Wednesday 19 September 2018

Te Reo Tuesday



He pai ki ahau translates as 'I like ______'.

We are keeping Te Reo Maori week alive for another three weeks at least in Tautoru. This week the students created mini books to practice phrases in Te Reo.



They drew pictures of their favourite food and then shared these with a buddy along with practicing the phrase in Te Reo Maori.

Check out the blog for more Te Reo Maori next week!





Tuesday 18 September 2018

Remembering Summer

Summer is on its way. The days are getting longer and there is a warmth to the air when it isn't raining!



We have been writing poems about what we remember about summer. Dipping our toes in the sand, running through long grass, and BBQ's on the beach. Here are some examples

Remembering Summer

On cold winter days…
My feet remember the soft silky sand brushing against my feet.
My eyes remember the beauty of the flat, calm sea.
My body remembers  the warm ocean splashing around me.
My arms remember being sandy from building smooth sand castles.
My hands remember being muddy from digging.
My face remembers the boiling rays of the sun jumping across  my face like a bunny.
My mind remembers that summer will  be back again soon.




Remembering Summer

On cold winter days my feet remember the fresh air.
On cold winter days my back remembers the cool water on it.
On cold winter days my legs remember the soft grass in the park.
On cold winter days my tongue remembers the coldness of an ice block.
On cold winter days my mind remembers that summer will be back again.




I remember summer

On cold winter days…
My face remembers the sun beaming on me.
My hands remember building sand castles with wet soggy sand.
My body remembers lying on the beach.
My eyes remembers looking for lost things on the beach.
My feet remember digging into the sand.
My knees remember kneeling down so my hands can dig.



The Longest Bridge



This week teams in Tautoru worked on a team building challenge. Each team were given a limited amount of materials to build a bridge spanning two chairs.



The had 15 sheets of newspaper, 3 metres of string, tape, and two A4 card.



Their mission was to build a bridge that was able to hold a can of delicious chickpeas in place for longer than a minute.



It was a challenge and we had a number of interesting looking designs. The groups showed a lot of team work, problem solving, and perseverance !



Wednesday 12 September 2018

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori- Tōku Pepeha

As part of Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori, this week we learned and practised our Pepeha (introducing our whānau in Māori) with our Autahi whānau.










We know that learning something new can help our brains grow, so learning Te Reo Māori is a great way to help our brains get stronger.

Imagination and Innovation Inquiry: Māori Legends Art

As part of our inquiry, we are learning about how art can bring people together and spark our imagination. We have been exploring different Māori legends using the art of authors like Peter Gossage.





We have been learning the legends of How Maui Found his Father and The Magic Jawbone, Maui and the Sun, Ngāki and Whataitai and The Battle of The Mountains that tells the story of how some of the mountains around the North Island came to be. Here are some of the art we have created so far.

Maui and The Sun, by Peter Gossage





The Battle of The Mountains by Peter Gossage




How Maui Found His Father and The Magic Jawbone





The Legend of Ngake and Whataitai




Tuesday 11 September 2018

Growth Mindset- Our Elastic Brain

We have been learning about how our brain makes connections. Our brain cells, called neurons, make connections when we try new challenges. The more challenges and practice we do, the more connections we build.

During whānau time with Autahi, we watched this great clip about our elastic brain.



We also talked about all the things that used to be a challenge but we have learned how to do. That's because our connections are now strong so we need new challenges. We thought about some of the challenges we have now and some we would like to have in the future.




Here are some of our ideas



Thursday 6 September 2018

Kia Kaha te Reo Māori!


Next week is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori language week). In Tautoru we practise different phrases in Te Reo and learn how to respond. We try to do this every day as we are responsible for keeping our kupu  (spoken word/language) alive. The theme this year is - Kia Kaha te Reo Māori - Let's make the Māori language strong!

Everyone can help strengthen our language. It just takes a few words at a time, a few minutes a day and it's the perfect opportunity to do some learning together as a family! 

Each week in Mahuru (September), our children will post up a new kupu challenge. It would be ka rawe (awesome) if you can all try it out at home...send us in a picture or video to share on our blog!

Here we go! Our first Mahuru challenge is ...

Kei te pēhea te āhua o te rangi?

(How's the Weather)