We began Term 3 by giving Franky the scarecrow a makeover, he looked a bit sad and weathered after all the wind and rain we’ve had in winter, the tamariki gave him a fresh face, some woollen hair and a new hat. We relocated him closer to the berry patch, as the birds will soon be eyeing the strawberries and blueberries.
We’ve started planting our first spring seeds, including corn, tomatoes, and pumpkins. I was impressed by the children’s precision as they sowed the seeds in the seedling trays. Following our successful potato harvest last year, we’ve increased our potato planting this year, with hopes of another outstanding harvest. Additionally, we’ve begun the growth of our own Kumara tipu by halving a kumara and placing it in a container with water. It’s unbelievable to see how much they’ve grown by the end of Term 3 !
With the year one Pipi class, we constructed an insect hotel from tin cans. The tamariki had to collect twigs, leaves, and rocks, filling each can with their discoveries. After discussing insects, we used magnifying glasses to explore the garden for various insect species.
We had a great supply of winter vegetables in the school garden like kohlrabi, Kale, Silverbeet and carrots. It was great to see that the youngest enjoyed having their baby carrots at lunch time.
During New Zealand Conservation Week, we learned about the monarch butterfly through a Google Slideshow. We studied its life cycle and discussed how we can support butterflies in our school garden. Unfortunately, the monarch butterfly is now classified as endangered, so it's vital for the tamariki to understand the importance of caring for what we love. We took action by weeding the butterfly shade houses, planting small swan plants, and sowing plenty of flower seeds to provide nectar-rich blooms. A pop of colour in the flower bed is our newly designed garden sign, it is adding a bit of fun !
August and September are ideal months for starting planting sunflowers. A new idea turned into a two-week fun project: we dug out a circle in a flat grassy area. It was quite challenging, and the tamariki worked really hard. We then installed stakes around our circular plot and planted numerous sunflower seeds. Now, we need to let nature take its course, and hopefully, we will soon see the first seedlings emerging in our sunflower hideaway.
A fun and busy term three has come to an end and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back in Term 4, to discover the progress of our spring seedlings, seeing the first fruit trees in flower and enjoying the first sunflowers in our “sunflower room”.
We’re excited to see you return in Term 4.