Green Schools: Biodiversity: Wild Irish Land Mammals

Irish Mammals

The Red deer is the largest Irish land mammal.

Red Deer
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Fallow deer were introduced by the Normans.

Fallow Deer
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Dell’s Pics via Compfight

Japanese Sika deer were introduced to

Powercourt Estate, in County Wicklow, in the 19th century.

Sika Stag - Arne
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The Irish for Pine marten is ‘Cait Crann’.

This means ‘Tree Cat’.

 

Marten
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Sangudo via Compfight

This is an Otter

Oriental Short-Clawed Otter 2
Photo Credit: Stuart Richards via Compfight

The American mink was introduced to Ireland in the 1940s.

It was to be farmed for its fur.

Escapees from the early 1960s onwards

resulted in wild mink.

Mink 06-13-11
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A Badger is a nocturnal animal.

Badger
Photo Credit: hehaden via Compfight

This is an Irish stoat.

'Sybil'
Photo Credit: Peter Trimming via Compfight

A Red Fox is a carnivore.

Red Fox
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A Rabbit is a herbivore.

Rabbit on its haunches
Photo Credit: Jack Wolf via Compfight

Can you see how an Irish hare is different

from a rabbit?

 

Hare
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Jon Culver via Compfight

The Pygmy shrew and the Pipistrelle bat

are the smallest Irish mammals.

Pygmy Shrew
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: philip hay via Compfight

Did you know that Hedgehogs are excellent climbers?

Hedgehog!
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: David Reece via Compfight

Here is the Grey squirrel. Approximately five pairs were brought to Ireland in 1911. They were given as a wedding present. They escaped and went to live in the wild.

Nut Face
Photo Credit: Ian Sane via Compfight

Here is a Red squirrel. 

whisky frisky
Photo Credit: jenny downing via Compfight

The Bank vole came to Ireland from Germany,

in soil from earth moving equipment that was

used to build a dam at Ardnacrusha in 1925.

Bank vole
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There are many kinds of bats in Ireland.

This is the smallest: the Pipistrelle.

Pipsqueak
Photo Credit: Bill Tyne via Compfight

Other wild Irish mammals include, the House Mouse, the Wood Mouse, the Brown Rat and the Feral Goat. You can find out more about them on this link to Wicklow Mountains National Park.ie

Green Schools: Biodiversity: Why Are Bees Dying Out?

Galápagos interlude 2
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In many parts of the world, honeybees are dying. This is causing a lot of worry. This is because be pollinate important food crops.

Scientists are trying to figure out why bees are dying.

What makes this mystery really hard to solve is that bees are hard to study.

1. Most bees die away from the hive, so the scientists don’t have any dead bees to examine.

2. Bees have a natural life cycle and because if this when scientist return to a hive after even two weeks, about half the bees they studied on their first visit will be dead and they will be replaced by new ones.

3. Being a scientist detective is even trickier because, bees travel up to 3 kilometres away from their hive to find nectar from flowers. So that when bees become ill or poisoned, it is hard to know where the damage was done.

Scientists do have some ideas about what could be causing the bees to die.

1. They could be poisoned by insect sprays that people use to kill insects that are pests. Another name for these insect sprays are pesticides and insecticides.

2. We learned about overgrazing when we heard about what could happen if the Snow Leopard, for example disappeared from the food chain. See this link on our school’s Green Schools Blog to find out. Overgrazing would mean the fields and meadows when the bees get their food would be destroyed.

3. Bees may not be getting enough food to be strong and healthy. This is also because the habitats where their food grows; meadows and fields and being taken over by building.

Heather
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Kacper Gunia via Compfight

For example: Where we live around Greystones used be full of meadows, fields and forests. Now they are full of houses.

The hints that this happened are in the names of some of the estates.

1. So Heathervue was once a hillside covered in heather, whether the bees could collect nectar.

six-petaled apple, or some other rose
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Martin LaBar via Compfight

2. Perhaps there were cherry trees in Delgany before the houses in Cherry Glade  and Cherry Drive were built.

There are other reasons too, that scientists think that the number of bees is falling.

