The Redwoods

 Kowhai Hub and Room 8 had an exciting day at Te Mata Peak and in the Redwoods. We all showed determination to walk all the way up and down steep hills. We showed lots of thinking and team work to create huts to eat our lunch in.

Our food we took responsibility to make. Yum yum!

Some of our experiences during the day

Ayman calling the fantails

Emma showing determination

Isabella showing determination

George constructing the hut and Thomas directing.

Team work

 Eating lunch in our huts

It was time to pack up and leave the bush how we found it. Oh and a bit of fishing.

Our saying we learnt for the day was

 Take only photographs 

and 

leave only footprints

Room 8 Kidd-li-winks after all their determination to get to the end.

A huge thank you to all the parents who came and made our trip such a great experience for all the children. 

Fraction Commonwealth Games

The Kidd-li-winks are learning about forces and forces are used in all the events at the Commonwealth Games. They are also learning about fractions and measuring length.

Watch the video to see the Kidd-li-winks competing. 

Fraction Commonwealth Games from tracey hill on Vimeo.

The boys are counting in 1/2s.
The shotput went 12/2s. 

All the Kidd-li-winks made a whole measure and broke it up into fractions: halves, quarters and eighths. They used their whole to measure how far they threw, blew, jumped and flicked.

Bella making sure she measures accurately
with no gaps. 

While having so much fun and competition we learnt a lot about the size of fractions, how to add fractions and how to write lots of different fraction numbers.

Toby competing at the frog flick.
68/4 was a huge flick.

We got better and better at estimating
how far we jumped, threw, blew and flicked.

Thomas completing in the blow bowling event.

Toby and Faith measuring in quarters.

Mya competing in the long jump

                                                                                                       

Gemma competing in the discus.

Bailey competing in the ball blowing

Ruby working out how to flick the
frog so it travels a long way. 

      

Jerome and Ayman working together
adding the fractions. That frog flicked
a long way.
                                                                                               

Reading Instructions

Today we had a lesson about how to follow instructions. Following instructions is an important skill because people use it all throughout the day eg. following recipes, doing experiments, putting things together.

Here are the instructions we had to follow

Some photos of Room 8 following instructions.

What do you notice?

Mya relaxing

Bowen relaxing

There were lots of laughs. 

"Can we do it tomorrow Mrs H?"

Do you think it will have the same impact tomorrow?

New Zealand- Our Beautiful Country

During the holidays I was lucky enough to see these seal pups in their own environment. The seal pups would play and fight with each other in a stream and waterfall while their mum is out in the ocean collecting food. This special gem is found just north of Kaikoura in the South Island.

Oh and this little guy was sleeping where we were about to walk. 

Isn't he gorgeous?

If you have some special memories from your holidays bring in to share. I am so excited to begin writing about these little guys.

Water was gushing down the rock face and out of no where a shape bounds out from the waters surface and then another and another. Miraculously, more and more seal pups appeared. They were happily playing with each other in their water playground. Jagged rocks made slides, tunnels and platforms for the seals.  

Mrs H (beginning of her writing). 

Readers' Theater

Room 8 have been enjoying reading a readers' theater of the Gruffalo. 

Our success criteria 

*Read with enthusiasm and expression

*Follow along with your eyes

*Read to the punctuation 

*Read with fluency (like you are talking)

*Have fun

Watch the videos to see if we achieved the success criteria

The Gruffalo from tracey hill on Vimeo.

The Gruffalo Part 2 from tracey hill on Vimeo.

We had to add some criteria for our filming so we could create a video for our blog

*Use a loud voice

Creating Texture

Texture on PhotoPeach

 Room 8 have been learning how to create texture so their art looks like it is coming off the page. When you look at their owls it looks like real feathers. Room 8 created this by using layers of colours on each other and creating lines with pastels. They pressed lightly sometimes and harder other times to make different kinds of feathers.

 The Kidd-li-winks have a tip they learnt about pastels. Do not touch the black until last. Also if you make a mistake with pastels you can go over it to create the texture you want.

BFG Game

 Some of the children in Room 8 made BFG games. They needed to show lots of determination to complete their games as there were many different steps to create a game others could play. The Kidd-li-winks enjoyed playing each others games.

Gemma, Ayman and Faith enjoying
Emma's game.

George, Jacob and Teague trying
to win Teague's game.

Czar, Jacob and Isabella playing
Czar's game.

So many giggles were heard while Henrietta, Ruby and Logan
played Logan's game.

Game made by Czar

Game made by Teague

Game made by Thomas

Game made by Emma

The children made a game board with places from the BFG for a start and finish. They used symbols from the BFG to make good luck and bad luck squares. When you land on one these squares you have to pick up one of the cards and follow the instructions. The challenge was for the cards to have things that happened in the BFG. Here are some of the cards the children wrote.
You drank frobscottle whizzpop forward 4 spaces.
You nearly fell in the pit of giants. Go back 5 spaces.
Miss a turn. You need to hide from the Bloodbottler.
You tripped over a blue rock in Giant Country. Go back 3 spaces.
You helped the BFG catch dreams. Go forward 5 spaces.
 

The games are all in Room 8. If you would like to play a BFG game come in and try to beat a Kidd-li-wink. Watch out for those snozzcumbers and giants!