NOTE: We’ll be updating this post over the month as YOU share even MOA tools, tips and links for us all to learn from – bookmark & check back often!
30 days. 30 ways. One kaupapa: more reo in your everyday life.
Mahuru Māori is all about stepping up for te reo Māori and this challenge helps you to do just that by giving you small, achievable daily prompts for the entire month you can easily do as a part of your normal routine.
From playlists to pepeha, karakia to kapa haka, each activity is designed to weave reo naturally into your world. By the end of the month, you might be amazed at how much you’ve learnt!
And you don’t need to wait until Māori Language Week to start either – jump on the challenge ANYTIME to give your reo journey a little boost!
Kia kaha te reo Māori — let’s do this together!
Skip straight to a specific prompt:
- Listen to a Waiata – Start with something you love! Poi E, Ka Mate, or any of the waiata from the Hei Waiata Hei Whakakoakoa collection. Create a playlist you can return to.
- Learn a New Kupu – Use kupu.maori.nz or the Kupu app to snap a photo and learn vocab for the things around you.
- Say a Karakia for Your Kai – Keep it simple: E te Atua, whakawhetai mō tēnei kai. (God, we give thanks for this food).
- Get the Drops App – Apps can be a great motivator for daily kupu practice.
- Translate Your Shopping List – Swap out items like miraka (milk), parāoa (bread), āporo (apple).
- Follow 3 Māori Accounts on Social Media – Fill your feed with reo inspiration.
- Start a Language Journal – Note new kupu, write short sentences, or reflect on your day in te reo Māori.
- Read a News Article – Check out Te Ao Māori News for bilingual articles.
- Write What You Ate Today – Turn meals into learning opportunities: He hēki tāku parakuihi. (I had eggs for breakfast).
- Write 3 Things You Did Today – Keep it short and simple: I haere au ki te toa. I tunu au i te kai. I pānui au i tētahi pukapuka.
- Find or Practise Your Pepeha – Pepeha.nz is a great place to start.
- Replace Hello with Kia ora – It’s a natural way to normalise reo in greetings.
- Listen to a Podcast – Try “Taringa” or “Everyday Māori”.
- Learn a Haka – Start with Ka Mate, or try Tika Tonu. YouTube has plenty of tutorials.
- Record Yourself Speaking – Even just introducing yourself: Ko Kiri tōku ingoa.
- Write Your To-Do List – Even if it’s just half in reo, e.g. Horoia ngā kākahu (wash the clothes).
- Read a Book – Grab a pukapuka Māori or bilingual children’s story.
- Label 5 Things Around the House – Write sticky notes for matapihi (window), tūru (chair), kūaha (door).
- Watch a Movie with Subtitles – Whale Rider or any Netflix show with Māori subs.
- Translate Where You Went This Week – I haere au ki te toa, ki te papa tākaro, ki te kura.
- Sing the National Anthem ‘E Ihowa’ – Lyric sheets are in the Koha Collection.
- Change Your Alarms to Māori – Wake up to Maranga mai! (Get up!).
- Replace Goodnight with Pō mārie – Swap English for reo at bedtime.
- Write a Whakataukī – Or find one to reflect on, e.g. Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini. (My strength is not mine alone, but that of many).
- Join a Māori Facebook Group – There are plenty of groups where people share reo tips and resources.
- Watch a YouTube Video – Search for waiata tutorials or te reo Māori lessons.
- Memorise a Short Karakia – Start with Whakataka te hau.
- Enroll in a Course – Even a short free one through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
- Watch a Kapa Haka Performance – Plenty are on YouTube or Māori Television.
- Write Your Calendar – Translate days of the week (Rāhina = Monday) and months (Mahuru = September)
Day 1: Listen to a Waiata
Waiata is such a fun and engaging way to learn some reo Māori – nō reira, here’s a few you might want to have a jam to for this challenge:
- FREE Hei Waiata Hei Whakakoakoa Songbook & Album
- Search ‘Te Reo Maori Playlist’ on YouTube and have a browse through the results that come up for one you like.
- We’ve got printable lyric sheets for E Ihowa – The National Anthem and Ka Mate The Haka for you in our Koha Kete to print and sing along with too.
- Sing a few simple reo Māori waiata that you might know like:
- The Colour Song – Ma is White, Whero is Red…
- The Alphabet Song – A Ha Ka Ma Na Pa Ra Ta Wa Nga Wha
- One Day a Taniwha
Day 2: Learn a New Kupu
You could pick an English word you use often and then:
- Use Māori Dictionary to look up a word you use every day and replace it with reo M.
- Get a random kupu o te rā at kupu.maori.nz.
- OR here are 5 joining words for you that make your sentences longer and more natural:
- Hoiano – however
- Ahakoa – although
- Engari – but
- Nō reira – therefore/so
- Nā te mea – because
Karawhiua e hoa! Go for it!/Give it heaps and learn a new kupu or two today!
Day 3: Say a Karakia for Your Kai
Adding a simple karakia before meals is an easy way to weave te reo into your everyday and if your anything like my growing tama you’ll get the opportunity to practice about 72 times a day
- We’ve got printable kai karakia ready for you in the Koha Collection – including one that you can sing to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb. Perfect for tamariki (and adults!) to learn.