1. They think that tiny insects called mites feed on bees.

2. Others think that it is a virus or bacteria that is damaging the bee population.

Most of all it is important to protect the bee population because they pollinates so many plants that become food for the human race.

Green Schools: Biodiversity: Pollination – An Important Job that Bees Do.

As part of the work we are doing in school for our fifth Green School Flag on the theme of Biodiversity, we are learning about bees and pollination.

Honey bees help plants to make the fruit and nuts we like to eat, by carrying pollen from one plant or flower to the next. Important crops like oats, corn and wheat are pollinated by the wind. But many other plants like apple trees, depend on birds, bats and insects.

Bees don’t wake up each morning and set off to go pollinating plants and flowers. Their instinct it to collect nectar from the flowers. They feed this sweet liquid to the Queen Bee. Even though the pollinating that they do is a very important job for the world, the bees do it by accident.

This is how it happens: If you look at a bee close up, you will see that they have hairy legs and bodies. The pollen on the flowers stick to their hairy bodies.

Here is a picture:

Bee on Dandelion

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We have learned that our supermarket shelves would be empty of many of the fruits and vegetables that are available there, if it weren’t for bees. Click on this link  to see a list of these on our school’s Green School Blog.

As well as the fruit and vegetables that we eat, many of the animals that live on our farms, eat foods that bees pollinate. It is said that every third spoonful that we eat, we have thanks to the work of the honey bees. If bees weren’t around to pollinate the plants, we wouldn’t have a choice of as many different foods to eat.

If you would like to read more about bees and pollination, check out these useful links.

Many thanks to Klaudia, Sinead, Zara and Sarah from Fourth Class for researching this information.

Green Schools: Biodiversity: The Snow Leopard: their diet

Our school is working towards our 5th Green School Flag.

The theme for this flag is Biodiversity.

As part of this project we have adopted a Snow Leopard.

Snow Leopards are an endangered species.

Snow Leopards are top of the food chain.

Djamila the snow leopard princess
Photo Credit: Tambako The Jaguar via Compfight

What do Snow Leopards like to eat?

Dr. Rodney Jackson is a leading expert on Snow Leopards
from the Snow Leopard Conservancy.

He said in a year a snow leopard from a National Park in India ate:

Highland wildlife park  (14)
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Peter Hopper via Compfight
This is a ‘blue sheep’ also called a Bharal.

blue sheep 

(Blue sheep are wild sheep.

They are slate grey in colour.

People say they look blueish)

9 Tibetan woolly hare,

25 marmot,

(Marmots are large squirrels)

5 domestic goats

(Domestic animals are tamed by man.

Farm animals are domestic.)

1 domestic sheep

and 15 birds.
Munch
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Jeroen Krah via Compfight
This is a marmot.

You can read more about the Snow Leopard here: 

Snow Leopard Conservancy.org

So what do you think would happen 

if the snow leopard became extinct 

and was no longer in this food chain?

You can see the answer to this question 

on this link  to our school’s Green Schools Blog.

Prayer Service for St. Brigid’s Day, 1st February

St. Brigid’s Day 1st February

Prayer Service for the Infant Classes -Third

St Brigid of Kildare
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Lawrence OP via Compfight

Good morning & welcome.

We are all here today in the school hall with new friends

and old friends and our kind teachers and helpers.

We know that Jesus is our friend too and so we sing our first song; 

Hymn: Jesus is my Friend

 

Yes Jesus is our friend.

He has lots of friends.

Saints are very special friends of Jesus indeed.

 

Do you know any saints?

Lots of us are called after holy people in the bible

like Sarah or Hannah or Rebecca, Aaron, Stephen, Daniel. 

 

Lots of people are called after saints like

Patrick, Kevin, James, and Elizabeth, Bernadette and Brigid.

