The Small Things That Make You Smile

What things do you notice in life and what are you missing out on? For this task, we had to create a short story with requirements of: A good title, a beginning, middle and end and sentences describing what has been happening at your house during lockdown. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find the right sentences that disolved into each other. Here is my post about The Small Things That Make You Smile!

The Small Things That Make You Smile

Have you ever wondered what we haven’t noticed during our busy lives? On the 25 of March our lives changed. New Zealand was officially in lockdown. 

Stuck at home with my family for 4 weeks… not something that happens everyday, right? But spending more time with the pets has been wonderful. Watching a movie at night with a fluffy purring cat sitting on top of you seems like bliss to me and running through the swaying grass with your loyal furry friend towards the water trough is what living life to the fullest feels like.

Sitting around a table with my few companions, sharing laughter, smiles and good memories. This is what living in lockdown has been like for me. Making red velvet cupcakes that aren’t actually red to wearing pink hats twirling around the dance floor in front of a camera. Life couldn’t get much better than this! We always look out for each other whether its watching Mum complete an obstacle course (that includes climbing up a ladder,) to helping look for the tv remote. Or looking for more important things like my brother's bank card while Dad sulks because we make fun of him. There has also been an unusual visitor coming into our bubble on a daily basis lately. He flies in, chirps to us and then spends about 5-10 minutes trying to get out again! 

Looking out the window on a frosty Autumn morning I see five nests up in the plum tree and a big plump Kereru pecking at the few everlasting seeds. I have never noticed this scene before and now I wonder why people don’t recognize the small things in life that go by.

Staying at home is pretty fun if you have a loving family, cuddly pets and a ray of sunshine covering your deck.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We have officially finished lockdown! WOOHOO! But that doesn't mean we can drive around town and visit friends because you can only make your bubble a little bigger and we are still told to stay at home. For this task, we had to watch a video around Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and then there was another one about the same thing. Then we had to write three paragraphs on why doing these things are important to you. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find good questions to start my paragraphs. Here is my post about Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Have you ever wondered where your plastic waste goes? What it impacts?
The environment around you are the victims of the tons of rubbish lying
around our atmosphere. Here are a couple of reasons why I think reducing,
reusing and recycling are important.

Reduce

Do you normally have 20 minute showers? Because I know I do and shortening
our showers is one of the many ways to save the planet. Remember that time
when you spotted that delicious chocolate bar on the counter when you were
about to finish buying your groceries. What did you do? Grab it quickly for a
snack on the way home. Or did you see all that plastic on the wrapper and
decide that you didn’t need it. Many people choose the first option and that’s
not always the best option.

Reuse

Plastic bottles sitting beside the sink, straight into the rubbish bin for them.
KFC and McDonalds burger wrappers, chip packets and drink holders. Where
do they end up? In the bin, they couldn’t possibly be reused, could they? Did
you know that some of these things can be easily reused? Plastic bottles, for
instance, can be cleaned and then filled up again ready for another gym workout
or long journey.  Sometimes letting your imagination run free will help make
new creative inventions that are reused from other things

Recycle

Do you have three different bins at your house? A green one, a red one and a
yellow one? These are all used for different kinds of rubbish… like paper, glass,
grass cuttings, plastic, clothing and even tree branches. The yellow one is for all
the recyclable waste like plastic and paper, while the red one is used for general
waste like glass and clothing and the green one is used for environmental waste
like tree branches and grass cuttings. It’s so easy to just put everything in the
general waste bin, right? But most things can actually be recycled.

Now that you know the three R’s are you going to put more effort into saving
the planet. As Sir Edmund Hiliary once quoted: You don't have to be a fantastic
hero to do certain things -- to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap,
sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.

New Zealand Leaders

Have you ever heard of Sir Edmund Hilliary or Colonel William Malone? They were both great leaders. For this task, we had to read about Colonel William Malone and then we had to list the leadership qualities he had during World War 1. Then we had to think of someone we think is/was a leader. I picked Sir Edmund Hilliary. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find someone who is a leader to write about. Here is my post about New Zealand Leaders!

Torty The Lucky Tortoise

Did you know that tortoises can live live up to a hundred years? For this task, we had to read a story about a tortoise that was looked after by a World War 1 New Zealand soldier in Greece. After that we had to make a short comic strip about the tortoise's life in New Zealand. This is only one of the tortoise's great adventures. What I found hard while making this post was getting the right pictures for the story. Here is my post about Torty The Lucky Tortoise!

Lego Creation

Who hasn't heard of Lego blocks? For this task, we had to make an anzac based lego creation that honours the soldiers who lost their lives. While making this post I found that making the poppies out of lego was pretty hard. Here is my post about my Lego Creation!

