S is for Stuck!

I love this book by Oliver Jeffers, it makes me laugh!!  Listen to him read it...so funny!

We had lots of fun with this book today in Room 6.  I read about half of the book to the children and then stopped and asked what they would do if they were Floyd, and how they would get everything out of the tree.  There were some good ideas...

If I was Floyd I would throw another whale at the bottom of the tree because it could work.  If the tree would bend I would grab it.  But if it wouldn't work I would throw a brick.

Then we created the coolest art work with all the bits stuck in the tree....love them!

B is for biscuit

This week in Room 6 we read a great journal story called Anzac Biscuits by Phillippa Werry.  We have done a lot of work all week on this story and the children have been developing some good topic vocabulary, they have done lots of inquiring and even wrote summaries of the story.

Today as a Friday fun activity we followed the recipe in the journal story and made the Anzac Biscuits.

The children have a good understanding of the history behind Anzac Biscuits, so ask them about what they have learnt this week.  I think you might find that one cookie each wasn't enough - so if you feel like trying them at home, here is the recipe from our story...

N is for Netball

Our netball skills lessons have been really fun.  We have learnt all kinds of good skills and we put it altogether today with a game.  Nice work kids.

A is for Anzac

With Anzac Day tomorrow, I hope you all have a lovely three day weekend.  It's been a great start to Term 2 in Room 6, I was so impressed by all the children this week.  The behaviour has been fantastic and it has been a pleasure working with the children.

Our Big Idea is Past, Present and Future this term.  We will be focusing on Their Stories, Our Stories with WW1 and what life was like 100 years ago as the focus.  We spent time this week looking at the meaning behind why we celebrate Anzac Day.  We made a poppy wreath for the Fields of Remembrance Service.  The children all showed respectful behaviour at the service, and it was a opportunity for them to be a part of this nationwide commemoration.

Will and Mackenzie presenting our wreath

F is for Fire Truck

Did you hear we had a fire truck come to school today?  It was very exciting.  Thanks to the Tawa Volunteer Firefighters who took time out to bring the truck up to school today.  We loved counting the hoses....there were 27 hoses....wow!!

We learnt about all the different things the firefighters do, and got to have a really good look at the truck.

It was very cool and we are looking forward to starting our Fire Wise learning next week.

C is for competition

We have been having a competition in Room 6....it is a Teacher v. Children competition!

When the children in Room 6 are making good choices and following our class rules they get a point.  They know all the right things to do, sitting nicely on the mat, putting their hands up to talk, showing our RED values, being engaged in their learning, working quietly and trying their best.  If they are not doing these things the teacher gets a point!

You will see that the children have been doing a good job of winning the competition.  Each day the winner gets to decide what we do for the last 10 minutes of the day.  The children enjoyed a play in the sunshine yesterday.

E is for Elephant

We had a great poem this week - it was about the elephants trunk.  It inspired some cute art, which the children in Room 6 proudly showed at the Kiwi/Tui Assembly this week.  It looks super cute on our classroom walls now, come check it out!

They did a great job of reading the poem with interesting voices....it is in their poem books, so make sure they read them to you over the weekend.

P is for portrait

Well portraits of a sort!!  We had a bit of fun last Friday with this Andy Warhol style of portrait.

The children were asked to use only 4 different colours on each photo.  They could colour any part of themselves they choose.

C is for counting!

Wow the first 3 weeks are already done!  We have been busy in Room 6 getting to know each other, setting up our class routines as well as establishing our learning programmes.

We have started counting the days we have been coming to school and are looking forward to the 100th day.  Today was our 14th day at school.  We talked about all the things we could do to celebrate when we get to 100 days.  One suggestion was a pizza party with 100 pieces of pizza!!

I asked the children how many pizza we would need to get 100 pieces - and how many people we might need to eat them!!!  What do you think?

W is for Welcome!

Welcome to 2015

I hope you have all had wonderful summer break.  I have enjoyed the time off, catching up on chores and gardening, enjoying the sun with family and friends and I also managed a get away with my husband.  As a result I feel well rested and relaxed and am rearing to go with the new school year!

I look forward to meeting you all over the first week of school, getting to know your children and starting our year together.

With my children on the Devonport Ferry in Auckland.