Maddy decided that the Easter bunny would be very tired over the Easter weekend and might need a place to just have a little nap before heading on to the next area. So she very kindly started to build a little shelter using materials we could find around the school. It has a little bedroom, a sitting area with a fire place to keep him warm if its chilly and if its raining it will keep him dry while resting.

I bet the Easter bunny will be very happy with Maddy's thoughtfulness. 🐇

Delrio's bird feeder

Delrio drew a plan of a bird feeder with all the parts required along with the measurements and they were given to Chrissie's husband who followed the plan and cut out all the parts to Delrio's specifications.

It was then built with a lot of measuring and screwing together. Delrio did this using a cordless drill, square drive screws and bolts.

The roof was added last. Delrio glued bark from a Kanuka tree with small branches along the sides so that the birds can land easily before drinking the sugar water.

We attached it to the metal pole with bolts, using spanners to tighten them up so it is secure and finally planted a few plants around the base so that by springtime it should look pretty with flowers.

 Today, Monday 29th March, we went to the Waihola Store to talk to the storekeeper about Milk and Ice Cream because we are learning about milk and milk products.

We asked her what was the most popular milk and she told us it was the dark blue top milk.

We looked at the ice cream flavours you could choose for cone ice creams. We learnt that the most popular flavour for the last five years was Boysenberry. Vanilla had the top ranking for Tip Top flavours in 2017. But at the Waihola Store the flavour that sells the 

most is cookies and cream and the second is goodygoody gumdrops.

Slushies are the popular kids freezer packet ice treat.

We bought some blue top milk and the store keeper gave us some yellow top milk and some cream.

We got an icecream each.

Maddy got a scoop of cookies and cream and a scoop of  gold rush. It tasted great.

Ryker got a scoop of cookies and cream and a scoop of  orange chocolate chip. It was so yum.

Delrio got a scoop of caramel fudge and a scoop of chocolate. The ice cream tasted great.

We stopped at Blair’s coffee cart at Taieri Mouth to buy some Windy Ridge milk to use as well.

Back at school we used some of the milk to try and make our own ice cream.

We put some ice and salt in a big zip lock plastic bag.

We placed that bag in an ice cream container in case it spilt.

We got a little zip top bag and put some milk in it. Any type should work.

We put in some sugar, vanilla essence and food colouring and closed the bag. Then we put the small bag into the big bag with all the ice and closed it. 

We shook the big bag for 5-10 minutes and our hands got very cold so we got some tea towels and wrapped them around the icy bag.

When it was thicker we took it out and put it into the Tip Top tub, the storekeeper gave us.

Then we ATE the icecream and it was DELICIOUS. 

Our next job is to find out why the milk has different coloured tops and how the milk from Windy Ridge is also different.

Ryker, Maddy, Delrio.

 Hasselback Potatoes

Last week I was digging on the side of the potato ground and found so many potatoes. I put the little ones in a plastic bag and took them home. Mum cooked them up on the stove in a pot with water.

I left some big potatoes at school and we cooked them up today at 11 o’clock.

First we washed and dried them and cut slits into them but we didn’t cut right through.

Next we put oil, salt and pepper onto them and put them into the hot oven.

After 30 minutes we oiled them again and put some chilli seasoning on them.

40 minutes later we got them out and ate them. They tasted soooo delicious!

By RYKER

 Ryker made a spiders web out of twigs and twine. It was quite tricky at times and we decided that spiders were so clever to be able to make the webs we found around the school. While on a hunt for the twigs we found spider web patters in tree stumps and Ryker did some investigative work when we came across an area that had been dug up. After a close inspection and "smell" he decided rabbits had been in the area and I think he was spot on. 👍

 The children had fun using their coding skills as part of their spelling practice game. Well done! 😊👍

 Ryker explored nature's colours around the school and made himself a little brush for the mud kitchen. While exploring the grounds we saw bellbirds, heard grey warblers singing, found another abandoned nest and sadly discovered one of our marrows has been eaten by a pesky possum.

Maddy wanted to to experiment with what colours would come from lichen and certain tree leaves when steeped in boiling water. She was going to use them in her wonderful mud kitchen recipes during playtime.