- Start practising that one today, and by Day 27: Memorise a Karakia, you’ll have it down pat without even realising!
- Our Koha library also has free karakia for morning, evening, gratitude, and even special times like Matariki – and the collection is always growing.
Pro tip: put a copy of the kai karakia near your dining table or up in the kitchen so it becomes second nature.
Every karakia is a chance to pause, breathe, and connect – to the kai, to the whenua it came from, and to each other.
Day 4: Get the Drops App
The Drops app actually has Te Reo Māori as an option and is a fun way to practise new kupu in a game-like format.
- The free version lets you have one session a day to keep your journey moving!
- Great for vocab memorisation and testing yourself quickly.
- Gamified learning for a quick and engaging way to memorise more reo!
- Heads up: there’s no real sentence structure progression as far as I’ve seen (maybe in a future update moa will get added?) but it’s still fantastic for learning, practicing and memorising new kupu.
Check it out here: https://languagedrops.com/
Think of it as a daily brain warm-up, not your whole reo workout.
Day 5: Translate Your Shopping List
Shopping is the perfect chance to bring reo into the everyday.
👉 Check out Rārangi Kai – built specifically for shopping lists.
👉 Use maoridictionary.com if you want to look up items one by one.
👉 Even just swapping 2–3 items into te reo on your list each week makes it stick.
✨ Bonus: Tamariki love “helping” find the kupu in the aisles!
Day 6: Follow 3 Māori Accounts on Social Media
Flood your feeds with reo and ideas you can actually use at home.
👉 Some of our faves:
- Angela Stewart (kōrero Māori everyday, lots of immersion).
- Natalia Metua (lots of whānau-friendly kupu for tamariki).
- Learn Māori Abroad (great practical reo + global community).
- …and don’t forget to follow us at MoaThanWords! 😉
✨ The more reo you see scrolling, the easier it is to weave it into your own life.
Day 7: Start a Language Journal
This one grows with you. Start small – it doesn’t need to be fancy.
👉 Could be a notes app, a sketchbook, or something digital like GoodNotes.
👉 Write simple daily stuff: “I ate toast” → I kai parāoa pahū.
👉 At first, it might be bilingual, mixing reo and English. Over time you’ll see the shift into more reo.
👉 Looking back months later and seeing the growth? Magic.
✨ It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress.
Day 8: Read a News Article
Expose yourself to real-world reo in action.
👉 Some options:
- Te Ao Māori News (teao.co.nz)
- Māori Television news articles
- RNZ Te Ao Māori section
👉 Don’t stress about understanding every kupu. Even scanning headlines helps.
✨ Try pulling 1–2 kupu from each article to add into your journal.
Day 9: Write What You Ate Today
Food is one of the easiest domains to start using reo.
👉 Write a list in your language journal.
👉 Or, post a photo on socials and label it with kupu Māori (parāoa = bread, wai = water, huawhenua = veges).
👉 Repetition is what sticks — and you’ll eat again tomorrow 😉.
Day 10: Write 3 Things You Did Today
A perfect journaling habit, even for beginners.
👉 Examples:
- I haere au ki te toa (I went to the shop).
- I takaro ahau i te papa tākaro (I played at the park).
- I hikoi mātou i te kurī (We walked the dog).
👉 Keep it short and sweet. Over time, the kupu for daily activities will lock in.
Day 11: Find or Practise Your Pepeha
Your pepeha is more than an introduction — it connects you to your whenua, whānau, and whakapapa.
👉 If you’re still learning yours, ask your whānau what they know.
👉 Many iwi or marae now have websites, Facebook groups, or even email contacts where you can reach out to learn more.
👉 If you already know your pepeha, practise saying it out loud — to yourself, your tamariki, or even record it on your phone.
✨ This one could be a whole journey in itself, but today is about taking one step forward.
Day 12: Sing the National Anthem (E Ihowa)
We all know the anthem—but let’s sing it properly in te reo Māori.
👉 Printable lyric sheet available in the Koha Collection (link!).
👉 Play it while you’re watching the All Blacks or just around the whare—make it normal!
👉 Bonus: teach your tamariki the kupu one verse at a time.
Day 13: Replace Hello with Kia ora
This one’s simple, but powerful. Swap “hello” with kia ora every time you greet someone.
👉 Try it with colleagues, whānau, even strangers at the shop.
👉 Once it becomes a habit, it sticks — and others often respond in kind.
👉 Start today, but keep it forever — let’s make kia ora the new normal.
✨ Tiny changes build a reo-rich world.
Day 14: Listen to a Podcast
Sometimes the best way to soak up more reo is just to have it playing in the background — in the car, on your way to mahi, while you’re folding the washing, or even cooking dinner.
