Arya Naidu: 6 years old

November 2015: Aariel’s life is chugging along nicely. She has taken starting school in her stride. Perhaps the biggest change has been her name: she is now known as Arya. Her parents, Archana (mum) and Vijay (dad), consider Arya more Indian sounding and intend to change it officially.

A major event was a family holiday to Fiji  in 2013, and the family are planning trips to Queenstown and the Gold Coast in Australia, which Arya is very excited about.

Education
Arya attends Maungawhau School in Mt Eden, Auckland, which she loves. She has embraced reading, writing, and maths, and practises these, and spelling, every day at home.

Arya is in the school choir. She also does kapa haka at school, and performed at the school’s Matariki festival.

Archana, who works four half days a week, drops Arya at school each day. After school, Arya and her sister either walk to their father’s office or their grandmother picks them up. Handily, school and her dad’s work are close to home. 

Sport
Arya plays netball. Children her age only play on a third of the court. She goes to swimming lessons and is thinking of doing taekwondo (a Korean martial art) in 2016.

Cultural activities
Arya takes part in Māori cultural activities at school. She belongs to an Indian dance group at the local Hindu temple. Her mum speaks Hindi to her daughters, which they understand, but are hesitant to speak.

Free time
Arya plays computer games (Angry Birds, Township, Crossy Road, and a dress-up app are favourites) on an  iPad. She also weaves bracelets with Rainbow Looms (small plastic looms on which you can weave colourful rubber bands). But you can’t go past your sister as a playmate! They do each other’s hair, apply nail polish, and play shops and Master Chef (a cooking competition on TV).

And baking with her mum is always fun!

TV and movies
Arya watches Disney Junior (a United States digital cable and satellite network), and enjoys the animated series Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Sofia the First. She watches rugby with her dad, and two movies she likes are The Lego Movie and Frozen.

Games and toys
Arya likes Lego Friends (Lego sets aimed at girls) and playing with and trading collectables, especially Countdown dominos and New World minis. Some of her favourite toys are Smiggle rubbers, Lego, and My Little Pony. She also loves drawing, biking, scooting, and going to the park.

Food
Arya’s favourite foods are fruit, meat, and pasta. She doesn’t like celery, capsicum, and green vegetables.