We are Exploring - Technology and Travel in the Pacific

Did you know that the voyages of ancient sailors in the Pacific are like our explorations of space? These brave explorers traveled using the stars and signals from nature to help them discover new lands, including Aotearoa.

Source "Sailing The Pacific" ©Learning Media.

We've learned that signals like driftwood, clouds and birds would help them to know where new land was. They had no maps but used the stars as maps to guide them.

Their sails were woven from plants and they made lots of other things to carry things that they needed. We spent some time weaving to help us think about some of the things we could make, too.

Inquiry Learning We Are Exploring at the Wellington Museum

As part of our Inquiry Learning we visited the Wellington Museum. We learned about the history of our place and some of our stories. From the story of Kupe discovering Aotearoa and the many other stories around Wellington Harbour that are part of it, to the legend of Ngake and Whataitai. These stories are part of our stories now, too.

We also enjoyed exploring how people traveled in the old days and the many types of technology that they used. Our phones look very different!!

Here's our year 2's checking it out, with a bit of fun at Frank Kits Park too.

 

Positive Education: Positive Emotions and The Mood Meter

The Mood Meter

Excited or hungry? Calm or tired? Emotions come in all types so we have been learning about the different types of emotions and how they can be felt in our bodies. Some are high energy or low energy. Some are more pleasant than others. All emotions have a purpose and by learning how to label emotions it can help us to regulate them (link here).

We have been learning how to use a Mood Meter and how to describe a wider range of emotions.

Source link

We are spending some time thinking about what creates different types of emotions for us and how we might be able to self-regulate them.

This has also helped us to learn new words in Te Reo Māori to help us practise asking and saying how we feel in Te Reo.

A day with the Seniors

This week we were fortunate to have the senior students share their learning and a number of very cool activities with Tautoru.



It was such a fun session and the level of friendship, team work and organisation on display was amazing. There were students engaged in netball and soccer sessions. Basketball skills were being developed along with a number of outdoor games.



The comic drawing session was very popular and there was a buzz in the library around the development of characters and storylines.



Thanks so much the senior team and we look forward to another day soon!

Inquiry learning: The Earth, Our Home

The Earth, Our Home

Deep understandings: We change the world to meet our needs.We have all arrived from someplace then have added and adapted to our environment.  We can learn from each other to create positive change. 

This term our inquiry learning is about resources, technology, and migration with a focus on how we have used technology to adapt to our environment. From Māori navigation to turn of the century settlers and to recent arrivals, people have used technology to interact with the environment. As we sit under the sky and explore the journeys of so many to our shores, we will learn more about our place: Whetūkairangi- The Stargazers and how we might create positive change.

We are Curious- Our First Ideas

What if you had to travel from a deserted island back to Worser Bay? How would you do it? We spent some time designing a way to travel back home after watching a movie about some astronauts (who looked a lot like our teachers!) getting stranded on an island in the Pacific. 

We had lots of fantastic ideas such as:

- A gigantic slingshot to shoot us from island to island (we might need a helmet).

- Several types of spaceships, rafts, and boats.

- Some involved very large butterflies and birds.

Some of the questions we have now are:

- How do people use the stars to travel?

- How long does a raft last in the ocean?

We are Exploring 

Next, we have been learning about where we come from and where our families have come from as we grow our understanding of our place in the world. Where are we on this Earth we call home? Where have some of us traveled from?

We have learned how to ask this in Te Reo Māori.
No hea koe? Where are your from?
No Whanganui-a-Tara ahau. I'm from Wellington.

We will be creating a big world map in Tautoru to see some of our families' journeys.

A visit from the SPCA and some writing.

On Tuesday we were lucky to have four special guests from the SPCA visit Tautoru and Autahi. This was a great opportunity for our students to learn about dog safety and the work the SPCA do for the animal life of Wellington.



The two human guests were slightly over shadowed by the puppies River and Sky. We showed lots of patience, kindness, and love while waiting to pat the puppies and by letting them feel comfortable around us.



We learned a number of tips to keep ourselves safe around unfamiliar dogs. The top five tips were
1. Ask the owner first before patting a dog.
2. Allow the dog to sniff your closed fist as an introduction.
3. If a dog is bounding up to you, cross your arms across your chest and turn your back. The dog will think you are boring and move away!
4. Don't wave your hands about - dogs think our hands a magical.
5. Don't pat a dog on the head.



Thanks to the SPCA for the visit and a huge pat on the chest for Sky and River.



Here are some examples of  writing after the visit.



By Tom



By Isabella



By Ella



By Maggie