Superb Parrot

 Once again some children at Owairaka have come to the aid of a lost bird. I love the way you are so caring and kind to birds that are not behaving 'normally.' Whea Puhi is becoming our Retriever - she fetches the birds and brings them to me to take care of. She has retrieved a Tui, a Cooks Petrel and now an endangered Barriband Parakeet or Superb Parrot. He was returned to his owner after Sarah found a notice about the lost bird on Facebook. He had been lost for 5 days.  His name is COCO - which translated into english means 'friend'. Definitely what I would call a group effort.

Well done Owairaka.

Who's a tame bird then!

                    Waiting for 'dad' to come!

What does a dragon need?

 I know what I like to buy when I go shopping, but what would a dragon buy? Talk to your family about what is necessary.

To me when I am 20 years old!

 Have you considered your future - where you would be and what you would be doing? Try it out and see if you like where you are going!

Do you like Numbers?

 This seems so easy but there are more hidden than you think!

Camping Trip coming up?

 Everyone knows you have to be organised. Any trip coming up? Help your parents be prepared!

How many emotions?

 How many emotions can you recognise or have a name for?

A Volcano

 Kauri will be able to do this easily because they have been studying Volcanoes. If you have an older brother or sister get them to help you come up with some incredibly descriptive words.

Feed the cat - coding

 `I am embarking on a new venture. I have no idea how to do this but I bet you can!

This is a very new language for me. I may need some help from you to get me going. I have an Instruction Guide

I have an Activity Sheet. What do I do now????

Where in the world ?????

 Challenge Nine

I know Puriri has been looking at landmarks and where they are - Now I'm asking you - Where would you like to go?

Art Punctuation

Challenge Eight 

Time for some art - draw a large comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark and draw inside it. Doesnt have to be faces - could be your favourite things. I would like you to save them for me so I can put them up in The Cottage!

Let me know if you have done some for me so I don't need to do them 😍😊

What is the rock thinking?

 Challenge Seven: 

Sometimes it is great to put our ideas into writing. It is even more fun to imagine you are something else. I wonder what things this rock might be thinking?  Comment with your suggestions.

Chain Sentence

 This looks like fun. Put your sentence in the comments box. Let's see how creative we can be. If you can't complete one someone else can carry on!

On your marks.... Get set...

Challenge Five: 

Something you can do in your own backyard. Advertise a time for your family, prepare a track and gather your racers. Choose your favourite racer and see who wins! (slugs work too, but a little bit slower)

I am finding mine under old plant pots and under bits of wood on the ground!

Let me know how successful you are 😍🤔

Special talents

Challenge Four: 

There are so many things you are good at. Are their any talents we would never guess - wonder who has an unusual talent?

 Challenge Three:   How are you going?

I clean out my water container in my avairy with sand. Not sure you would want me to scrub your face with sand? Must be another way?

 Challenge Two:

9   20,8,9,14,11   20,8,5   16,8,15,20,15    9,19      15,6     9,20,19     15,23,14,5,18   4,1,14,3,9,14,7.

Welcome Back to Term 4

I am going to post a challenge each day - these challenges are quick and easy and will be fun.

Please post your answers on my blog each day! Try sending me a message in code!

Todays Challenge! 

Anyone collecting?

 I seem to be collecting some Stat Attack Cards.

They seem to be a team of some sort! It says "Official Game Cards" on them.

I see the guys having fun with them on a tv commercial.

How do I play? 

An exercise in patience

 My garden is coming to life: Soup my turtle has woken up after her hibernation. She is enjoying sunbathing on her beach. The skinks are sunbathing in my garden. I took some videos of the skink and nothing moved! So I have just added a photo.  Look at the comparison of the video of the turtle.

Can you see any movement? You have to be patient.

Stone Soup

 Who would have thought you could make soup from a stone?

Have you heard this story before?
Have you heard a slightly different story?

The Chooks and ?????

Collected the eggs this morning to add to my egg bin. Can you guess which eggs are from the school chooks? 

Midnight Snowy and Flash are all laying. My two chooks are also laying

Where do the small spotty eggs come from? 

Can you remember the name of the animals we had hatch in The Cottage?

"Frances would know - she's always asking after them."

Please add your comments below. After the first student to comment and guess right, I will put up a photo!

Do you like Noughts and Crosses?

 

Nested Tic Tac Toe

This activity takes the noughts and crosses game and takes it up a notch. Ultimate tic-tac-toe takes a lot longer to play and has a few more rules.

How to play: First, you have to have one large tic-tac-toe board where each grid or square contains a smaller board.

X goes first and can place their x anywhere on the board.

The O player then must play in the grid corresponding with where the x played. Look at where the “x” player played, then compare that to the larger board and that’s the area where the O has to play.

When someone gets 3-in-a-row in one of the smaller boards, they get to place a large X or O on that board.

Players continue playing until there are three large Xs or Os in a row on the larger board.

Let me know if you enjoyed this game. It took me a long time to learn this game - I thought it was too hard - but then it was great. How did you go?

How well do you know the parts of human body ?

Puriri have nearly finished their learning about the human body.

Look at the following slides carefully and see if you can get the connections to the body. Discuss them with your family. (See how much you know!)

Body Crossword - Help needed!

I was setting up some work for my children when I found this crossword on my computer. I was pleased because Puriri are working on discovering about the body. I don't give anyone some work if I can't do it. Immediately I spotted a problem! There is no answer sheet. Look at 1. across - the largest organ of the body. Oh dear I don't know. The second clue is It covers your bones and muscles. Thats easy. Your skin. But is skin an organ? Please help me out of my dilemma! Can you do this crossword for me so I can use it. Draw squares up on paper and put in answers. I could really do with some help.

Thank you Malachi and Sarah for your awesome help see answers here or Niko's work here

Same or Different?

These are flowers in my garden. They are looking beautiful at the moment. Can you find some flowers to take a photo of? You could be very artistic!

I have labelled the pictures so it is easier to discuss them.

Look at slides for different ideas and then look around your garden or watch out on your walks.

Wild Storm

 Well the lightning and thunder was intense last night. I was so pleased to be warm and dry in my house. The thunder crashed and rolled, the lightning struck so quickly I imagined it was happening very close to us.

I turned off the paralympics about 11.00 pm and went to have a hot shower and get ready for my snug sleep.

I was in the shower when the guilt struck! Here was I enjoying natures display when outside in my backyard some animals were not so lucky..

I have told you where the chooks roost at night (see blog 10 May) and I could imagine them cold wet and frightened. A problem with their choice of sleeping decision is that it has to be made before it gets dark. Once they can't see they will not move.

On went my jeans and jersey, raincoat and gumboots. My husband and I went out into the storm to shift them into the henhouse.

The ground was flowing with water, rain was falling heavily and the bush was being blown backwards and forwards with the wind. On their branch the three chooks were huddled close together. One by one we took them down and into what to them was a strange environment - a warm dry roost with my other two chooks.

As I shifted the chooks I was astounded to find the chooks, although they were wet through, were warm underneath. They would have been fine - but I went to sleep happier!

Tell me in the comments how you got on last night.

Double Letter Words

 Oh no! Now I've started I cant stop - I noticed that lots of words on tv have double letters. I had my computer open and typed whatever I saw in 5 minutes.

Can you add more to my list????  Take double points for words with 2 lots of double letters

vaccine    immune  letter    business    suggest

recommend  stunning  all  Freeview  feel   football  Anne  Michelle  speedo

medallist  Allan  Abbey  Accessing   necessities

This led me to a new game! Be the first person to say a word that is on the tv that has a double letter in it. It may be a commercial. Beat everyone in the room to say it. My husband and I can't stop - we are very competitive. Have fun!!!!!

Draw a Monster Game

Equipment:
1 dice

1 piece of paper

1 pen or felt.

Instructions:

You have 6 turns to create a monster.

1st roll you draw THE BODY, the shape has to be the number you roll

2nd roll you draw the eyes, the shape has to be the number you roll.

Continue on with the mouth, arms,legs and extras.

Have fun and send me your monsters.

Thank you to my grandchildren for sending this to me so I could play and send my creations to them.

 

Snow Fun with Tubing

For those of you booked for a Snow Planet Experience - we will attempt to rebook at a later time in the year.

Extra time for you to find some gloves and warm clothing!

 

We go into lockdown and the Chooks get an unexpected holiday!

The girls were picked up from school and seemed happy enough to revisit with their friends. I am wondering if they will roost in the trees again! See Blog 10 May

I actually wonder what they think of their homes - I think they have a good life.

What do you think they think?

Perhaps you could write me a comment........

 

Some News from Birdcare Aoteraroa ( Bird Rescue)

Those of you who rescued a petrel at school may be interested in this information:

How we waterproof a Cook’s Petrel!

We received 148 Cooks Petrels through our centre from mid-March to April - the bulk of which arrived over one week!

No sooner had we released them, a new batch arrived, so we were certainly kept on our toes.

Poor weather and low cloud levels kept fledging petrels flying lower than usual over Auckland.

Attracted by the bright city lights they became grounded on roads, beaches or backyards… . Once grounded, they are unable to become airborne unless from a great height.

Cooks Petrels breed on Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands, off north-eastern North Island, and Codfish Island, near Stewart Island. The Barrier populations fledge and head west, over the Auckland region and out to the Tasman Sea where they then head northwards.

Some of the petrels lost their waterproofing as a result of coming into contact with diesel and petrol on the roads, or from human handling which damages their feathers.

(Always use cloth, gloves or a towel to pick them up. Avoid using bare hands).

Image: A Cook’s Petrel before and during a waterproofing bath.

Their waterproofing was restored by bathing them with Dawn, a deep cleansing soap that removes harmful substances from their feathers.

A dedicated team of local bird lovers at Bethells Beach helped to release boxes of petrels with only a few hours notice on Ihumoana Island (a private bird sanctuary), navigating high tides, stormy weather, steep cliffs, often in darkness.

Image: Locals at Bethells Beach releasing petrels at dusk

Certainly a team effort and we are so deeply grateful for their commitment and efforts!

Help feed the birds

 We had such an awesome assembly for Cultural Unity Day.

Congratulations to our wonderfully brave presenters: Alofi and brother Seuga, John and sister Cati, Zainab and sister Fatima, D'Arcy and sister Eris, Milana and sister Tanya, Sarah and sister Grace, and Hoorad and brother Hoonan

These children spoke in their first language, introducing themselves to us all. Proud of you all!!

 

Pullets on Holiday

Look carefully and see how many pullets you can see. This is their preferred roost for the nights away from school. I had to shift them inside one stormy, thundery night and they didn't thank me!

They are now happily digging up their chook house floor searching for insects and bugs. Visit them at school.

Guess What?????Exciting

4 Araucana Pullets are at Owairaka

Update to Blog 1 September 2021

We now have 3 Chooks - unfortunately Boss became sick in July and passed away.

The good news is that all three chooks are now laying small green eggs.

Incubating Quail Eggs

In Our Backyard