Week 2, Day 2: Fabulous Flora - SLJ

DAY 2: Fabulous Flora

Activity 1: Weaving a Tall Tale…[4 points]

There is a long history in New Zealand of collecting natural plants, including flax (harakeke),
and using them to create cloaks, baskets (kete), mats, traps and ropes. Flax weaving is an
art form. It can take years for people to perfect the art of weaving. Have you ever tried it?

For this activity, you are asked to watch a short video of someone weaving a fish (ika) out of
flax.

On your blog, tell us whether or not you would like to try flax weaving. Does it interest
you? Why or why not?

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My answer about flax weaving would be an incredible yes, as it's something I haven't tried
since year 3 or 4, the time I was weaving was an incredible experience as most of us has
never tried it before. Flax weaving was exactly what we did and was absolutely amazing. If
I had the chance to flax weave again, I totally would as its been a very long time and it´ll be
great to get back into it. Flax weaving is what lots of people do in their spare time and is
what most people buy when their in stores. Overall I really recommend everyone to try Flax
weaving, it will take some time to get use to but it's best if you try some simple weaving
and try learning it over and over again. I really hope you try it out sometime. Enjoy the other
activities/posts!      
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Activity 2: Mighty Mangroves [4 points]

Here in New Zealand we have a native tree called a Kiwi Mangrove. Kiwi Mangroves grow
in shallow water (harbours). The largest mangrove or manawa forests in New Zealand are
located in Northland and in Auckland. According to many environmental experts, they are
one of the toughest and strongest trees in the world because they can survive in really harsh
(difficult) conditions.

For this activity you are asked to think of someone who is very tough and strong. They can
be someone who you know personally or they can be a character that you have read about
in a book, seen in a movie, or on a television show.

On your blog, tell us about this person. Who are they? Why are they, in your opinion,
so strong and tough?

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The person I´ve chosen is my Mum. I´ve decided to put her in my opinion because it was
part of the activity and she is very strong. I would describe her as one of the toughest and
politest women in my family. She is a very enjoyable person and is amazingly strong. It's
very cool how every time one of us ( myself, my siblings and other family members ) are in
trouble she always has our backs, especially my younger siblings.  .Overall she is an
amazing Mum, very strong/tough and is a fantastic cook. Now it's my turn, Who is the person
you are thinking of right now, who is absolutely strong/tough?

Activity 3: Stranger than Fiction [10 points + 5 possible points]

Here on earth there are more than 298 000 different kinds (species) of plants. Some of
these plants live on land and some live in the water. Follow this link to read about 10 of the
strangest plant species in the world. When you are finished, choose two of the plants
from the list.

On your blog, list three similarities and three differences between the two plants that
you chose. To earn five extra bonus points, post a picture of both plants on your
blog..

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Here are the Image Attributions to the pictures just above this description. The first 2 Image Attributions represent the first 2 pictures at the top, and the final 2 represent the bottom photos which are the similarities. 

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Task Description:

For this task I was to answer a question which the question was, would you like to try Flax Weaving?, the 2nd activity was about figuring out who the strongest/toughest person I know either on a programme, a movie or even someone I personally know, the final activity was to select 2 strange plants listed on this website. Feel free to check it out!. If want to find out more about what this task is about, just slide up and it´ll take you to my actual post! 

enjoy it, and happy new year!

Week 2, Day 1: Swimming with the fish - SLJ

WEEK 2: Water, Water, Everywhere

DAY 1: Swimming with the Fish

Activity 1: Surfs Up! [4 points]

In New Zealand we have many beautiful beaches and stunning waterfalls. One of the most
spectacular waterfalls is called Kitekite and it is located in Piha, a small village west of
Auckland. Tourists and locals flock to Piha during the summer season to enjoy the waterfall,
the local beach, and the great surf. Have you ever tried surfing? Although I have never
surfed many of my friends have and they absolutely love it. In fact, it is their favourite
summer activity! What is yours?

For this activity, please take a picture of yourself doing one of your favourite summer
activities. It could be anything! Here is a picture of one of our team members (Laura) doing
one of her favourite summer activities.

On your blog, post a picture of yourself doing one of your favourite summer activities.
Below the picture tell us what the activity is and tell us why it is one of your favourites.

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Due to the weather and the busy things that have been happening, I didn't really get the
chance to take a photo of me doing my favourite summer activity which is, playing all sorts
of games on the beach. My favourite one overall would have to be beach volleyball because
everyone has a good time and whenever we get hot we have a bit of a swim. Although this
has happened here is a photo of me doing my 2nd favourite summer activity, which is drawing.

The reason why drawing is my 2nd favourite activity is because, you are able to draw
anything you want as well as using your imagination. Drawing is a time of cooling down
and just enjoying the time that you have of drawing. In term 4 the whole school was included
to draw, paint, or design items/objects for term 4´s theme which was, Te wa toi. Drawing can
be annoying sometimes as you think your not doing a very good job with it. Although you
think it, it's not actually true because people make a lot of mistakes ( like me ) but after a
few practises I finally got the hang of drawing something very, very simple. Did you know
that making mistakes helps you learn? Well how I know is that I made loads of mistakes in
the past and somehow I had them all sorted out, with a bit of help from my friends. After
all the information and reasons I have given you, this is how much you know I love drawing
mainly in my spare time. I hope this encouraged you to draw and hope you enjoy it.  