Anzac Biscuits

Anzac biscuits where used in World War 1 for the soldiers food because they didn't spoil easily and did not disintegrate during long jouneys. For this task, we had to follow a "kids friendly" recipe on how to make anzac biscuits. Then we had to keep one third of the mixture the orginal, then we had to add one or two flavours or ingredients to the second third and after that we had to add a special ingredient to the last third. In this case I added white chocolate chips to one third and cinnamon and vanilla to another third. What I found hard while making these biscuits was trying to figure out if one cup was 100 grams. Here is the link to the "kid friendly" recipe if you want to make it yourself! Below the google drawing is a column chart showing the data. Happy blogging.

The Twin Towers

Have you ever heard of 9/11? The catastrophic event that happened in 2001? For this task, we had to pick a major event that changed the world and then we had to write about what happened, why it happened and what was the impact on the world. I picked the twin towers. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find out why it happened. Here is my post about The Twin Towers!

Why Are There Poppies on ANZAC Day?

"Why Are There Poppies On ANZAC Day?" Thats the question that many people ask. For this task, we got to answer that question! We had to go onto a worksheet and read the first page, then we had to answer the questions on the second page about the poppies and the text on the first page. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find key information to answer those questions. Here is the link to the worksheet. Here is my slideshow with the answers to... " Why Are There Poppies On ANZAC Day?"

Anzac Ted Vocabulary

Have you ever heard of a book called "Anzac Ted?" For this task, we got to listen to it and then write down all the rhyming words on a piece of paper. Then we had to find the meaning of these words... tote, woe, foe and diggers. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find the appropriate meaning for tote. Here is my post about Anzac Ted Vocabulary!

How To Make Paint

A fun task that we got to do during lockdown was making paint! To make paint you need to have 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of water and food colouring. I added the flour first but I only put in 3/4 of a cup because I would use it later on. Then I added some food colouring and mixed the two together. After that I gradually added little bits of water while stirring. Don't add lots of water at a time because otherwise it will be really watery. Then I started adding the salt in little bits too. So I would mix in a pattern water, salt, water, salt. Add little bits of flour if it is watery. I did this until I got the colour I wanted and the texture was thick and drizzly. What I found hard while making paint was adding little bits of water in because sometimes the cup slipped out of my hands. Here are some pictures of my paint! 

The Spirit Of The ANZACS

According to the prime minister, Jacinda Arden, New Zealand has to stay in lockdown for one more week. This will be the first time in history that we can't celebrate ANZAC Day socially on the 25th of April. Even though you could have your own commermoration at home, it won't be the same. This week our class has a topic of ANZAC Day and we have lots of different tasks to do around that. One of the tasks we had to do was listening to a song called The Spirit Of The ANZACS then we had to note down two words that we want to find the meaning of. I picked "raid" and "drover." What I found hard while making this post was finding intresting words to find the meaning of. Here is my post called The Spirit Of The ANZACS!

The Last Post

The Last Post is a song that honours the men that were lost during the war. For this task we had to listen to that and then write 6-10 sentences about how it made us feel. What I found hard while making this post was trying to put my feelings into words. Here is my writing about The Last Post!

The Last Post

This song is made to symbolise the end of war. When I listen to it, there are parts
where there is hope but other parts that are full of sorrow. It demands silence.
It gives people time to think about the past. I feel as if I can feel the gooey
mud oozing up my body in the deep trenches, as if I can hear the gunshots
powering above my head and the buzzing flies, nesting on innocent men
who have fallen. That’s what they would have gone through. The brave soldiers
who fought for our lives will never be forgotten.

LEST WE FORGET

Geometry and Measuerment

During maths we have been learning about Geometry and Measurement. For this task we had to make a poster about what Geometry and Measurement mean, with a few examples of both. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find the right pictures to go with the different meanings. Here is my post about Geometry and Measurement!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

On Friday, we had a really fun challenge to do... That was to bake something yummy and then it will get judged by the teachers. We had to make a slideshow with photos of the experience, the recipe, (rewritten) and a picture of the finished product. With the picture we had to think of nice ways to present it, like putting household items in the photo, getting the perfect lighting and even putting some cutlery beside your baking. I made Red Velvet Cupcakes. What I found hard while making this post was finishing off rewriting the recipe. Here is my post about Red Velvet Cupcakes!

My Feelings

During the New Zealand Lockdown we have been assigned some work to do. For writing we have been told to watch a video called In My Heart written by Jo Witek, and then we had to make a piece of writing that is about how you are feeling right now. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find different rhyming words. Here is my post about My Feelings. Happy Blogging, Stay Safe!

My Feelings

I feel a lot of different feelings… some that are good and some that are bad.
Sometimes I feel sad and sometimes I feel mad. Sometimes I feel happy
while other times I feel angry. Sometimes I feel lonely while I look up at the
sky, hoping that one day I wouldn’t be so shy. While others are proud, I feel
as if I don’t fit in with the crowd. We all have different feelings at different times
and that’s one of the best things in life!