 

Now it is not every year

that we have a little girl

called Brigid in the school,

but this year we are in luck

and have a girl in 1st Class called Brigid.

 

Does anyone have a friend

or a Mum or an Auntie or Granny called Brigid?

 

And of course our school is called St. Brigid’s.

 

A new month started today – what month is it?

Yes it is the 1st day of February.

The day many people say is the first day of Spring.

And it is St.Brigid’s Day!

 

So let us sing ‘We’ll sing a song to Brigid!’

Now we will say the Sign of the Cross

in the three ways we know how

(In the name of the Father…

As Gaeilge: ‘In ainm an Athar agus

an Mhic agus an Spioraid Naoimh, Amen’

and finally;

‘God came down from heaven to earth,

to remind us to love people

on this side and this side

and not to forget ourselves. Amen.’ )

 

Candle Prayer;

‘Chase away the darkness.

Fill the world with light,

be a little candle flame

and shine out bright’.

 

Why do we light a candle?

To remind us that God our Father in Heaven

is always with us.

 

Song; This Little Light of Mine

 

Now it is time to say GOOD MORNING

to God our Father in Heaven.

‘Father in Heaven, you love me,

You are with me night and day

I want to love you always,

in all I do and say.

I’ll try to please you Father,

Please help me during the day

Amen’.

 

I’ll try to please you Father.

That is not easy.

But if we are truly sorry in our hearts,

then God our Father in Heaven will always forgive us.

 

So let’s say SORRY to God

‘O my God I thank you for loving me.

I am sorry for all my sins,

for not loving others and not loving you.

Help me to live like Jesus and not sin again.

Amen.’

 

Yes today we are celebrating St. Brigid’s Day.

She loved the poor, the sick and the old.

 

Because it is St. Brigid’s Day

Sister says there is to be no homework

for good children to celebrate 🙂

 

Now I know some of your teachers

have been talking to you about St. Brigid.

What do you know about St. Brigid?

 

Legend has it that when Brigid was born,

angels sang in the sky over the place she was born.

 

St. Brigid – father was a pagan chief.

He didn’t believe in God.

Brigid’s mother was a servant

who knew about God and believed in God.

 

Brigid was born near Faughart,

a village a few miles north of Dundalk.

 

Brigid was minded by a foster mother

because her mother worked

in Connaught, far away from where Brigid lived

 

When Brigid was about your age,

she helped her foster mother around the house.

 

Any free time she had was spent in the nearby forest

with the wild animals living there.

 

Just like Saint Francis of Assisi,

she was very fond of animals.

Legends tell us she tamed a wild boar (pig)

and she loved nature and the beautiful world

God has made for us to live in:

 

‘We’ll Sing a Song to Brigid’ on Audioboo

 

She was very kind to the poor people

that called to the door

and was always giving away her father’s things.

 

When she was about twelve,  

Brigid was waiting outside

the King of Leinster’s fort

for her Dad when she met a poor man.

 

He was covered in rags and mud.

What do you think St. Brigid did?

Yes she just had to help him. 

 

There was nothing else in the chariot,

so she took her Dad’s sword

and gave it to the poor man.

How do you think her Dad felt about that?

 

He was furious.

Luckily the King of Leinster was there

and he believed in God like Brigid did

and understood why Brigid had done what she had done,

so the King gave her Dad an even better sword

and told her Dad to forgive her.

 

St. Brigid was told she couldn’t visit

her Mum in Connaught,

so do you know what she did?

Yes that’s right!

 

She visited her Mum in Connaught!

Her Mum had a job looking after

the druid’s cows at the druid’s farm.

 

‘We’ll Sing a Song to Brigid’ on Audioboo

 

St Brigid worked with her Mum helping her,

making cheese and butter. 

 

And guess what happened

when poor people called to the door?

 

Yes, you are right,

she gave away food at the door.

 

How do you think the Druid felt about that?

 

Well a very surprising thing happened.

No matter how much food Brigid gave away

there always seemed to be more food there.

