The Egg Challenge

For the last couple of weeks we have been doing the egg challenge. My class did it last year and really enjoyed it, so Fergus thought we should do it this year.

The egg challenge is a babysitting challenge.  You have to look after it like it is a baby, for eggsample, take it every where with you and try not to break it!  I built a little house with a bed and all the things in a room. I called him Eggcellent E, born in Rotorua and he was two yearsold.

Eggcalent E did not crack, but I did not take him everywhere as I was eggactly supposed to.  He lived his in his house at school, where he was safe.    At home he was in danger of the kitten, the whisk or the food mixer, or cracking his head on the mixing bowl.  He did come to swimming one day, which was not very eggciting.  At the end of the challenge I fed him to my dog Jess, because I think his brain was scrambled!

Country Research Challenge

Hawaii 

What is the population of Hawaii? 1.42 million 

What is the Hawaii's capital? Honolulu

What is Hawaii most famous/ well known for? Pearl Harbour, Waikiki Beach, Volcanoes and Surfing

Does Hawaii have a national animal? Humpback whale

Does Hawaii have a national dish? Lomi Lomi Salmon

Find three INTERESTING FACTS about the country: 

1. Hawaii has eight main islands: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii.
2. Hawaii is the only USA state that is getting bigger.  This is because of the volcanic eruptions.
3. Hawaii is the only state of America that grows coffee and one third of the world's supply of pineapples comes from Hawaii.  Include some pictures and a map of Hawaii:

:

African Art

African art is different than other art. It is bright and colourful. There is no wrong or right, and there are no dull colours. The picture I did is of a woman carrying a basket.This is a picture of my African art, my whole class did one.

This is where we got the idea from.

Between Having Heaps and Not Having Very Much

This picure represents that money cannot buy joy and happiness. People who have not very much money can be happy, more happy than people who do have money. This picture shows a boy that has not very much money, but he is very happy with what he has, even though you might think that it is a bit of garbage, to him it means 1 million dollars! The boy who has heaps of money and all the things he wants is not very grateful, because he wants more and more. I think in New Zealand we should give some money to the poor so they have enough money to buy clothes, food and water. All of us who have a lot of money, we should not always have the newest thing, but we could donate it to the poor.

For The Love of Horses, by Kelly Wilson

For The Love of Horses, by Kelly Wilson, is a non-fiction book about the Wilson sisters' inspiring journey to save New Zealand's wild horses.

The story starts with Vicki, Kelly and Amanda, when they were young and growing up in Northland. They did not have very much money and they worked very hard to have horses.They were riding, training and selling horses. Their first show was an A and P show. They would have to win to cover all the costs of the horses and they ended up going to many shows. The story also covers their school life, which in primary school they loved it, and then in middle school they struggled to fit in. 

The middle of the book tells us about the musters of the wild horses, the Kaimanawa's in Central Plateau, on the army's training ground. They save horses from slaughter and take them home to train, ride and compete. When they finished school they chose their own careers. Vicki chose horses, Kelly chose university and did photography and graphic design, and Amanda did filming and horses too. The rest of the book was about the positives and the challenges of training the Kaimanawa's, the camps, their careers and their relationships.

I liked how the book showed how they trained the horses, and their journey from when they were young to now, because I learnt that even if you do not have much money you can still become one of the best. This book was inspiring because they went through hard times, and they still powered through with what they were doing, and saving some Kaimanawa's, instead of the Kaimanawa's going to slaughter. I really liked all the photos because they showed how much they worked. It was inspiring that Kelly Wilson wrote the book and not someone else.

 

The bits I didn't enjoy was the Kaimanawa's going to slaughter, being sold and being put down. I also did not like when the book ended!

Kelly is trying to say, one: hard work pays off. Two: if first you don't succeed, try and try again. Three: being different is good. Four: wild horses are worth saving. I think the messages are very helpful and I would use them.

This book is an inspiring and interesting book, and I recommend it to animal lovers and people who like nature. It makes me want to go on one of their camps and read their next book! 

Why We Should Have A Dog At School

We should have a dog at school because when people are sad they can cuddle up with the dog and express their feelings and the dog would understand. If people have a hard time reading they can read to the dog and the dog won't say critical words. Dogs have sensitive hearing so the class would be quieter. Having a fluffy friend makes you more relaxed and can concentrate better. We might have a school dog so we had to make some rules up for have a dog:
You can read these on our Year 6 Blog.

Sacrifice

To sacrifice something means to give up something for something else. For example Jesus gave His life for us.
When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they felt embarrassed that they were naked. God felt sorry for them so He sacrificed an animal, so that they could have some clothes to wear. We know that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice because He sacrificed His life for us.

Cross Country

Today we had cross country. We did it at the Race Course. We had to run 1.66km. I ran the whole way. We had to go up and down hills, past jumps, over gates and through the finish line. I came 7th. Zeth fell in a hole going up the hill, so she did not go as fast as she could of. So Zeth and I were battling to the finsh but I just sneaked ahead. At the end I has exhausted. I was very pleased with myself, that I ran all the way and did my best!

   

My Character Profile - Vicki Wilson

Viki is very talented. She has two sisters Amanda and Kelly.

When she was young she did not have very much money. She had to work very hard for everything. She would often have little money and in the beginning she had to buy untrained and sometimes hurt horses, because they were cheaper.


Vicki would train and race, she would get a placing in most events. She would be calm and patient with the horses and even if she fell off them, she would still get back on and ride them.  One time, she dislocated her should and she hung from the rafters to put it back.  She is calm and tough.


The most recent thing Vicki and her sisters have done was save New Zealand's wild horses, the Kaimanawa horses, on the Kaimanawa hill range on the Central Plateau. They filmed what they did.  Amanda was in charge of filming, Kelly job was taking photos and writing the book.


The sisters had to all train and compete in the first ever Kaimaniwa event. They had 80 days to turn wild horses into being able to be ridden and compete. Vicki came second and last in this event, the other two sisters placed as well.


I like Vicki, because she is the oldest, the boss of things and she is strong.  She is really good at training horses and even if a horse bucks her off, she gets back on and keeps going.


I have the book For the Love of Horses. I really recomend this book because it goes back to when they were young and less fortunate than us and now they have become professional horse riders. It is $45 from Paper Plus. 

Vikings

http://www.ngkids.co.uk/history/10-facts-about-the-vikings

Join the National Geographic Kids gang as we learn about life as a Scandinavian sea-warrior! 

1. The Vikings were famous for sailing huge distances from their home in Scandinavia between AD 800 and 1066 to raid and plunder, but they also traded with people from other countries.

2. The name ‘Viking means ‘a pirate raid’ in the Old Norse language.

3. Around 500 years before Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ the American continent, Vikings had visited its shores, landing in what is now Canada in around AD 1000.

4. Among the many gods Vikings believed in were Thor, the god of thunder, and Loki, a cheeky mischief-maker who could shape-shift to become all different kinds of animals. What a beast!

5. The Vikings were expert boat builders and sailors. Keels – central spines along boats’ bottoms – made their 16 to 37m ‘longboats’ easy to steer, and because these were designed to float high in the water, landing on beaches was easy.

6. The Vikings were eco-pioneers – sort of! The ‘long houses’ where families lived would have turf roofs to help keep in the heat.

7. Fenrir Grayback, the werewolf in the Harry Potter books, was named after a ferocious giant wolf from ancient Viking mythology.

8. When important Vikings died, they would be placed with all their clothes, jewellery, even their animals, in a burial ship. This would either be covered with a huge mound of earth or set alight and pushed out to sea.

9. Bitter Scandinavian winters and frozen fjords didn’t stop the Vikings from tucking into their favourite food – fish! During warmer months they would hang up and dry fish to eat later.

10. Ever wondered where the word ‘berserk’ comes from? ‘Berserkers’ was the name of some terrifying Viking warriors who wore bear or wolf skins and howled in battle like wild animals! 

 

God's Creation

What is a sacrament? A sacrament is a sign that people can see, which tells them something about the power and love of God- Te Atua who cannot be seen.

Nature reminds me of God because God made it. Every bit is very special. If people look carefully with eyes of faith, they can see signs of God in everything around them.

Animals are God's Creation because He made them. They are all different and meant to be made to be different. Some are meant to be made to fight and some are meant to cuddle up. I see God when I look at animals.