Monday, November 27, 2017

Dog safety

Dog safety
Term 4 is all about Hauora- our Health and Well-being.
 As part of this we have been learning about safety around dogs.
 A lot of us have dogs and knowing the right way to behave and treat them is really important for the dogs safety and ourselves.
We learnt 9 important dog safety rules  which are:


Charlie's Dog Safety Tips for Kids


Tips to help keep you safe around dogs: 


1. Check it's sweet - before you meet!
Before going up to a dog ask permission from its owner.
    Lots of dogs are friendly, but some aren’t. The owner can tell you if it is safe to go up to their dog. But still be careful. Let the dog approach you - don't chase it if it moves away, it might not feel like meeting you that day.


    2. To understand - they sniff your hand! 
    When meeting a dog let it sniff the back of your hand. 

    Dogs have a sense of smell that is 50 times stronger than ours. Dogs use their sense of smell to get to know strangers. Using the back of your hand keeps your fingers out of the way. Let the dog come up to you and sniff - don't push your hand under the dog's nose.


    3. Chin or chest - that's the best! 
    After permission is given, stroke only the dog’s chin, chest or shoulders and remember to be gentle. 

    Dogs don’t really like being patted on their heads by strangers. They might think you are trying to hurt them. 


    4. To meet a pup - ask a grown-up! 
    Ask an adult before cuddling a puppy. 

    Mother dogs are naturally protective and may growl or snap at you to protect their puppies. But even if a puppy’s mother isn’t there, puppies can bite, jump and scratch like older dogs– so be careful and gentle. Puppies and adult dogs don't like being picked up and hugged or kissed.


    5. If a dog has a snack - keep well back! 
    Stay away from a dog that is eating or has a bone. 

    When they are eating, dogs might think you want to take some of their food if you try to pat them. They want to protect their food. 


    6. Keep your face - out of their space!
    Never kiss or put your face down close to a dog’s face. 

    It’s just common sense for you to keep your face away from a dog’s teeth. Even if it doesn't want to nip you it could hurt you accidently.

    7. Don't run and shout - it freaks us out! 
    Do not run around or shout near a dog. 

    Dogs react to the way we behave. If you shout or run a dog might chase or attack you. Playing fetch or obedience games with your dog is better than playing chase or tug of war games. 


    8. A dog's not a toy - don't tease and annoy! 
    Never tease, hurt or annoy a dog. 

    Dogs can tell us to stop only by growling or biting. Don't tease a dog by waving food or a toy in front of it - the dog might make a grab for the food or toy and hurt you by mistake.


    9. Quiet and slow - is the way to go! 
    If you are scared of a dog, move quietly and slowly away from it. 

    Don’t run. Stand like a tree - stand still, look at your feet and keep your arms in front of you. Don't scream or shout. Walk away quietly and slowly. Don’t stare at the dog as you move away. If you stare, a dog might think you want to fight. 



    Then we had Mrs Foleys dog Mak and Hannah come for a visit to try out some of the protocol around dogs.  That was fun and we all passed with flying colours.  Mak liked visiting Haumoana School and meeting the friendly kids in the Junior syndicate.  He was very impressed when they all asked so politely if they could pat him. 



    A few days later we were pleased to welcome 3 local Police dog Handlers and their dogs.  It was a super day and we all sat outside and watched an impressive performance by the dogs and their handlers- Mike, Graham and Kahu.  We heard how the dogs training is all about fun and they sure did seem to be enjoying what they were doing.  Im glad none of us were asked to be the bad guy though, because the dog was very good at stopping him in his tracks. A highlight for a lot of the children was patting the dogs.  Each child asked politely if they could pat the dog first and then gave them the back of their hand to sniff before giving the dog a nice scratch under the chin or on the chest. 
    It was a super day and a highlight of our topic on dog safety.
    We wrote some great letters of thank-you.












    This week we have taken the dog theme a step further and have been looking at what it means to be a responsible dog owner and how to look after a dog.  We have used the SPCA kids site- https://kids.spcaeducation.org.nz/  which is full of great pictures and interesting information for our topic.
    We’ve even created a big poster of photos of our pets for everyone to see and enjoy.

    Bugs rule!

    We Love the Bugs at Haumoana School.

    Bugs are important to keeping our environment healthy. Without bugs/insects to help break down and dispose of wastes, dead animals and plants would accumulate in our environment and it would be messy indeed. Insects are underappreciated for their role in the food web. They are the sole food source for many amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

    I had seen a great bug hotel at the kindy so we decided to go for a visit to check it out.  Visiting the kindy is always a treat as we get to see old friends and all the cool stuff they are doing.  They are an enviro-kindy so their ideas are very much in line with ours too.







    We came back to school and had lots of fun planning and creating our bug hotels.
    We were first put into groups to talk about our ideas, which we then made into a plan.  We voted for the best one and set about making it out of recycled materials.  Each groups bug hotel was very different from the other and full of creativity and imagination.  We got to share them in our assembly along with stories and our cool movies.  Thanks to Sam our teachers aide who made these fun movies with us.







    The next phase was asking for a little bit of help to turn our ideas into reality.  And believe it or not a beautiful big bug hotel was delivered to our room.  Made cleverly by Greer-Roses Pop who is obviously abit of a craftsman.  It is made of wood and is waiting for the next phase of staining, filling and finding just the right posy in the garden behind our classroom. We wrote him thank-you letters to show our appreciation.


    But our story didn’t end there because in the next day or so another mini bug hotel arrived.  It was the same as the other one and made by Greer-Roses Pop, but much smaller. We wondered if our large one had magically transformed into something smaller.  Some children used it as great inspiration for their stories. 
    Last Friday during Discovery these two girls persisted in staining the whole big bug hotel.  It will soon find a special place in our garden...watch this space!


    Saturday, September 2, 2017

    5+aday




    We have had a great time learning about our 5+aday. It followed on from a look at Healthy Habits and what we need to do to keep healthy and happy.

    Then we were into composting and the reasons why it is important to us and the planet. We made our own compost in a plastic bag and weighed it each week for 4 weeks to see the change. We predicted as to whether our bags would get heavier or lighter and those that said lighter won. We had a look at our schools compost bins and talked about their benefit into growing great vegetables. Worms became our focus for a while and we enjoyed stories of Eddie Earthworm and all his adventures. We wrote reports on why worms are so important to us which you can see on our classroom wall.

    We then had some fun around growing things. We grew mung beans, cressheads...









    lettuce, carrots and different flowers which the children kept watered and well looked after. Our cress heads were so successful that we even were able to use them in our Discovery session on Friday when we made egg and cress sandwiches.


    Sustainability was a theme that was woven throughout the topic and we discussed the importance of seasonal vegetables and buying those that were in season. We looked at the colours of our fruit and vegetables and made a rainbow with as many as we could think of. 



    We talked about the importance of eating a range of each of them to keep us healthy and that 5+aday is actually 5 fist sized servings of fruit or veges every day.  
    Making our beeswax sandwich wraps was a big hit with the children and a very good lesson around sustainability.  We created something special that we can reuse and that would reduce the glad wrap used to wrap our sandwiches in.     We wrote some great Procedures about the process.

    How to make a Beeswax Wrap

    You need beeswax, an iron, paper, fabric and oil.
    First we get our fabric.
    Next we grate the beeswax onto our fabric.
    Then we put on the oil, but not too much.
    After that we put the paper on top of our fabric.
    Finally you take it outside and let the breeze get into it to dry it.
    I can’t wait to use my fabric wrap.
    Riley

    How to make a Beeswax Wrap

    We needed beeswax, paper, iron, ironing board, fabric and air.
    First we have to choose the fabric we want.
    Then we grate some beeswax on to it. Then put the drops of oil on it.
    After that we had to put paper over it and then iron it to make it flat.
    Then we put it outside to let it dry.
    Finally we can use our sandwich wrap to wrap our sandwiches up in.
    Annabelle

    Making a Beeswax Sandwich Wrap

    Before we start you need an iron, paper and wax.
    First you have to get your fabric and grate some wax on it and make sure you have the right amount.
    Then put a few drops of oil on it to make it more bendy so it can wrap around your sandwich.
    Then get some paper, the right size, and put the fabric on top of it, then put another on top of the fabric, then softly push it down a little, then iron.
    Finally leave it for a whole day, then it’s ready to wrap around your sandwich.
    Maddy



    We took our finished Beeswax wraps home on Friday with instructions of how to care for them and our cress heads to continue growing in order to make more delicious egg and cress sandwiches. 

    We made our honeybee wrap out of cotton fabric, grated beeswax and almond oil.
    We made it as an alternative to using glad wrap on our sandwiches because our honeywrap can be used over and over again.
    To care for our honeywrap you just need to rinse it in cold water and leave to dry flat.
    We are proud that our honeywraps are reusable, reduces waste and are great for the planet.


       

    Thursday, August 24, 2017

    Play-Based Learning

    Play-based learning is exactly as it sounds- learning through play and seems to have taken New Zealand schools by storm.  
    This is not a new way of learning and could be seen in action in our primary schools during the 80’s and 90’s, and was called ‘Developmental’.  It was a time of play and took place in every junior classroom on every day.  It was recognized as an important tool to encourage social skills and positive relationship building.  
    It is also seen successfully in our kindy’s and preschools and forms part of the important Te Whariki which is the Ministries guidelines for pre schools. It states that in a child's early years they will experience a curriculum that empowers them as life long learners. Children in pre-schools can choose from a variety of carefully thought out activities and they rove from one to the other as their interest levels develop. 
    Unfortunately this is where play stopped as once children turned 5 and hit primary school the emphasis changed to an academic focus, National Standards,  where there was little time to ‘play’. It is now being recognized that we are missing something and we need to find it again…so Play-Based learning is here.

    Today too much of our children's time is being organised- structured, there is little time for play.  There are numerous lessons to attend after school as well as in school and any free time is often spent looking at a screen which can mean little interaction with other people.
     We see break downs in our playgrounds when children cannot relate socially to one another and when problems arise, do not have the skills needed to work to resolve them. 
    Play is where relationship building takes place, conflict resolution happens, where children can work out their differences-problem solve and learn how to get along with each other and how to talk to each other.
    The National Curriculum identifies several values that we strive to teach our children.  Almost all can be developed through a play-based approach.  Innovation, inquiry, curiosity and sustainability.  Not to mention the Key Competencies of Respect, Thinking using language, Managing Self, Relating to others and Participating and Contributing are all seen when children are playing.
    We want to develop children that are rich in creativity and innovation.  How better can we encourage this than through a program that encourages children using their imaginations, exploring and inventing, discovering new ideas and putting these into action. This is when we see our children talking, discussing, negotiating, risk-taking and working out ways through a difficulty or a problem.  We also see conflict and arguments but isn’t that an important part of social development?  Seeing and feeling what the effect of our words, emotions and actions have on other people and developing relationships through this. 

    So how do we see this working in a Year 2 classroom at Haumoana School?

    Play happens spontaneously every morning before school with a variety of blocks.  The children arrive at school, get themselves organised for the day and immediately start creating.  Other children arrive and either join in or start their own creation.  They talk, laugh and begin their day on a positive note.  I have added old boxes of wooden quisenaire blocks to the mix and now these have become impressive towers or roads linking up their fortresses.  

    Now the job is to look at other types of play and when and how to integrate it into our school day.

    • Construction- blocks-duplo, wooden blocks, quisenaire, lego, wooden offcuts
    • Art station- water colour paints, scissors, pencils, stencils, magazines, stapler, glue guns, small boxes, collage materials, paper, cardboard, play dough
    • Imaginary- puppets, puppet theatre, sock puppets, finger puppets, dolls, soft toys
    • Games- chunk stacker, snakes and ladders, maths games, tic tac toe, 
    • Research- topics, i-pad, computer, booklets
    • Reading- topic box, library 
    I will explicitly teach the children about ‘Play-time’ in our class, where and when it can happen.  The choices of play and the rules around it.  An important understanding for the class will be that their work must be completed to an appropriate standard before play happens.  This will involve looking at exemplars and making them aware of the criteria expected before they begin their tasks.They must be respectful of their noise level and other workers and they must also be mindful of tidying up their ‘creations’ before they finish or move onto something else.  There will be 2 lists- Must Do’s and Can do’s to guide them.

    One type of play will be introduced at a time.  The rules around it created and the organisation around where it can best happen will be discussed.

    Sustainability also needs to be woven into the fibre of play-based learning.  There needs to be thought around our practices and how best to care for the planet through informed decisions and actions. Creations need to be thought out, purpose, use, benefit and what they will do with it once completed.

    Friday’s sessions of Discovery will see the children further developing their play and different opportunities will be offered. Wood table, water play, outside sporting activities and gardening to name a few. There will be a theme or a challenge to build activities around as well as discussion around a social skill/key competency that will be focused on. I will work with the children to plan these sessions.  This is already seen in action with children finding articles in journals and other resources which they are keen to develop further during this time.  We will join with the other Junior classes which also encourages a building of different relationships amongst our children.  There will be a reflection session at the end of the morning where they will be encouraged to share thoughts or items that they have created during the session. 












    These are great examples of play-based activities where the children have created some super self -initiated creations.
      
















    Friday, July 28, 2017

    Matariki Celebrations

      Our last couple of weeks of Term 2 also saw us finish off our wonderful Matariki celebrations with a school hangi and a trip to the Star Compass.  Both events were amazing and enjoyed by everybody.  It was great to see all the children really interested in the process of the Hangi- the preparation of the pit and the cooking of the food. And when it came to actually eating the hangi, everybody enjoyed the delicious offering as you can see by the photos.




    Our visit to the Star Compass was the coldest day of the year to date but that didn’t dampen our enthusiasm.  We took the whole school in 2 buses and arrived there to be met by some friends of Whaia Jaquie, our Te Reo tutor, who had organised a wonderful series of activities to learn more about the Star Compass.  We found out the names of the main carvings and the stories associated with them and the significance around the stars at this time of year- the Maori New Year or Matariki.  We were shown how to use and throw a rope when travelling on a waka and also a game to learn the Maori names of the compass. It was a great trip and one I know will be a special part of our on-going celebrations around Matariki.  





    We finished off the term and our Fractions unit making waffles.  They were divided into fifths, so we had fun working out how much of one we could possibly eat.  Could it be 1/5 or could we possibly manage 2/5 ?  As there was only 16 of us on the final day of the term most of the children actually got to enjoy 5/5 or one whole entire waffle!!  They all enjoyed squeezing lemon and a sprinkle of sugar to make their very own delicious waffles.