The Druid realised that

there was something special about Brigid,

so he tried to give her all his cows.

 

She said she didn’t want that.

What do you think she wanted.

Yes for her Mum to come home with her!

 

Brigid believed in God, Our Father in Heaven.

She saw God in everyone and in everything.

She saw God everywhere.

So this story has a happy ending.

Brigid’s family was back together again.

 

Now we are going to say a special prayer

to keep us and our families safe:

 

Repeat after me!

St. Brigid’s Blessing

‘May no fire, no flame burn us.

May no lake, no sea drown us

May no sword, no spear wound us.

May no king, no chief insult us.

May all the birds sing for us

May all the cattle low for us

May all the insects buzz for us

May the angels of God always protect us.’

 

And we are going to sing a song to Brigid, one last time!

‘We’ll Sing a Song to Brigid’ on Audioboo

Spring Flowers
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Maths: Measurement: Interesting facts about body measurements.

An Afternoon at Heritage Preserve
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Adrianne Behning Photography via Compfight

We are learning about measurement in Maths.

We learned some interesting facts about

body measurements.

Did you know?

 

1. Your armspan (that is the distance between the

tip of your middle finger on your right hand

and the tip of your middle finger on your right)

is approximately equal to your height

 

2. Your nose length is about the length

of first two digits of index finger

 

3. The length of your face is the length of your hand.

 

4. Your foot should be about the length of forearm

 

5. Your eyes are an eye-width apart

 

6. Usually your waist is twice the circumference of the neck.

Your neck is twice the circumference of the wrist.

 

Try these and see!

 

#eddies13 – Edublog Awards 2013: Full & final results

finalist_best_class_blog-1t3kvkt

Congratulations to all the worthy winners and runners up in the 2013 Edublog Awards. The full and final results are on this link:
Edublog Awards 2013 

We were very happy to be finalists and to come fifth in our category (Best Class Blog). Thank you to everyone who voted for us. We learned a lot by visiting the other class blogs and we made new friends in other parts of the world. We love our colourful finalists’ badge which is a great reminder of this rewarding experience.

We would also like to thank those at Edublogs who made the Edublog Awards happen.

7. Preparing for ‘Write A Book’ – Writing A Dedication – Examples from Famous Authors

Parole perdute
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Valentina_A via Compfight

To dedicate a book to someone is to give them a very special present.

Who would you like to dedicate your Write A Book to?

13/365: My favorites since 1982
Photo Credit: Sarah Sphar via Compfight

C.S. Lewis who wrote the Narnia Series of books,

dedicated one of them;

‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’

to his god daughter Lucy.

Here is what he wrote:

To Lucy Barfield;

My dear Lucy,

I wrote this story for you,

but when I began it

I had not realized that girls grow

quicker than books.

As a result you are already too old

for fairy tales,

and by the time it is printed and bound

you will be older still.

But some day you will be old enough

to start reading fairy tales again.

You can then take it down

from some upper shelf, dust it,

and tell me what you think of it.

I shall probably be too deaf to hear,

and too old to understand a word you say,

but I shall still be

your affectionate Godfather,

C.S. Lewis

 Roald Dahl's George's Marvellous Medicine cupcake
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Julie Elliott via Compfight

Roald Dahl dedicated many of his books to his children but

he dedicated ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’

to ‘Doctors everywhere’.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Sharon Drummond via Compfight

J.K. Rowling wrote this dedication in a Z shape

(like the scar on Harry Potter’s forehead)

at the beginning of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:’ 

The dedication of this book is split seven ways:

to Neil, to Jessica, to David, to Kenzie, to Di, to Anne,

and to you,

if you have stuck with Harry until the very end.

 

6. Write A Book – How To Come Up With A Name for Your Publishing Company

When we do ‘Write A Book’,

part of the fun is to 

make our books look like real books.

 

One of the things we do is

to come up with the name

of a publishing company.

 

Some children get ideas for what

to call their publishing company

from what their own book is about.

