Friday, June 29, 2012

Fire Station Visit


A follow up to all the talking and practising around fire safety.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Matariki was celebrated at Grasslands Kindergarten with a puppet show about the many Matariki myths and legends whislt the boil up heated through on the stove and the hangi cooked away in the kai cooker. It was a lovely day shared with the kindergarten tamariki, whanau and extended whanau. Rhode Street Junior school joined us as well to celebrate the beginning of the Maori new year.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Quail Egg Pikelets




Our Quails lay consistently on a daily basis sometimes twice a day. We have several tamariki with a passion for quail egg collecting and announce with great excitement when there are new eggs in the cage. The children collect them and store them in the kitchen fridge. Today while cleaning out the fridge i wondered what to do with all the eggs.
I asked the children at mat time if they would like me to make some quail egg pikelets for morning tea so
 that the eggs are used and don't go to waste. Well they didn't last long, the pikelets were devoured!
They must have been delicious!

Abby.

Our Artists Work


“Art - A lively process of engagement with a wide range of materials.

An engagement that is sensual, reflective, creative and deliberate;

and which deepens and extends children’s learning.”
The Language  of Art—Ann Pelo 2007.



Friday, May 18, 2012

Dancing Worms

Our friend Andries brought some tiger worms in for us to investigate. They were very cool and moved about lots. We called them dancing worms. They look very interesting under a microscope and magnifying glass. We learnt about their bodies and their functions and that they help make compost and the juice is very good for the plants. Thank you Andries.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Toasting Marshmallows

Its that time of year again, the weather is cooling off but we still have some beautiful sunny days, great weather for toasting marshmallows! The children absolutely love this, and its a fantastic authentic learning experience. We even use twigs from the garden as our toasting sticks. Toasting marshmallows in the sandpit also provides a great opportunity to learn about fire safety and teach safe fire use. Our children show great maturity around the fire pit, they are very responsible and knowledgable about fire safety. This activity is well timed as the children currently have a strong interest in fire trucks and we have a trip to Chartwell Fire station planned for later in the month. - Abby.

Bongo Drumming

A small moment in the mornng of bongo drumming! The children are just loving it and are managing the time on the drums with a timer. To include literacy we have a clipboard with paper and pen to write their name down for a turn. The children are demonstrating real patience and turn taking. They are captive audiences for each other too. It has been interesting to observe children's confidence in preforming to others grow!
A fantastic investment!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Bongo Drums


Today we brought a set of New Bongo Drums from a gentleman that hand makes them in Dunedin.
They make a fantastic sound and the children have really enjoyed them all afternoon. Best part is they are guaranteed for life!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

More Kapahaka Learning with Riley

We are getting better and better, learning the right way to do it. Can you hear us singing?

Kapahaka Practise

Monday, April 30, 2012

Term One 2012

Goodness time just got away on us last term and our postings were not regular but we did have a great term. We went on the Orbitor Bus around Hamilton at the beginning when we had smaller numbers.


The term focused a great deal around Kai with cooking, pizza day and the Rhode Street School Kai Festival. We made Quail egg and bacon pies as our quails were in massive egg production. Tomato chutney was made to accompany the pies served with a side of watercress. They were very yummy! Thank you to every one who supported our stand it was a great evening and we made a nice profit


We again enjoyed Kapahaka with the Junior Rhode Street Kapahaka Group with some very special in house support from our whanau taking the time to teach us. Check out the videos!



Thursday, February 2, 2012