Botanical Gardens in Spring

Welcome back everyone. 

On Monday we went in the school van to the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. The Botanical Gardens are so colourful and interesting at this time of year. 

We always have a look at the river and sometimes spot eels and trout. We saw some little ducklings. 

Matthew has a special interest in animals. He watched the ducks carefully.

The colours in the garden beds are stunning at the moment.

Merit in front of the blossom tree.

Aimee-Lee was so happy.

Matthew looked around for birds.

Rawiri found a circle to stand on.

We walked through the fragrant garden. Kyle checked out the amazingly fragrant rhododendron.

Alex found something he thought was awesome. It was a vehicle called a "Gator."

The big glasshouse was open again and looking fantastic. Rawiri pointed to the big bunch of green bananas.

William seemed right at home in the glasshouse.

The cactus house was open again. We were NOT ALLOWED to touch the cacti. Why is that?

Take a look at the prickles on the cacti. Ouch!!!!! Don't touch!!!!

Are you having fun Rawiri?

Alex spotted the green "Gator" driving along by the herbaceous border. Can you see it?

Merit and Kyle posed by the incredibly bright bedding plant gardens.

William had his music and a lizard with him.

He was fascinated by the Peacock Fountain. The water sprinkled down and splashed into the pond.

Aimee was also really interested in the fountain. Can you see the birds on the fountain? Did you know those funny fishy creatures at the bottom of the fountain represent dolphins?

Aimee and Lulu noticed the huge orange tulips. Lulu wants to grow some in her own garden next year.

Alex said "Hello" to the man on the chair.

We all smelled the lilac - what an amazing, beautiful perfume.

The Botanical Gardens look so beautiful in springtime. Well worth a visit and a picnic would be fun. Maybe we'll do that next time.

Can you choose the picture you like best from this week's blog and tell someone what you see. Who is in the picture? What things do you see? How did the people in the picture feel? What are they doing? 

We try to fit some exercise into every day at school. Can you go for a walk with a family member, friend or caregiver at the weekend too? 

Mosaics

This week we finished all of our beautiful mosaics and have displayed them over at the main school for everyone to see. We used blocks of wood left over from a big building job, and we smashed up colourful tiles and glued them in patterns. Some people had outlines to fill in, and other people chose their own arrangement of tiles.

Rawiri discovered he had a talent for smashing up the tiles into small pieces. He thought it was a lot of fun.

We discovered that William loves to visit hardware stores, while we were looking for items for this project. He was really engaged in this activity.

 Rawiri put a lot of effort into the mosaic task.

 Alex was also really interested in arranging the pieces of tile.

Kyle worked with some tiny pieces. Mosaics are great for practising fine motor skills.

 The results were fantastic. Kyle's artwork.

 Matthew did a picture in his mosaic. He appreciates the little details. He carefully filled in the shapes with colours to make an apple tree and garden.

Our chief tile smasher, Rawiri, put a huge effort into the mosaic task. We appreciated how willing and helpful he was. 

James decided the sticky glue on his fingers was horrible, and even after the glue had dried he was a bit suspicious that touching his mosaic would be yucky. He had to say thanks to his friends who helped finish his one off. It does look amazing! Great team effort. 

 William should be so proud of his great work. The blend of small and large tiles looks really effective.

Aimee-Lee was such a fast worker that she managed to complete two beautiful mosaics. One has a flower and the other is more random. 

 Alex chose soft colours for his one. He really loved placing the tiles in the gaps.

Merit was away when we took photos. Merit created this amazing heart mosaic almost independently. Fantastic work Merit!

Homework
Can you show someone the photo of your mosaic. Can you talk about the colours you used? 

This weekend the holidays start. What would you like to do in the holidays? Can you tell someone what you want to do? 

Don't forget about Daylight Savings! Remember that this is time to check the smoke alarms in your house are working. Have you got smoke alarms and are they working? Smoke alarms help to keep you safe if there is a fire at your house. They will only keep you safe if the batteries are working!

Travis Wetlands Walk

We are learning about spring at the moment. We discovered that we have an interest in birds, so we decided to make bird feeders. We have been learning a bit about birds so we decided to go for a walk where lots of birds can be seen. We were so lucky because the sun appeared just as we arrived.

We looked at the map when we arrived. William loves a walk.

Alex showed Kyle the map on the sign.

Kyle and Merit are good friends. They usually walk together.

Aimee liked getting out for a walk too.

The ducks were pleased to see us. They came waddling up the track to see if we had any food. We didn't feed the ducks because they have lots of food in the wetlands to eat.

We called Matthew a "bird whisperer." The swans came over to look at him, and he looked back at them for a long time. The swans looked huge next to Matthew! We warned Matthew not to go too close as they might bite, but the swans were very well behaved.

James saw lots of ducks in the lake.

Aimee chatted all of the way along the track.

We went into the bird watching hide. William could see the birds through the wire mesh.

Merit and Kyle peered through the open spaces in the hide and they could see all sorts of waterbirds.

There was an amazing view out across the swamp. We could see the foothills in the distance.

Rawiri found a handy seat for a bit of a rest.

Merit looked so happy on our walk. Can you see the pukeko behind her?

James pointed to the birds.

 Come on Matthew! I think he was a bit sad to be leaving. He really liked studying the birds.

The Travis Wetlands are a really interesting place for a walk. The track is flat and easy walking. We decided that we'd like to return for a longer walk and maybe a picnic. 

Homework 

Can you see any birds visiting the garden at your house? 

If you use a communication device how many different kinds of birds can you find in your "Animals" grids?