Just Rome
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Stefano Corso via Compfight

One child wrote about the dreams

of visiting foreign countries a girl had

when she fell off her skateboard

and bumped her head,

she called her publishing company

‘Foreigner Press’

Her other ideas were;

‘Sweet Dreams Publishing Company,

‘Big Bump Books’

or ‘Kickflick Press’  (a ‘kickflick’ is a skateboarding trick) .

Ice Cream Sundae Cupcakes
Photo Credit: jamieanne via Compfight

Some children like to call their company

after their own name

a favourite pet

food

sports team

or the place they come from.

Ladybird Books. Pirates. The Vikings.
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We can also get ideas by looking

at the books in the classroom library. 

They are published by companies like

‘Ladybird Books’

‘Firefly’

‘Puffin’

‘Red Fox’

‘Little Tiger Press’.

‘Sleeping Bear Press’

Young Puffin PS263
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Keir Hardie via Compfight

So publishing companies can be called

after living creatures; animals and insects

and some have an adjective describing the noun

in their titles too.

 

So if you are stuck, an easy way to come up

with the name of your publishing company

is to answer these two questions:

1. What is your favourite animal?

2. What is your favourite colour?

So you could end up with

‘Green Giraffe Books’

‘Orange Cat Press’

‘Blue Bird Publishing Company’.

Propuesta Identidad Metaposta 01 Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Zorraquino via Compfight

Then you design your logo.

Keep your drawing very simple.

In real books the logo is very often

on the back page,

the spine of the book

and the title page.

 

If naming your company in this way

doesn’t work out for you,

the class could try this;

make a list of nouns

and then a list of adjectives.

Cut the list up.

Put the nouns in one box

and the adjectives in another

and then pull out an adjective

followed by a noun.

Minty Dave the early Years
Photo Credit: Neal Fowler via Compfight

In this way we came up with

the following very random names:

‘Unusual Shoe Company’

‘Unhappy Mint Publishing Company’

‘Jealous Acorn Press’

‘Unfriendly Rabbit Company’

‘Giddy Buttercup Books.’

Drawing logos for these was fun.

Have you ever seen an unhappy mint

or an unfriendly rabbit?

CubeDude Bugs Bunny
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Eircom Junior Spiders Awards 2014

Spot prizes we won and Spider Award on Dart home

We had great fun last year when we entered

the Eircom Junior Spiders Awards.

You can read about our experience here on the Eircom Junior Spiders Blog.

We are not entering our class blog this year,

but hope to enter a project in 2015.

We would recommend entering. It is good to have a goal to work towards.

Preparing for entering last year, meant that we looked at our blog to see 

how we could make it the best that it could be.

We had great fun at the Awards

and a Pizza Party at school to celebrate afterwards.

The closing date for this year’s entries is 7th February.

We would really recommend entering.

You can find all the information you need on the

Eircom Junior Spiders Website.

4. Children’s Work: How we make our Write A Books look like real books.

We have fun making our Write A Books

look like real books.

IMGA0268 

We write a blurb or short summary

of our story on the back cover.

IMGA0336

We dedicate the book to a person

or people that we care about

IMGA0265

We write acknowledgements to people.

This means we say thank you to those

who have helped us in some way.

IMGA0294

We fill a page with information ‘About the Author’.

IMGA0295

We also put in a title page, just like a real book.

We put in a contents page

and give the chapters names.

IMGA0266

Sometimes we include pop ups or lift the flaps;

IMGA0275

doors,
IMGA0288

windows

IMGA0291

or gates

IMGA0290

A good story can often start with a mysterious letter

or an invitation. So sometimes we have included envelopes

with letters inside.

IMGA0303

We often put a map in which our story is set

in the very centre of our book.

IMGA0274

We enjoy adding page numbers.

IMGA0340 

At the back of the book

we add a page or two we call

‘What the critics say’.

We send our book around the room

and ask our school friends

to make a positive comment there.

We bring our finished book home

and ask our family to do the same.

 IMGA0271

You will find other ideas for making  your Write A Book

look like a real book here.

 

You will find some really great resources to help you

with your ‘Write A Book’ on Seomra Ranga.

 

2. Preparing for ‘Write A Book’ – A Checklist Of What You Could Include.

We love the Write A Book project.

We really enjoy writing stories

and drawing the pictures to go with them.

Some of the best fun is to make our own book

as close to a real book as possible.

To do this we take a good look

at a number of books in our class library.

May book display: bikes 'n books Klara via Compfight

We write our stories,

draw the pictures

and design a cover.

 

But to make our books like real books

we also have fun doing the following:

 

We write a blurb or short summary

of our story on the back cover.

 Camellia sasanqua, a November treat
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Vicki via Compfight

We dedicate the book to a person

or people that we care about.

You can read more about

writing dedications here.

 

 

We write acknowledgements to the people

This means we say thank you to those

who have helped us in some way.

 

We fill a page with information ‘About the Author’.

 

We decide on a name for our ‘publishing company’

and a logo (like the real companies Puffin and Penguin)

 

We add a bar code and an IBSN number.

 

We decide on a price (not real, just pretend).

We also put in a title page, just like a real book.

We put in a content page

and give the chapters names.

 Smithsonian Institution Libraries Movable books
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institution Libraries via Compfight

Sometimes we include pop ups or lift the flaps;

doors, windows or gates perhaps.

 Envelope from Dad
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Jeff McClain via Compfight

A good story can often start with a mysterious letter

or an invitation. So sometimes we have included envelopes

with letters inside.

 
Photo Credit: tanakawho via Compfight

We often put a map in which our story is set

in the very centre of our book.

 Marcapaginas
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: dmmalva via Compfight

We enjoy adding page numbers.

If we have time, we design a bookmark

and include it with our book.

 

At the back of the book

we add a page or two we call

What the critics say‘.

 light love
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Petra via Compfight

When our book is finished

we have great fun asking

our grown ups, our family

and friends to read our book

and to write a line or two about

what they liked about our book.

 

You will find some really great resources to help you

with your ‘Write A Book’ on Seomra Ranga

and a more recent powerpoint from

Seomra Ranga here on designing your book.

 

 

1. Preparing for ‘Write A Book’; Make your book cover eye catching!

Here are the books we love to read:

 

 

Take a look at a number of your favourite books

from the class library.

Look at the ones that jump out at you from the shelf.

What is it about these books that makes you want

to pick them up in the first place?

Take a few moments to think about this…

That’s right!

1. The covers of these books

are colourful and eye catching.

2. The titles of the books are interesting.

What is a Country Pancake you may wonder

What is a Stone Mouse or a Hodgeheg?

3. You may like the sound of the

‘blurb’ or short summary on the back cover.

 

Designing your book cover,

deciding on a title for your book

and writing the ‘blurb’

are some of the last things you will do.

You need to have the book written first.

 

But do give it some thought, even now.

Plan to have a cover on your book that looks good

a title that sounds interesting

and a summary on the back

that has your reader wanting to find out more.

 

For those of you doing the ‘Write A Book’ project

there is an excellent selection of resources

on this link to ‘Seomra Ranga’.

 

.

 

Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow – Past Pupil’s Musical Success.

We were very happy to hear about

the musical success of a past pupil of the school.

Harry O’Connor left St.Brigid’s

after a year in Ms. Ahern’s Junior Infants.

We have happy memories of Harry performing

‘The Friendly Cow’ in Kilcoole Feis 2003.

As we recall he won.

Here he is sitting at the front of his

Junior Infants class on the left.

Now fourteen, Harry is an accomplished

composer, musician and conductor.

This is a live recording of the

first performance of ‘Gloria in D’.

Harry wrote this piece for

piano, percussion and choir,

for the Kenmare Choral Festival.

We wish Harry all the best

in the future

and will follow his progress

with interest and with pride.

