Printables? You can use them in your Lord of the Rings books – after all, the movies were shot almost entirely in New Zealand! The movies’ popularity has given the country’s tourism a huge boost and is now an essential part of the culture. For instance, you can actually use hobbit money as legal tender, and the country also has its own Official National Wizard!

10. Matariki Star Weaving Activity

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

Earlier in this list of New Zealand crafts for kids, we mentioned that the rising of the Matariki star cluster signaled the start of the Maori New Year. A legend behind this is that the cluster consists of a mother surrounded by six daughters, who travel across the sky every year. To honor them, people often make star-shaped crafts, like this one from Mud Mates.

11. New Zealand Flowers Clay Craft

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

New Zealand is a country that is truly blessed with natural beauty – in fact, 30% of the country consists of protected national parks! There are a number of rare plants that are native to the area, like the silver fern, the kowhai, and the Pōhutukawa, also known as New Zealand’s Christmas tree. Little Worlds tries to capture the beauty of these blooms in this pretty clay craft. 

12. Kids’ Clay Koru Necklace

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

Another form of Maori art is whakairo, or bone carving. However, these carvings aren’t purely for decorative purposes – they use traditional Maori motifs that have spiritual meanings. Common symbols are koru (spirals), pikorua (twists), matau (hooks) as well as others. Here, Albion Gould helps us create a koru necklace out of clay, which symbolizes hope, new beginnings, and growth. You can also do some research and try to make your own symbols. 

13. DIY Mū Tōrere Game

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

Our next project on this list of New Zealand crafts for kids isn’t technically a craft, but it’ll do! What do we do All Day shows us how to make a Mū Tōrere, a Maori board game. This is a strategy game, and can be challenging! While traditional Mū Tōrere is played on the ground or a piece of bark, we can make do with paper!

14. Maori Tattoo Mask Craft

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

As mentioned earlier, Maori art extended into all aspects of life, including tattoos. Traditionally, the senior men of the tribe had intricate facial tattoos to designate their high position – but these could be quite painful! Try making your less painful face tattoos with this fun project from Activity Village.

15. Maori Bird Kite

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

Birds hold an important position in Maori culture, and they believe that birds act as messengers between people and their gods. The Maori god Rehua appears as a bird, and kites are believed to have descended from Rehua. Crayola shows us how to make our very own Maori bird kite, using things you already have at home.

Bonus – Grab our New Zealand Themed iSpy Game & Flash Cards Set 

New Zealand Ispy

Explore the vibrant country of New Zealand with the Printable New Zealand-Themed iSpy Game for Kids!

Comes with an iSpy Worksheet featuring 15 classic Icons of that country. Plus 30 ready-to-print & use Flashcards to play & learn more about these icons.  This interactive game is the perfect way to introduce your child to the fascinating country of New Zealand. With easy-to-read facts and beautiful illustrations, your child will learn about New Zealand’s location,  famous landmarks, national symbols, and other interesting facts.These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

 

If you hadn’t heard of the Maori before, I’m sure that this list of New Zealand crafts for kids has been quite enlightening, and has given you a little glimpse into their vibrant culture and history. You’ll find some similarities with other world cultures, while some other aspects may be entirely unique to New Zealanders! That’s why we love taking these virtual craft trips around the globe – there’s so much to learn!

These Beautiful New Zealand Crafts for Kids will have you amazed and spellbound by this gorgeous country and its culture!

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