We were off & away first thing Monday/Rahina morning on our eco adventure at the Blueberry Farm! With everyone wrapped up warm, prepared for a rainy morning, Ranginui (sky father) played a trick on us! The sun popped out as soon as we arrived! Swapping coats for sunscreen, our blueberry pickers were ready to go! Nga tamariki had to be absolutely sure Papatuanuku (mother earth) had provided us with the most delicious blueberries by taste testing every second berry plucked from the trees. In between taste testing our whanau managed to gather some blueberries to take home & back to kindy which Jim & Simon, from Blueberry Country, kindly wavered the $12 a kg fee...how lucky are we!
Sharing these experiences between nga tamariki, their whanau & kaiako/teachers is something kaiako treasure (we're sure you do too) especially getting to know our local environment & surroundings - so many parents hadn't had the pleasure of visiting Blueberry Country before!
Whanau Blueberry Ideas
On Tuesday/Ratu & Thursday/Raapa nga tamariki satisfied their thirst by whipping up some blueberry smoothies. A big shout out to Shauna Kubala and Jack for providing us ingredients to blend our smoothie creations. Yum!!
More blueberry smoothies!!
Forest Kindy/Taiao Tuhura
This week we welcomed Pippa to the Group. Our problem solvers built a hut using brunches, sticks and a big blue tarp to shield themselves from the rain while eating their kai because "we don't want to get raindrops in our lunch boxes" Alex explained. Nga tamariki had the best fun utilizing natural resources to create crowns, swords and even a ball to play with, thanks to Celine's dad, Gilbert, for helping create a flax woven ball! Gilbert shared that while living in the Philippines he use to make balls out of coconut leaves to play dodge ball as the it was light and wouldn't hurt when thrown at people......... how neat to share these experiences with us!
More whanau blueberry inspiration!
Thanks Charlotte Johnstone & Jack from sharing your blueberry & chocolate home baked muffins with us! Your scrumptious muffins inspired us to bake our own! We had master bakers advising one another what ingredients to use & sharing stories from their successful home baking experiences. Taking refugee from the sun, our bakers enjoyed feasting on their mahi/work under the fort - two thumbs up from nga tamariki!
Kaitiakitangi in action!
Nga tamariki had expressed concerns for a fallen chrysalis. Many questions arose: Do we need to help? Is it okay to have a chrysalis laying in the soil? Shouldn't it be hanging in the swan plant like the rest? Revising the 'metamorphosis' process via a Youtube timelapse clip, nga tamariki came to a decision after observing the way the monarch butterfly wriggles about to brake out of the chrysalis & then hangs from the swan plant to stretch & dry her/his wings before flying. Yes! We needed to act as kaitiakitangi & help! But how will we reattach the chrysalis!? Jack Kubala suggested using sellotape, Alex thought using wire & Hayley using string. After a unanimous vote, sellotape was the way to go, thanks Jack! Now to wait and see if nga tamriki efforts have saved the butterfly! Check out the time laspe we watched: Caterpillar to chrysalis - Metamorphosis timelapse
Metamorphosis!!
The amazing magical process of metamorphosis happened!! Tamariki on Thursday discovered we now have two monarch butterflies & on Friday our question was answered 'the butterflies KNOW how to fly'. As we observed the monarch butterflies named 'Rocket Ralph'& 'Snowflake' (thanks Alex & Hayley) practice flying we remembered as Kaitiakitangi we will help protect them by only watching the them fly about kindy, because touching them may take their magic away from their wings...& then they might not be able to fly!!
Student Volunteer Army
On Thursday we welcomed our new SVA from Limehills School; Danny McDonald, Josh Cairns, Tahila Fraser & Esther Percy, who will be joining us every Thursday afternoon. We're super stoked to have such a lovely bunch of students who have been rated most popular by nga tamariki.
'Baby Chick!'
Nga tamariki have taken delight in noticing the way 'Mum Albatross' has been caring for her baby chick. Nga tamariki have been wondering when 'baby chick' will fly, especially because on Friday we've had the butterflies flying about kindy...surely we'll see 'baby chick' take off soon!? We've also named our two butterflies & wondering if 'baby chick' will need a name too?
Check it out at home - Royal Albatross Live Cam
Christchurch Earthquake Memorial
On Friday nga tamariki practiced keeping themselves safe during an earthquake drill - as we do every month. What is an earthquake? Sharing clips of the devastating day in Christchurch on 22/2/19 we watched on as the ground shook, buildings collapsed & how people reacted in an emergency.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
The Teaching Team