Student Favourite: Online Art Activities


The following link contains

some online art activities for children

from the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

Some online art activities for children


Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Marian Bijlenga via Compfight

The children from Room 6 found

the following activities on that website particularly interesting:

* Patterns of Infinity

* Kumasa’s World of Dots

* Justine Cooper’s ‘Call of the Wild’ – A memory game

You may have to scroll down that page to see them.

‘The Little Fir Tree’ – a story by Hans Christian Anderson, adapted by Killian H.

Sunrise Silhouette ~ Explored ~
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Sergiu Bacioiu via Compfight

A little fir tree lived in an enormous forest.

However the little fir tree was not happy.

He wanted to grow more quickly.

 Spatzen
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Judith via Compfight

At Christmas time, many trees were chopped down.

One day he heard sparrows chirping in the tall trees.

Green Christmas
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Lotte Grønkjær via Compfight

‘We have peeped in the windows of the houses in town

and seen trees decorated with lights, tinsel and colourful baubles’.

 Magic Forest
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Stella via Compfight

As seasons passed the fir grew big and strong.

One winter the wood cutter cut down the fir.

He was brought to a house in the town,

where the family put lights around him,

baubles on his branches

and presents under his trunk.

 Christmas Tree Decorations
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Choo Yut Shing via Compfight

When Christmas came to an end,

the family took down the decorations.

The fir tree was thrown into a storeroom.

new year mice
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Natasha Fadeeva via Compfight

It was cold and his only company was some mice.

‘Were you happy?’

asked a mouse.

‘Not really,’ replied the fir.

 Firewood 2
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Aaron Ortiz via Compfight

The next day the fir tree was brought to the yard.

A child pulled at his branches.

He was chopped for firewood.

‘I wish I had enjoyed life,’ he thought.

Sun Reflected in Lake
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: floato via Compfight

The lesson is, enjoy life!

Granny’s Garden – FINAL Follow Up Activity – The Diaries

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Click on this link to read about ‘Granny’s Garden’.

 

Witch’s Diary

Monday:

Fly to shops for mice and frog spawn.

Tuesday:

Pick up kids from fire breathing class.

Wednesday:

Cup of tea with Witches on Wednesday

Thursday:

Broomstick Yoga.

Friday:

Take cat to vet. He fell off the broomstick.

 Enchanted Garden
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: darwin Bell via Compfight

Granny’s Diary

Monday: Gardening

Tuesday: Weed the vegetable patch.

Wednesday: Flower arranging.

Thursday: Shopping for goodies and weedkiller.

Friday: Baking in the morning

Children coming to tea.

Saboten-Con Tea Party
Photo Credit: Kevin Dooley via Compfight

Tara’s Witch seems to live a very full life 😉

Monday:

Appointment at Grizzly Groomers for Fluffy. Buy more toads in Polly’s Petshop.

Meet Hetty for lunch in the Evil Kettle.

Tuesday:

Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Plan the destruction of this town. Book plane tickets.

Annual Book Club Dinner.

Wednesday:

The eggs finally hatched. Six adorable baby dragons. Pack suitcase.

Graduate Witch Meeting.

Thursday:

Pippa’s daughter coming for a play date. Teach her to cause havoc.

Shop for disguises.

Friday:

Put my evil plan into action for destruction of town. Unleash dragons, toads

and Pippa’s daughter. Book taxi to airport.

Saturday:

Meet Lulu in Volutera and plan our return to the Kingdom of the Mountains.

Mordiford Loop, dragons house? #dailyshoot # herefordshire
Photo Credit: Les Haines via Compfight

‘Granny’s Garden’ – Follow Up Activities – Responses to the Story 2

Erin’s Story:

I enjoyed going to the Kingdom of the Mountains. We were trying to rescue six children from a witch. The witch was ugly with a long nose, but otherwise I didn’t think she was very witchy. Luckily when she gave us her cake, it didn’t have any poison in it. There was two goblins by the lake. One was called Redhorn. We went to the Castle of Dreams and met Daniel. We saw Jessica in a secret tower in the forest where pompom trees grow. There was also a Giant on the hill. he asked if he could eat us. We said Yes, but the giant didn’t eat us. He gave us a stone. I really enjoyed the adventure.

