EEKK Reading

EEKK reading is a way that we do SSR in Room 3. We do EEKK reading every day after lunch, to help us relax and settle in after lunch. The children sit Elbow to Elbow, Knee to Knee. They each read a page from their daily reading. They also read their weekly spelling words to one another. This encourages them to share their learning with their peers and gives them a chance to be a little teacher.

This is what concentration looks like. 

Ash and Sonny check over their spelling words together. 

A Standing 3D Robot

Room 3 tamariki complete their projects. The children worked in teams that they chose themselves. They talked about the name of their 3D shape as well. They realized that the shapes with a round face were more tricky to stick down. 

Room 3 Assembly Week 7

The children in Room 3 are amazing speakers. They are happy and excited to stand up and speak in front of our school and our whanau.

Children, Ms Harrison is so proud of what you have achieved this term. I know that you will keep doing your best.

Kia Kaha Tamariki o Ruma Toru!

Room 3 Assembly Term 2 by Clair Antwinette

3D Robots

The children collected their own 3D shapes from home. They bought egg containers, weetbix boxes (cuboids) and yogurt containers (cylinders) to make their robots stand.

Ms Harrison also got a few extra things to make sure we had cubes and spheres too!

Zara and Archie are so dedicated to completing the painting on their 3D Robots they hang out after school to get their work done.

Preparing for Assembly

The tamariki were so excited to prepare for assembly. We needed a new photo. What better place to have a photo then on our playground.

Solar System Inquiry

The tamariki record their knowledge about their planets. They record their facts and learn about the colours that can be seen, on their planet.

Maya and Ash talk about what they found in their research. What colours will they use / mix?

Next, they mix colour and record how they made their colours and in what quantities. After a little explanation the teacher left the children to hang the planets. They worked in their pairs so beautifully! Well done Ruma Toru!!

For our first colour mixing lesson, the children did exceptionally well.

AJ and Breeze are proud of their planet, so far. They are excited to help Ms Harrison with her contraption to hang the planets. Sun, Mercury... what is next?

The paper mache' planets are hung in the right order... but is there one missing?. I think it is the BIGGEST planet. Comment below if you know what it is.

The children look back at our KWL chart. We did this before we started learning about the solar system.

A KWL chart tells us the following:

Know - What do we know? (Record Before learning)

Want - What do we want to know? (Record Before learning)

Learn - What we have learned? (Record during and after learning)

Archie reads out the questions to his classmates. They decide if we have learned anything, in our Inquiry yet.

Whare Construction

The children in Room 3 are constructing their own whare to learn about the tinana (body) of the wharenui, and what each part represents. 

The are showing great care to represent each element. They are able to talk about: 

Maihi: Arms 

Tekoteko: Tipuna represented at the top 

Raparapa: Hands at the end of the Maihi

2D Shape Fun

In Room 3 we made 2D robots. The children were able to talk about all of the parts of the 2D shapes. The students focused so hard on what they were doing. A lot of the robots are even symmetrical!

What is 2D shape? It’s a flat shape.


How many faces does it have? It has 1 face.


How many edges does one square have? It has 4.

What is your favorite 2D shape?

4	3	`1	1	2	4	2	1

A message for whanau

In the coming weeks I will be introducing a 'Growth Mindset' with tamariki. The video below is a starter for parents about what it is, and how it benefits children. No need to show this one to the kids, as I will be keen to assess where they are at prior to introducing the topic. This is for you, the parents and caregivers!

I am very passionate about this topic. It teaches children to treat themselves kindly and to always strive to improve, no matter where they are starting. Before we get started, we will be undertaking a few activities so I can observe who persists and who or what stage children opt out or in.

This knowledge is so important to know, as we (you and I) can support them from a very young age to develop their sense of identity and ownership of achievement, before they learn to that giving up is the best/easiest option.

Mani Tahi! Let's do this together. 

Matariki Constellation

The tamariki were learning about the constellation, Matariki or pleiades. They listened to the Maori myth The Seven Sisters of Matariki, read by the author.

Sonny and Jade work on some Black craft paper to make their constellation to project through Matariki onto the wall. 

AJ, Vaughan, Ataahua, Breeze and Jahrell trace the silhouette and constellation of Matariki.  

Making PE Poi

The children will learn to play outdoor traditional poi games. So, we will need to make some really sturdy poi.

Sammy and Ash plait the string. They are plaiting a 4-plait. 

Vaughan and Angela work well together to plait their string. They work so well together. Mahi Tahi!

Our Class Trip

After a bit of a shaky start with the weather, our tamariki walked to Waitangi. We were greeted with beautiful weather and an exceptional level of enthusiasm by our tamariki.

When we arrived, we had our morning tea and then we played a direction game with Matua Mori.

If you want to play this at home, the commands are below:

Runga - Up 

Raro - Down

Maui - Left 

Matau - Right  

Matua Mori tells us about the actions and hoe. 

Toia mai!

Te waka!

Sonny and Breeze are so focused on their learning. Ka pai, tamariki ma!

We waited outside to go into the whare. 

Karanga and Shay look at he Tukutuku and Whakairoa. 

Breeze loves the whakairoa. 

We walk home along the beach. AJ's jump is the most impressive.

The tamariki make their own sun-dail on the beach. The children are wonderful at making predictions about how they might tell the time. 

The children predict that as the sun goes down the shadow needle will move around, and you will be able to tell the time.

The children have their lunch at the playground on the way back to school. 

Well done children! It was such a beautiful and enjoyable day. 

Fact Family French Fries

This week some of the tamariki are learning about fact families. They are recognising how addition and subtraction work together.

We counted the fires to help us learn. 

We practice with numbers. 

And we recorded our learning in our books.