We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

Guess what our book is this week? We're going on a Bear Hunt! And so today we did....

We went to the Groynes and had a walk along a trail looking for a Bear.... Some of us were a bit nervous, but we were brave, we stayed together and stayed on the path.

 There was some long wavy grass going swishy swashy swishy swashy, but Lockie chopped it for us so we could get through.

After a while we came to a grassy clearing. Everyone took turns looking through the binoculars to see if we could spot a bear. The binoculars were tricky to use, but lots of fun - they made things look BIGGER!

Chris thought she spotted something down another little path so we all went along together and guess what we saw!!! A BEAR! Luckily he was a very friendly bear so we invited him to come to the playground with us.

 

At the playground the bear enjoyed the pole, a slide, and hiding in the tunnel, and playing "I Spy" with Lockie and the binoculars.

 
 
 
 

The Gruffalo

During our 'Gruffalo' week we had some pretty awesome activities happening. Kate and the students made Gruffalo paw biscuits in cooking - Bailey Rose loved helping to put in the claws (flaked almonds). They were delicious.

And on our outing we went exploring in Riccarton Bush. We took our Gruffalo masks with us to act out parts of the story as we went.

Everyone kept their eyes open as we walked along the past. What's that in the bushes???

Kereama spotted what looked like a Gruffalo footprint in a muddy puddle

Lockie was fascinated by the twisty branch that looked like a snake

Across the bridge....

We found a HUGE tree, I wonder if Owl's nest is at the top.

We found Snake! He was slithering across the seats.

A mouse took a stroll in the deep dark woods.

A Gruffalo! We found him! But he's not as tall as I expected...

Chris and Lockie make an impromptu puppet show with Fox and Owl

We found Mouse's house in a hole in a tree

Snake slithered up another tree

Another Gruffalo, hiding behind a tree!

What a fantastic adventure we had at Riccarton Bush!

At school we also made some fantastic Gruffalo faces in art - I will try to remember to take a photo tomorrow to show you all.

Elmer the Elephant

This week our book is "Elmer the Elephant" by David McKee. We have enjoyed reading the book, talking about what makes us all unique, and doing some work with elephant pictures.  Today for our outing we went on an elephant hunt, and guess what - we found one! We ended up at the Elephant Park on Blackett St in Rangiora where we found a pink elephant, just the right size for us to climb on.  We also had a fantastic time exploring all the other awesome play equipment at the park. What a beautiful day for an adventure....

Fine Motor Skills

All the room 11 students have been working hard on their fine motor skills this week. We use a wide range of fun and engaging activities to give everyone a lot of practice using their hands and fingers, building muscle strength, and practicing skills needed for things like writing, tying shoe laces, opening packets, using zips and buttons and so much more!

Threading beads requires intense concentration!

Wind up toys are lots of fun, but super tricky!

Practising using scissors to make snips and cuts across the paper, following along the lines

Weeks 2&3

Room 11 students have been very busy in class lately. We have been working hard on our play/social skills, cooperation skills, problem solving, imagination, and trying new things. Check out these photos of the students cooperating and having lots of fun!

Great work team!

Welcome to Term 3

Our term has got off to a busy start. We have welcomed a new Teacher Assistant to our class, Gina, as Lisa has moved to Room 6.  Gina has been working at Allenvale for about 4 years now and is excited to be with us!  We have also welcomed a student teacher, Kate, who will be with us for the next 5 weeks and who I am sure will have a lot to both learn from us and teach us during her time in Room 11.

This term our topic is 'Books Galore', and we will be studying one book in depth each week.  We have kicked off the term with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" by Bill Martin Jr. For our outing we intended to go to the Animal Farm Park at Spencer Park, but when we got there (and had put on our gumboots in preparation for the mud) we found the gate padlocked! I guess it was too muddy for us to visit :-(

Instead we walked over to Brooklands Lagoon, climbed up the viewing platform and looked out at the view. We saw lots of birds, heard lots of squawking, and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.