Cuddle
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Philip Storry via Compfight

Mia said:

This was a great fun adventure. The witch was scary at times. The children were fun to find and not too easy. They were hidden very well. The City of Dragons was a part that you needed to think about. When I went to the Castle of Dreams I met Daniel. In the tower we met Esther. We went to the forest but there was a fire. We met a Giant. He asked us if we wanted to be eaten. We said yes, but he did not eat us. I really enjoyed this adventure.

Bartestree Cottage #dailyshoot
Photo Credit: Les Haines via Compfight

Caoimhe’s Story:

I’m here in Granny’s Garden. I followed the raven to an old cottage. I get a funny feeling as I walk in and find Anna. She is very annoying so I am trying to find the others as fast as I can. When I get to the Giant’s hill. I was very scared when he tells me he is going to eat me. Then I went to the Dragon Farm, where we had to tame all the baby dragons. We had to feed the dragons to get Clare back. I found all the other kids and then we went back to Granny’s garden for some tea.

Imagination of a little boy
Photo Credit: Juliana Coutinho via Compfight

Alex’s Story:

I had so much fun saving all six children. But I have to admit, it was really hard, trying not to meet the wicked witch. But when I had to, she gave me the fright of my life, with her big green nose popping out of her face, with that big, black mole on her face. Anyway, when I found the first child Anna, I think, she said that I was family, that I was related to her, and to her brothers and sister.

Fairy Tale
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Trey Ratcliff via Compfight

Hayley wrote:

When I walked into the witch’s cottage, I heard her talking on her  iPhone 5.

‘I don’t want to eat the child’ she moaned and hung up.

She came out and offered me some cake.

I took it and left.

I rescued all the children but they were terribly annoying.

I was glad to give them back to their parents

and to have a cup of tea with Granny.

 Seljalandsfoss waterfall
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Alessio Mesiano via Compfight

This is what Michelle had to say:

I loved the trip to the hill where the giant was

but my favourite part was

where the Giant says

‘Shall I eat you?’

but you have say yes

so you can trick him.

welcome in wonderland
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Cornelia Kopp via Compfight

Isabella said:

As I walked into the cottage, I could sense the witch.

It wasn’t just me being a baby.

There WAS a witch and she offered me a big slice of cake.

I asked her could I have it and suprisingly she gave it to me.

I Love October
Photo Credit: D. Sharon Pruitt via Compfight

Ciaran’s response:

That was a dreadful day. To be honest the Witch scared the living daylights out of me. I fell neck deep into the swamp and I still can’t wash out the smell. The children that I rescued were so annoying. The wood was as dreadful. I can’t tell you how many times I was ambushed by a blood thirsty bear. We set up camp. In the middle of the night the tent blew away. Man, that’s the last time I am doing that.

The Journey of Harry the Teddy Bear
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: 仁仔 何 via Compfight

However we did enjoy playing Granny’s Garden.

You can read our other responses here.

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Granny’s Garden – Follow Up Activities – Headlines from ‘The Daily News’

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Breaking News: Giant won’t eat humans.

A local Giant has admitted that he refuses to eat humans.

The big sissy says he is a vegetarian.

The  Witch says ‘He is not worth hiring’.

The children say ‘He gives free piggy back rides’.

Whose side are you on?

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Other news inside:

The King and Queen are kidnapped.

 

Baby Dragon Apocalypse.

 

Granny gets married.

 

Dragon drinks too much Fire Aid

Non stop fire breathing. Not good.

 

The Talking Toadstool

auditions for X Factor.

 

Redhorn gets plastic surgery.

 

Baby Dragon goes missing.

Looking for witnesses.

 

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