The Little Red Hen

 

Over the last couple of weeks we have been reading different versions of the Little Red Hen. This is part of our narrative writing process. We read the stories. The we talk about the characters, the setting, and begin to develop a basic understanding of the sequence of events in the story.

Then, one day, ngā tamariki break off into small groups to sequence the events in the story.

After that - on another day - ngā tamariki act out the story for the rest of the class.

One of the bonus' of the story of the Little Red Hen is we then make bread. Like the the Hen we used flour, yeast and water to make the bread. We knead the dough. We leave it to rise. Then we bake the bread.

Smelling the yeast as it develops...

Measuring and mixing...

Rising and baking...

And the very beast part! EATING!

Cricket

 

We were lucky enough to have an expert come and teach us some small ball skills - those that relate in particular to cricket. We learned through a number of games played. Skills for catching and throwing - as well as hitting the ball. It was a great opportunity! Thanks Cricket NZ!

Toast

 Everybody loves toast! Part of supporting tamariki as they develop their writing skills is to give them experiences to 'hang' their writing on. Making toast is a fairly shared experience in any case - but everyone enjoys a piece of warm toast while sitting together to chat right?! We use this experience and the differing language abilities in the class to extend our writing. From a simple sentence like "I like toast" through to explaining the process... "first we...then we... after that..." sequencing the events in order - and maybe adding descriptive words of the sounds as we munched and crunched through our toast. Mmm tasty!

My monster munches...

 Part of our learning for term four has been around the sound 'm' and symmetry. Be very careful e te whānau! These monsters munch everything! Even mums! 

Taniwha

 Two or three times a term we get together as a Matariki syndicate to foster the relationships between the older tamariki, tuakana and the younger tamariki, teina. We did this in Week 9 - also as a celebration for Te wiki o te reo māori!

First we listened to how Wellington Harbour was created by two taniwha, Ngake and Whataitai.

We used this story as inspiration then began the process of creating our own taniwha. First by doing a light pencil drawing, next going over the outline in a black vivid, finally giving the taniwha life by using pastels.

Annie Apple says 'a' in words...

Annie Apple says 'a' in words...

Ngā tamariki used a painting technique - rolling a marble through paint - in order to create these apples. We have co-wrote a book using the phonic - 'a'. The vowels are the most difficult sounds to master - in particular -a- as it is a sound, a word, and it has a name. Also to complicate things u sounds like a when it is a word! English literacy can be very tricky to learn!

 

Presenting our Clever Cats!

 

Clever Cats

Our letter focus for this week was 'c' - or 'Clever Cat'. We listened to the story "Clever Cat" - we had a discussion about when exactly the cat was clever afterwards. Different tamariki had different perspectives!

We created an artwork inspired by this clever cat. 

First we practiced drawing the basic shape on some whiteboards, then we drew a pencil outline on some paper. 

Then we went over the pencil with a vivid marker to give us a bold outline for their artwork.

Next we used pastels to create our own designs.

The last part of the process was to create a background for our clever cats. We did this by using two colours of dye to create a textured backdrop.

Rippa Rugby

 This week Cam visited us to teach us some rippa rugby skills.

First we warmed up...

Next Cam talked to ask about passing the ball and running to make a try.

Then we played a game to learn this skill...

After that we learned how to pass the ball to each other...

... and catch!

Next we got ready to play a game...

A fast and furious game!

Writing rewards!

 It can be incredibly daunting learning to write. It can also be the most exciting work to develop with tamariki as they learn to express their ideas in ways that can be shared with others. Our 'standout STAR writers' visit Matua Rauru in his office to share their progress. The successful writers are rewarded with a golden pencil to acknowledge their hard work. Ka mau te wehi Philip and Allyssa!

Rabbits and rockets!!!

This week was full of rabbits and rockets.

 

Gymnastics

 In Term 3 we often have a gymnastics focus for our physical education program. Waitī Room 8 are working hard to develop their gross motor skills and strengths. The range of activities have a focus on developing upper body strength and eye-hand co-ordination.

These sessions are heaps of fun and the excitement level is very high. We are learning how to keep ourselves safe at these times too!!