Composting with Sarah Langi!

We learned how to make a compost! We learned the difference between greens and browns and that an effective compost pile has layers of each. We put in browns like hay, pea straw, dead leaves and paper. We put in greens like food scraps, horse poo and seaweed. Compost also needed water and warmth. When the worms eat the greens and browns they turn it into rich soil, great for growing vegetables. Take a look!

How to have a zero waste lunch!

We were lucky to have Sarah Langi come to teach us about how to pack in-pack out with our lunchboxes. We joined in with Room 12 and had to identify the types of rubbish that comes to school and how to minimise it. We learned that plastic and cling wrap are bad for the earth in landfills. Things like food scraps and paper are ok because they can be composted back into the earth. 

Take a look at us as we learn how to be a zero hero! Thank you Sarah!

Cling wrap is bad for the environment and animals.

We ranked lunchboxes with most to least rubbish.

Davina is placing the zero hero lunchbox on top.

Lunchboxes with compartments are great because we don't need to wrap up our food.

Small washable containers can also be used to hold things like grapes, nuts or crackers. 

Plaque!

Room one have been learning about oral health this term. We have been discussing smart snack decisions such as fruit and vegetables that don't have much sugar. If we eat sugary foods like chocolate or cake, the bacteria in our mouths reacts to the sugar and creates plaque acid. If we don't brush our teeth twice a day, it could lead to decay and our teeth may rot. We want to keep our teeth beautiful and healthy so we don't lose them forever.
Take a look at an experiment we did using Yeast (the live bacteria) and sugar in warm water (like our mouths). The foam is like the plaque on our teeth after eating a bad snack! It was quite stinky!

Here we added the yeast to the warm water.

We added sugar to one of the glasses of yeasty water.

Look at all that 'plaque' in the glass with the sugar! 

Smart snack=almost no plaque           Bad snack=lots of fuzzy plaque!

Woolly Socks!

At Tahunanui School we have been lucky enough to each receive a pair of woolly socks to keep and wear in our classrooms. They have been made by Mrs Bowen's mother and her womens group. After Term 3 we will be allowed to take them home. 

We are pretty chuffed to have cosy warm feet while we learn!

Building Bridges!

In Room One we are learning about measurement. Today we had to build a bridge for our gingerbread men to cross the river. The bridge had to be wide enough for him to to walk across and long enough to get over the river. We enjoyed trying things and making changes to our bridge if it wasn't the right size. We also practised working cooperatively with our group. Take a look at us!

Roast Pumpkin!

Today in Room One we roasted some pumpkin. First we cut it up into pieces so that there was enough for everyone. Then we put oil on a tray and put the pumpkin on top. We roasted it for 40 minutes, we heard it sizzling! We got it out of the oven and it was steaming. We each got a piece and blew on it to cool it down. Some people thought it tasted delicious and soft, others thought it was yucky! Some people had never even tried pumpkin before! 

Take a look at our photos...

Friends for Sharks!

We were lucky to be visited by Kathryn and Nicholas today who are "Friends for Sharks". They came to educate us about sharks and why they are important to us. It is often thought sharks are scary,  violent and out to eat us! We learned that they are just interested in humans and are very clever. We shouldn't be scared of sharks, many more people get killed by hippos each year!!