👉 Jump on Spotify and simply search Māori. You’re bound to find something that sparks your interest:
🔗 Search Māori podcasts on Spotify
Here are a few we’ve personally enjoyed:
- 🎙️ Up to Speed with Te Reo Māori — bite-sized language lessons
- 🎙️ Taringa — kōrero, kupu, and kōrero tuku iho
- 🎙️ Everyday Māori — practical reo for daily life
- 🎙️ Starting in Te Reo Māori — perfect if you’re new to the journey
✨ Pro tip: Add one of these to your weekly routine. Even if you only understand a little at first, your ear will start to get used to the flow and rhythm of te reo Māori.
Day 15: Learn a Haka
Day 16: Record Yourself Speaking
Say a karakia, your pepeha, or even just count to ten.
👉 Do a quick video or just a voice recording.
👉 Post it if you’re feeling brave — or keep it private as a “before” snapshot.
👉 Later down the track you’ll be able to look back and see how far you’ve come.
Day 17: Write Your To-Do List
Swap out English for te reo where you can.
👉 “Horoia ngā rīhi” (wash the dishes).
👉 “Hokona te miraka” (buy milk).
👉 Keep it simple, the goal is everyday reo.
Day 18: Read a Book
Make it a pukapuka Māori or even an English book with some kupu Māori sprinkled in.
👉 Choose a bilingual kids’ book — they’re not just for tamariki!
👉 Support Māori authors and publishers.
👉 Or re-read an old fave and try translating key words yourself.
Day 19: Label 5 Things Around the House
Bring your whare to life with kupu.
👉 tohupiri.co.nz has beautiful, reusable labels.
👉 We’ve got a whole Kāinga Kupu Collection to add to each room.
👉 Or just grab some sticky notes + a pen and go wild.
Day 20: Watch a Movie with Subtitles
Entertainment + language learning = win.
👉 Disney+ has reo Māori dubs of kids’ favourites.
👉 Amazon: Ka Whawhai Tonu
👉 Apple TV: The Dead Lands
👉 Whina is worth a watch too.
Day 21: Translate Where You Went This Week
Think back: mahi, kāinga, toa hokomaha, whare pukapuka…
👉 Make a list of everywhere you went.
👉 Look up the kupu for each place.
👉 Bonus: use those kupu in sentences like I haere ahau ki te toa hokomaha.
Day 22: Change Your Alarms to Māori
Give your morning routine a reo Māori twist!
Here are some examples you can copy straight into your alarms:
- “Maranga mai! – Wake up!”
- “Kua tae ki te kura/mahi – Time for school/work”
- “Wā kai! – Meal time”
- “Haere ki te moe – Go to bed”
Even if you only change one alarm, it’s a daily reminder and an easy way to see reo Māori in your everyday life.
Day 23: Replace Goodnight with Pō mārie
An easy swap to close your day.
👉 Start saying it to your tamariki or whānau.
👉 Text it to your mates at night.
👉 Small consistent swaps = massive reo growth.
Day 24: Write a Whakataukī
Whakataukī are Māori proverbs packed with wisdom.
👉 Choose one that resonates with you.
👉 Write it out and stick it up where you’ll see it daily.
👉 Bonus: practise saying it aloud until it flows naturally.
Day 25: Join a Māori Facebook Group
Bring more reo into your online spaces.
👉 Search “Māori” in Facebook groups and you’ll find heaps.
👉 Pick one that matches your vibe — parenting, reo learning, kapa haka.
👉 The more reo around you, the more normal it becomes.
Day 26: Watch a YouTube Video
YouTube is full of awesome reo content.
👉 Try Starting in Te Reo Māori with Grant Whitbourne.
👉 Explore kapa haka clips, waiata tutorials, or reo explainers.
👉 Replace one scroll session with a learning session.
Day 27: Memorise a Short Karakia
Circle back to one you practised earlier in the challenge.
👉 If you started with the “Mary had a little lamb” kai karakia, try locking it in now.
👉 Repetition is key — say it at mealtimes until it sticks.
👉 Once it’s second nature, add it to your daily rhythm.
Day 28: Enroll in a Course
Take your reo journey deeper.
👉 Learn Māori Abroad (LMA) — online courses (I’ve done these myself, highly recommend).
👉 Reo Ora — includes an app.
👉 Pikite Hauora — popular courses.
👉 Toro Mai by Massey University — free courses.
(We could do a whole blog post reviewing these too!)
Day 29: Watch a Kapa Haka Performance
Get inspired by the wairua of kapa haka.
👉 Māori Plus has a full kapa haka section.
👉 Te Matatini, Polyfest, Haka Ngahau — the options are endless.
👉 You’ll pick up kupu, rhythm, and cultural depth just by watching.
Day 30: Write Your Calendar
Set yourself up for post-challenge success.
👉 Write next month’s calendar in te reo Māori.
👉 Days of the week? We’ve got a poster for that.
👉 Add kupu for the month, special events, and reminders.
👉 Keep building, little by little.
Well – there you have it e te whānau!
The challenge isn’t about perfection – it’s about weaving reo into your life in fun, simple ways. Some days you’ll smash it, some days you’ll just squeeze in a kupu or karakia – and that’s okay. The important thing is showing up for te reo, for yourself, and for your tamariki.
👉🏽 Are you taking the challenge? Drop your progress or favourite tips in the comments – and let’s celebrate Mahuru Māori together!