Houses and Homes

Houses and Homes

In Term 3 we thought about and discussed what makes a house a home.  We then investigated how houses are designed and built in different parts of the world.  We discovered that they can look very different and are also made in different ways.  As a class we tried to work out why.

Using all of this background thinking and knowledge, we then set about designing our own homes.  Our task was to include as many Environmentally Friendly and Energy Efficient features as possible.  

Once we had drawn and explained our design, we created a model of our home by reusing and recycling everyday materials.

Finn constructing

Jacey planning her next step

Zimo, Alice and Laura working as a team

Our designs included: solar panels; grassy areas; water tanks to collect rain water; gardens to grow vegetables for our food; flower gardens to attract bees; trees to create shade, absorb rain water, provide homes for birds and provide fruit; large windows to let in the sunlight; insulation and curtains to keep out the cold and so much more.

Sophie putting it all together

Indigo hard at work

Once we had completed our models, we enjoyed sharing them with others, explaining the special features of our homes.

  

   

     

We Wish You Well, Caitlin

Bon voyage ...            
                               Auf wiedersehen ...
                                                                    Farewell ...
              Goodbye ...


In early August we said our sad Goodbyes to Caitlin, who left with her family to move to Thailand.  We will miss Caitlin so much, but know she will have an amazing time living in Thailand and learning all about other countries and cultures.

Love and best wishes from us all, Caitlin.

Celebrating Matariki

Celebrating Matariki

We did some reading about Matariki and learnt that Matariki is a time for:

• learning from older people
• learning about caring for our land and environment
• planting winter crops eg kumara
• making and flying kites

So we planted some vegetables (potato, kumara, onion and carrot).

We designed and created some colourful kites.


We had a special visit from Reneé's mother who taught us to weave flowers using flax.  It was hard work folding the flax but by working together we managed it, making beautiful flax flowers. 






We even had a go at flying a kite ourselves out on the field - a first for many of us!

Get NZ Writing

For the past month, we have been working on the writing challenges presented by our Get NZ Writing package.  We waggled our ears, rolled our tongues, licked our elbows and crossed our eyes;  we did surveys; we found amazing sounding words; we found incredible facts and we wrote it all down.

We learnt how to write Found Poems and wrote some of our own:

We learnt about metaphors then wrote about ourselves using metaphors.

We learnt how to write postcards and look what our postcards turned into when we put them all together:

Now all of our writing is on its way to Boulcott School in Wellington.  We hope they love receiving our package as much as we enjoyed creating it.  We eagerly await the arrival of a package from them, opening the door to their world.

Congratulations Sienna

Well done Sienna for her thoughtful report writing and valuable contributions in Reading and Inquiry discussions.

Dr Seuss' Birthday

Each year on 2 March, people around the world remember and celebrate Dr Seuss and his books on his birthday.

Room 15 brought along some of their own much-loved Dr Seuss books and enjoyed reading and sharing some of their favourite stories with each other as we acknowledged his birthday on Friday.