Shape Pictures

We are learning to recognise 2d shapes in every day life.

Room 0 have been busy exploring shapes in a range of different ways.  One activity we did was to choose a range of 2d shapes and put them together to create a picture.  By doing this nga tamariki are able to see how shapes can be seen all around us every day.

"I made a rocket ship using circles, rectangles and triangles", said Macy.

Finding Root Words

We are learning to identify a root word.

In Reading we have been looking for root words and discussing different word endings we find in the book.  By practising this we are able to decode unknown words more effectively.

"Root words are tricky because sometimes I can't see them in the word", said Macy.

Descriptive Words

We are learning to add interesting language to our story.

In Story Writing we have been brainstorming adjectives (describing words) and trying to use them in our stories to make our work sound more exciting.  Guy Fawkes gave us the opportunity to practise some of these words:

"It is tricky putting describing words into my story", said Macy.

Diwali Divas

We have been learning about celebrations around the world.  One of the celebrations we explored was Diwali.  We learnt that it is known as the festival of light and one of the parts of this festival is lighting diva (pronounced "diya").  We made our own diva using clay and tea-light candles and then we decorated them with paint and glitter.  Happy Diwali everyone!

"They light lots of divas at Diwali", said Macy.

I am learning to use a word card

In Writing we have been learning to use our word card.  It has some words in the colourful boxes and these help us to write our story.  If we need to write a word that isn't on our card we can say the word slowly and write down the sounds we can hear instead.

"I can write the words all by myself", said Macy.

I am learning to complete a word family

In Reading we have been learning how to complete a word family.  We know that all the words in a word family rhyme with each other.  We also know that they have the same letters at the end of the word.  Here is a screen shot of an ipad game we played about word families:

"You spell words with this game and the words have to rhyme."

Bunnings visits Elm Park

This week we were lucky enough to have Bunnings come and visit us and put together a fun day where students got to build a project.  Nga tamariki had an absolute blast hammering, glueing, problem solving and painting to create a masterpiece.  Here is a brief snap-shot of the fun:

"It was tricky screwing the hooks in.  I liked sticking the jewels and shells on."

I am learning to add numbers where 5 is one of the numbers

In Maths we have been learning to add numbers when 5 is one of the numbers.  To help us get faster at solving these equations we played a game called "Murtle's Turtles".

"It was easy adding the numbers because I could count with my fingers."

I am learning to say the number that comes after

In Maths we have been learning to say what number comes next in the line.  Macy had to choose a card from the pile and then put a counter on the number that would come next on her game card.

We are learning to point to each word when we read

We are learning to point to each word when we read a story.  This is called one-to-one word matching and it helps us to focus on each word that we read.

"I put my finger where the words are."

Baking Cookies

During mat time we read the story "The duckling gets a cookie".  This led onto a discussion about what types of cookies we like and what kind of baking we do at home.  Nga tamariki decided it would be fun to make some special cookies at school.  After baking the cookies we decided to share them with others, just like the duckling did in the story.  It made us feel happy to see people smiling when we gave them the special treat we had made.

I am learning to form my letters correctly

Everyday in class we practise writing an alphabet letter.  Sometimes writing the letters can be tricky but we are learning to show resilience by continuing to try.  Have a look at the letter "h" that I did all by myself:

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