Resources for ʻOhana & Keiki

MAWHCC’s MIKA Program aims to help ʻohana in their journey in reclaiming or sustaining our culture and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in order to strengthen our keiki, ʻohana, and lāhui. Please check out the following resource for ‘ohana and keiki to help with this goal: 

Online Classes

Here is a list of online classes to learned ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. There are many more out there too beyond just the following classes. 

• ʻŌlelo Online: Learn to speak Hawaiian with live instruction in our Zoom-based Virtual Classroom or study at your own pace with interesting web-based audio, video, and textual lessons with Kumu Kaliko Beamer Trapp. They typically start at $80/quarter for 8-10 weeks of classes. 

  • These are the classes that Kumu Kamalei started with. Kumu Kaliko is a very engaging teacher with extensive knowledge. A lot of families from back home and the continent take his classes so it is nice to connect with others. He has a Papa Mākua, a class specifically designed for parents once you pass his CH1A.

• Windward Community College: Part of the UH system, WCC offers asynchronous and synchronous virtual college-level ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi courses from HAW 101 to HAW 202. If you are Kānaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian, you can receive a waiver to get in-state tuition.

  • Most of their courses use the textbook, Ka Lei Haʻaheo, a very beginner-friendly and practical textbook, one of Kumu Kamaleiʻs favorites! 

  • WCC also offers the Hawaiʻiloa Program meant to help immerse Kānaka Maoli on the continent and reconnect with our culture and language. 

• Ka Alala: Kumu Malu States offers asynchronous courses to learn ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi at your own pace. He also will occasionally offer synchronous virtual meetups to practice the language and/or ask questions. 

  • Kumu Malu States takes an approach rooted in our kūpuna (elders). His courses have good components to practice both listening, reading, and writing. 

• MIKA is working on developing an asynchronous “course” that compiles all of our favorite resources for mākua (parents).

Books

Here are some textbooks that are helpful along your journey to reclaiming our ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi:

• Ka Lei Ha'aheo: Beginning Hawaiian, by Alberta P. Hopkins and Anna Stone Asquith

  • You can buy the answer key for the exercises too: Ka Lei Haaheo: Beginning Hawaiian (Teacher's Guide and Answer Key), by Alberta P. Hopkins

  • This is the textbook that the college courses at Windward Community College typically use. It is very beginner-friendly and digestible while going over the cultural components of our language. This is Kumu Kamaleiʻs favorite textbook! 

• Na Kai Ewalu: Vol 1, by Kauanoe Kamanā, William H. Wilson

  • One of the most popular and widely used textbooks for ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. This is the textbook that most other UH colleges use in their courses. 

• New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary, by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert

  • One of the most widely used dictionaries for ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. This is great to keep in your diaper bag, purse, kitchen table, etc for when you need to look up a word you want to use with your keiki (children). 

Other Resources

The following are additional resources for adults/parents in their ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi journey: 

• Wehewehe Wikiwiki Online Dictionary: An online dictionary that pulls together all the dictionaries we currently have for ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. It is easy to maneuver and you are able to add it as an “app” to iPhones (and androids too, we believe).

• Hawaiian At Home Podcast: A podcast put on by Emily States: “Get ready to dive into the heartwarming world of "Hawaiian at Home," where we're spilling all the details on our journey to making Hawaiian the language of our home”

  • This is one of Kumu Kamaleiʻs favorite podcasts to recommend to ʻohana if they are beginning or even further along in their ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi journey. It can give you good ideas as well as validate the emotional part of reconnecting with our language after it was taken from us. 

• Helpful Instagram Accounts to Follow: 

  • @halekuamoo

  • @adamkeawe

  • @oiwitv

  • @ehoopilimai

  • @ka_alala

  • @mawhcc

  • @littlelearningkeiki

  • @hawaiianathome

  • @kamaliiopihi (if you want to connect with Kumu Kamalei)

Books

Here are some good resources to find books for keiki in our language: 

• Ulukau Books: You can find a lot of keiki books in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi on Ulukau. They are free to access. Kumu Kamalei often prints them out and laminates them to use with her own keiki. 

• Noʻeau Books: These have all of Sam L. Noʻeau Warnerʻs books that he wrote, which are great for keiki and beginning mākua. If you click on the pictures, it takes you to a PDF of the book that also has an audio reading of it; both of which are free. 

• Hale Kuamoʻo Store: Hale Kuamoʻoʻs website where you can order copies of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi keiki books for a low cost plus shipping. This is where we ordered a lot of MIKA books too.  

Other Resources

The following are additional resources for keiki in their ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi journey:

• YouTube Videos (to have your children listen to or watch, depending on their age): 

  • Nanea TV: Animated videos and songs in mostly ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. 

  • Keiki TV vis ʻŌiwi TV: Animated videos, stories, and shows in mostly ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. 

  • Makaʻiwa Keiki: Animated videos and songs in mostly ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.