water bomb day

Harriet decided yesterday it would be a good idea to throw water bombs at the teachers, and asked us all to bring a change of clothes today. Then today she turned up with 250 waterbombs!
I helped her make a sign for the back gate and Sharon made one for the front gate warning all who entered (including as it happened Dave M our new education manager (senior teacher) [who proved very sneaky with water bombs and a good catcher ] welcome Dave and Brett from the association board,) to beware of water bombs.

First step was to fill all of Harriet's 250 balloons and 200 of the 400 I'd brought along for the teacher supply. This was a great exercise in the virtue of patience as everyone had to wait their turn for balloons and no one was allowed to throw them till they'd all been filled. While it was hard to wait, everyone managed really well.So we filled up our buckets. "How many do you need?" "How many have you got now?" "How many more will you need to make X?" Lots of maths involved and peer tutoring as we moved from three in a bucket to ten or more as those with great math's skills like Tom stretched the boundaries of possibility for their friends.

Tom "I've got eight, can I have ten like Joel, I need two more please," and later asking for thirteen. Harriet's were all different colours and often they were different shapes, so colour and shape got a good look in too.Joel got his all out to count.

Becky made a nest with her's just like her mother duck at home.Then we got started.Oh oh, Adrianne and Sharon forgot their change of clothes, but Adele picked them up some rain ponchos from the $2 shop.
Just as well, as Jack sneaked in and pinched our stash of teacher balloons, and my idea to use the kindergarten umbrella. But watch out Jack Adrianne's sneaking up behind you!
We all got wet, especially Jack.

Watch out Sharon! We had the odd tears, Ben "Adrianne burst my balloon, on me!"

Good helping, Adrianne "David can you fill another baloon for Ben please, I broke the wrong one."

Lots of fun "you just keep patting that balloon on Adrianne's back Ben it'll burst eventually."

Lots of laughs, Ben "It burst."

Then we practised the virtue of cleanliness picking up all the tiny pieces of balloon.

We'll have to do this again. Thanks Harriet was a great day you gave us.

Becky's Chuck

Becky shared special news with us on Wednesday about her pet Chuck. It was hatched by a duck, and her mum thinks it's father was a rooster.
They call it Chuck. I'm sure I recall one of the kindergartens we blog with, experimenting with a duck hatching a chicken, or vice versa, we'll have to check.

Spiders

Yesterday we found a spider with a beetle (eucalyptus tortiose shell beetle?) up our gum tree, today while we were working in the office a jumping spider caught and dragged off a huge blowfly that had come in from the paddock on the hill.

Just the bomb.

Josh found a green balloon, stuck it on the tap and started to fill it up. I helped him fill it fuller then tied off the end and watched to see what he would do with it.

He bounced it, tasted it, kicked it, chased it and threw it. Eventually it rolled down the hill and then it burst. We'd had so much fun I got him another one. As we filled it we were joined by others, fortunately I'd anticipated this and had a handful of balloons to pass around, but before we could finished filling them, "Lunch time" happened. We finished off our balloons, stashed them in the water trough and went in for lunch.

Then, as the children finished lunch, I headed off for my own break wondering what the balloons would get up too?

Wow did they ever get up to a lot. Jo must have wondered what was going on as the children, one by one, came in to ask her for a balloon till every one had one. Sharon helped fill them, getting soaked in the process.

When I got back the balloons were all over the place, being poured on, splashed with, fitted through holes, walked, kicked, thrown and dropped.

Being rolled up planks, down planks, along the ground, down slides and down hills.

Some water balloons were bigger than others.Sharon got very excited! We were all having great fun.

Some were stashed in bags to take home, some placed on carseats, some carefully and lovingly dried.

James asked his mum first if he could take his in the car (as did many others). She said yes and he was allowed. Janine stopped and wound down her window on the way down the hill "It has burst in the car," she told us with a wry smile, "it went everywhere." Good thing it was a hot day.

Harriet has told us (teachers too) that we all need to bring a change of clothes tomorrow for a massive water bomb fight, oh, oh, sounds like fun, I'd better go to the supermarket and stock up.

Our biggest Volcano, Ever!

After we finished we couldn't hold back from running over it any longer. Jack wanted me to lift him up so he could dump his bucket on the top. So I swung him right over it, much to everyone's delight.

It was our biggest one ever.

Watch the video to see it explode and listen to the language as the children predict, anticipate, observe and estimate it's timing.
Warning video does contain the odd farm word, that slipped out of the odd child, during filming. After some debate we decided to keep it real and leave them in, hope no one minds.

Thanks Ana

Labyrinth

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Swinging Oneself

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Literacy Example

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE.

Trust - Whaka-ae-tika

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

My Second Visit To School

Our Brother's

David turns 40!!

Hunter Park Kindergarten likes nothing more than to celebrate birthdays. Adrianne likes to buy funny little gifts. David just loves "Vikings", so we gave him a wonderful viking hat with beautiful blonde plaits. We gave David a spider web with spiders on it, because he loves spiders...which is hanging at kindergarten. David also got a really cool balloon helicopter which flew up to the ceiling powered by the air in the balloon!

Number "40" candles.

A clappy hand that lights up...

Presents made by our tamariki...

A purple pompom...

and a broomstick to fly home on....He He He He !!!