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Activity 2: The Great Taupo Cycle Challenge [4 points]

Every year approximately 7500 people arrive in Taupo, New Zealand to compete in a
one-day cycling race around Lake Taupo. The race route is 160 km in length. Participants
can choose to compete in the full race or the half-race (80 km). Let’s imagine that you were
given a free ticket to compete in the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge next year and you were
able to bring three people with you as your ‘support crew.’ Who would you bring with you?

If it was me, I would choose my son, Aronui, as one of my supporters because he’s really
funny and energetic. I think that he would make sure that I had a great time and that I spent
the entire day laughing and smiling. I would also choose my sister, Leigh, because she is
very strong and fast. Thirdly, I would choose my co-leader, Hazel, because she is very
organised and would make sure that we followed the trail and didn’t get lost!

On your blog, list the three people you would like to have on your Lake Taupo Cycle Race Support Crew. Tell us why you have chosen each person.

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Here is a little presentation of the people I have decided to take with me and my reasons why I am taking them. Enjoy!

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Activity 3: Something Smells Fishy…[10 points]

One of the longest and largest rivers in the world is called the Amazon River. It is located
in South America and is approximately 6400 kilometres (kms) long. That is four times longer
than the entire country of New Zealand. Wow!

Scientists believe that there are over 3000 different kinds of fish that live in the Amazon River.
Now, that is a lot of fish! To learn more about fish, we went online and found some really
cool facts about fish.

For this activity, we are going to provide you with five sentences about fish. Some of them
are true and some are them are not. It is your job to read these ‘facts’, and decide whether
they are true or false.

On your blog, write out each fact and in CAPITAL LETTERS beside the fact, write the
word ‘TRUE’ if it is a true fact or ‘FALSE’ if it is not true.

Fish Fact #1: The oldest known fish in the world is a 65 year old Australian lungfish.

TRUE

Fish Fact #2: Sharks are the only fish that have eyelids.

TRUE

Fish Fact #3: Starfish are a type of fish.

FALSE

Fish Fact #4: Fish communicate with each other by making low-pitched sounds (moans,
hisses, etc)

FALSE

Fish Fact #5: Fish usually swim together in groups called ‘classes.’

FALSE

Task Description:

For this task we were to tell you what our favourite summer activity we do, who would we take with us as our supportive crew for the Taupo cycle challenge and finally The true and false activity. The start of this weeks activities is very fun and quiet interesting of finding facts about fish which I never knew about. This took quiet a long time especially the first activity but I´m glad I got it done. I really hope you enjoy and merry late Christmas everyone.  

Week 1, Day 4: More Than Meets The Eye - SLJ

Activity 1: Scaling New Heights [4 points]

Aotearoa New Zealand is a country of mountains and valleys, dense forests, and sparkling
oceans. At the centre of the South Island sits the tallest mountain in the country,
Aoraki Mt Cook. It is the place where Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the top
(summit) of Mt Everest, learned how to climb mountains. It was pretty difficult for him, at
first, but Sir Edmund Hillary did not give up and, in 1953, he achieved this dream of
climbing Mt Everest. His face can now be found on the New Zealand $5 note!

Let’s imagine that you met Sir Edmund Hillary in real life and were able to interview him.

On your blog, post five questions that you would like to ask Sir Edmund Hillary about his life.

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Activity 2: Pancakes and Maple Syrup? [4 points]

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to many spectacular sights and natural wonders. One of
these is the Punakaiki Rocks and Blowholes located on the West Coast of the South Island.
The Punakaiki rocks attract tourists from all over the world who are keen to see these
amazing rock formations. Many people think that they look like pancakes stacked on top
of one another. Pancakes are one of my favourite foods! They are delicious and pretty easy
to make.

For this activity you are asked to choose one of your favourite foods. On your blog, write the
name of your favourite food and then tell us how to make it. You may need to ask a family
member, friend or Google (!) for help, if you do not normally make this food for yourself.

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Activity 3: Salt and Pepper [5 + 5 possible bonus points]

Deep in the heart of Bolivia (a country in South America) lies a natural wonder unlike
anything else. It is a massive area of salt, over 10 000 km2 large, that is referred to as the
Uyuni Salt Flats.

Tourists who visit the flats often stay in hotels made completely out of salt (salt hotels). This
is not the only unique hotel that you will find around the world. In fact, you can stay in
hotels made entirely of ice (ice hotels) or glass (glass hotel). Let’s imagine that you were
given enough money to build your very own hotel.

On your blog tell us where you would build your hotel and what you would use to build it. For an extra five points, use Google Drawings to design one room in your hotel. You can also use a paper and pencil to draw your room, take a picture of the drawing, and post it on your blog.

Task Description:

For this task I was told to create a built and useful hotel, ways of showing people to make a Butter Chicken on rice, and pretending that I was giving Sir Edmund Hilary an interview, only asking him 5 questions. This task was very fun and I really enjoyed doing it. I really hope I get to continue enjoying these posts and I get more of these sort of tasks. I really enjoy this years Summer blogging as its been amazing and incredible. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year: