Our Poupou

For one of our art projects we learnt to draw a poupou.  Poupou are traditionally a wooden carved Maori statue.  Poupou tell the stories of the meeting house, the local iwi and the iwi's ancestry.  We sketched our Poupou and then painted them using cotton buds and dye.  We learnt about symmetry and proportion.

Making words

Making word families is a clever way to learn how to spell lots of words.

Derek says:  I can write lots of words now and I can spell them properly.

Term 4 Writing

Today we wrote about what we did in the school holidays.  Then we looked back at the first story we wrote at Elm Park School.  Look at the difference!

Derek says:  I have learnt how to do some more words and I can do good pictures.

Learning about teen numbers

 You are using equipment to help learn that double digit numbers are made up of groups of ten and ones

Derek said, " I am putting rubber bands on sticks and counting to 10. I am good at counting."

Term 3 Writing Sample

I am learning to read my writing to make sure it makes sense.  I can also read it to someone else to check.  Listen to my story!

Derek says "I like writing stories because I like drawing the picture.  I'm very good at drawing pictures".

Community services

You are learning how to get help in an emergency situation. Remember to call 111.

Maths term 3

You have used the Kidpix programme to write and solve your own number problem. You had lots to remember- counting the pictures and writing the matching numerals correctly, adding up the numbers and having a go at using the correct maths symbols we have been learning. It was also a huge fine motor challenge to get the arrow to move where you wanted it to. Well done!

Derek says "I think I do a good job and I like doing maths on kidpix".

Celebrating Matariki

We have been learning about Matariki in our class.  We learnt that it is a group of stars that marked the beginning of a new year.  You know it is the beginning of the new year when the first new moon rises after the stars appear in the sky (you can only see Matariki for a part of the year).  To celebrate Matariki we made fried bread, we learnt how to sing "Twinkle twinkle little star" in Maori and we reflected on the year past and the year to come.  Here is a slideshow of some of our learning.

Reading my poem

Here you are reading a poem of your choice. You are learning to pay attention to the author’s punctuation to help your reading sound interesting and change your voice when you see bold print. Reading out loud to people is a fun way to show your family what skilled readers you are becoming.

Derek says:  "I think I did a good job of reading my poem.  I practise my poems at home".

The Bee community

You enjoyed learning about the Bee community from the Bee lady.

Can you see the Queen Bee?

Derek says:  I like learning about bees and I liked making a candle and looking at the queen bee.

Basic sight words

These are some of the basic sight words you are learning. It is important to look at the first and last sounds of the word to help you read them.

Derek says:  I think I'm really good at reading these words.  I need to practise the sounds that letters make.

Adding and subtracting to 10.

" I am putting beans on. I do plus numbers."

Term 2 Writing

I have been writing lots of stories at school.  I can draw a picture for my brainstorm and then I use my alphabet card to help me find words and sounds that I need to write my sentence.

Derek says:  I am good at drawing my picture for my brainstorm.  I need to practise writing down the sounds I can hear.

Self Portrait

First we had to draw what we thought we looked like. Then we talked about the shape of our face and where all the parts on our head went. We had to think carefully about all the little bits, like the shapes of our eyes and what our eyebrows looked like. We had to really concentrate and think about how to draw the lines for our faces.

term 1 writing sample

I am learning to:
-use a plan for my writing
-write and use a range of simple words using my phonic knowledge
-read as I write to make sure my writing makes sense.

I know I am successful when:
-my picture illustrates my writing
-I try words on my own
-I have read my writing and it makes sense.

Derek said," First I do picture them I do story. I like to colour picture."

Term 1 Reading

We have been learning how to read books in our classroom.  We know that we need to point to the words when we read and we can look at the pictures to help us work out what some words say.  Here is a video of me reading.

W.A.L.T read basic sentences.

Success Criteria:  I can recognise some basic high frequency words.

                                I can point to the words when I read.

                               I can use the picture in the story to help me read words I don't know.

***Please note:  This video was recorded using the application "photo booth".  It mirrors the image which is why the video shows everything from right to left instead of left to right.

Look at the Numbers I Know

In Maths we have been learning to write the symbols for numbers in the range 1 - 10.  Look at what I can do so far.  We are going to keep practising our numbers and see how many we can write by the end of Term 1.

W.A.L.T:  Write the symbols for numbers in the range 1- 10 correctly.

Success Criteria:  I can form my numbers correctly.
                            I can write them around the right way.
                            I can correctly tell you the number I have written.

Remember to check back at the end of the term to see how much progress I have made.

"I do good numbers and I  count. I like do clever sticks and I make robot."