Pearls farm of funny animals

 I live on a farm. A farm full of animals. They are really cute and weird. But most of all, funny. 

#1 boba. She is a bantom chicken that used to be the sweetest little chicky! But then she sat on a nest for 3 months and became the second most terrified chook on the farm.

#2. The Jellybean crew. They are a group of triplets, or should I say chicklets.

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#3. Ebbie and Scribble. They are both dogs, and both naughty in different ways. Ebbie steals food off the table, and Scribble bites and dosen't let go.

#4. The ducks. They are grown now, and just as funny as before. When they try to run, they trip and fall. When they are angry, they bite you and lock on. It's only happened once.

#5. The pigs. When we come home, they dance. 

Lemonade Stand

 The local homeschool group organized a market down at the beach for the kids. Pearl has really wanted to have a lemonade stand for some time now.  She finally got her wish and enjoyed every minute of it. She was able to make enough money to buy a few things from the market for herself as well as friends and family. It was a good way for her to learn about money, plan for the event, make independent choices around budgeting. 

Dire wolves

 Dire Wolves 

1. Fought over meat with the famous saber-toothed tiger. 

 2. They were (just like dogs today) hyper carnivores. 

 3. The Dire Wolf was 25 percent bigger than the American mastiff.

 4. They used their strong teeth to crush bones. 

               ready for 

5. THE FINAL FACT:

Dire wolves became extinct animals in the last Ice age BUT scientists are trying to de-extinct it with a small piece of DNA from a museum.

Information found from:

https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-the-dire-wolf-1093336

The Hut

The hut 
by Pearl Loomis

A pile of wood and logs stood in front of a muddy landscape. Jessica pulled 2 pallets out of the pile.

She stood them up to make corners. A uneven piece became the doorway and some more the wall. A hole was left and filled with a dog crate. A mat, blankets and pillows covered the dirty ground. A box became the table and the hut looked like this.

The hut still wasn't complete. Insulation covered the walls. Mesh hung from the doorway. A brick and sawdust pathway decorated with plants sat outside. Staples held a tarp on the wood. It looked like this.

Writing Every Day

Pearl is an amazing writer. She reads a great variety of books and we read together. This gives her great knowledge and understanding of the features of different types of writing as well as extends her vocabulary. I find she is the most free with her writing when I don't put too many parameters around it, and it is viewed as something that is a part of every day life verses an assignment. For example, at the moment, Pearl is writing a book. Her goal is to write a chapter book about two girls who turn into dragons. She has written about five pages single spaced on the tablet and is nowhere near finished. I have given her very little feedback. But I do expect her to write ever day. When she is finished, she will edit her work. This is where she will learn about paragraphs, indentations quotations, and varying her word choice. She wants to turn it into a book and have it printed. Then she wants to donate a copy to the library.
If she does not want to write her story, she can journal and write about her day.
I also try to find way to incorporate writing into every day life. Today, the kids and I sat down and researched kid friendly dinner ideas. Pearl made a list of what sounded good. Then we had her little brother underline everything that they decided would be good for this week's menu. It was great seeing her use her writing in an everyday context. Because it was also informal, Pearl didn't feel any pressure to spell correctly, which means she didn't get stuck when she wasn't sure about spelling.

Learning From Animals

Part of the reason why we moved to a more rural environment was to give our children the opportunity to have and look after animals. Pearl has always loved birds and for her eighth birthday she was finally allowed to have her own Cockatiel. This has been a great learning experience for her. She has been researching how to care for her bird for quite sometime. Before getting her a bird, she had to make a list of all the things she needed for her bird, as well as what type of food it ate, and write about how to care for it. Now that she has her bird, it has been such a great experience. Her little cockatiel Tori, (which means bird in Japanese) is a very good first pet because he is quite an assertive little creature. So it is easy to understand his needs and wants. He lets you know when he is hungry, wants cuddles, and wants to be left alone. At times it has been a bit disappointing for Pearl, as she has been bitten. But it is good for her to learn that he is not a toy, and he has his own wants and needs. I feel that this is helping her to learn empathy and better understand relationships with other people as well. We have talked about it a few times, and while it is hard, she is learning to be patient, and respect what her little bird is trying to communicate.
Pearl is also now doing riding lessons with our neighbours at the North River Horse and Humanship Centre. At the centre, students, learn how to better understand their horse and as they say, "become a better person for your horse." They teach in a non traditional way, not using bits or stirrups, and using alternative, non forceful methods to get horses to cooperate. Pearl is also learning how to groom and care for horses. She has to carry her own saddle and tack bag, and brush down her horse at the beginning and end of each session. It has been good for her to learn these responsibilities and it has also given her confidence.

She has also been looking after a sick chicken, who she has lovingly named Boba. Boba has had a sniffly nose since we got her. Pearl insisted that we take her to the vet. So she caught Boba and came to the appointment. She did the talking and all of the handling. The vet was very good and even let Pearl listen to Boba's heart beat.

All of these experiences are helping Pearl grow respect and feel responsibility for the natural world. She is learning Kaitiaki, which means guardianship, or stewardship.

Dairy Farm

        I  went to the farm a few days ago with my family and a homeschool family and I saw lots of animals. 

• Cows
• Parrots 
• Cockatoos 
• A turtle 
• 2 swans
• Geese 

I saw a milking machine there too.

We went to the calf shed and the cows sucked on our hands,

then went and saw the older calves and watched the farmer give them milk.

We ran down a hill and startled a flock of geese. They took to the air and flew away.

The Little Prince

Pearl has been reading the book, The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint Exupey.

This is a beautiful story about a little boy prince who lives on a planet by himself with just a few volcanoes and a rose who is his friend. He travels the univers visiting planets and meeting their inhabitants. It is a philisophical reflection on people and their motivations, written from an uncorrupted perspective. Pearl chose this book to be her book to read to herself, but she also read it to us and we read it to her as a bedtime story.

This book prompted great lesson ideas. She firstly pointed out that the book doesn't have chapter headings, but rather symbols. She was refering to roman numerals. For her maths that day, she learned roman numerals. She was able to recognize patterns and write numbers up to 100. Since then she has been able to read the chapter numbers in the book.

After, I asked her pretend like she lived on one of the planets that the little prince visited. At first she was very excited about this activity. But when it came to doing the work, it took a lot of persuading. To get her going I suggested she drew a picture of her planet. This helped get the ideas flowing.

Pearl is a very talented writer and can write pages and pages when she feels like it. But for this activity,  she did no feel like it, and that is ok. What I did notice, was that she went through and edited her work the next day without me prompting her to. Next steps will be to teacher her about first, second, and third person writing and help her establish consistency in that area. 

Using air dry clay, the kids then sculpted their own little planets. They loved this activity. If I were to this over again, I would have started with drawing, then sculpting, and then writing. The art process would have given her more time to formulate her descriptions for her writing. I may intorduce her to using mind maps, or brainstorms to also help her with formulating her ideas.

A Day of Learning

After breakfast, Pearl started her learning with big number place value. Because she is interested in Geology and Paleontology,  she is learning how to read and write numbers in the millions. She is also learning to find how many millions, thousands, and so on, there are in these numbers. It gives her pleasure to read and pronounce such large numbers.
On her birthday, she video chatted with her good friends in Wellington.  One of her friends mentioned that she didn't really like video chatting, so Pearl's writing lesson for the day was to write a letter to her friends. She learned the five parts of a letter and we read the story Dear Mr. Blueberry.

Her brother Orion also dictated a letter to me for his good friend in Wellington. 

Then after a large block of reading and a bit of playing, we rugged up and went for a little walk and play at the tree swing. We often go for a bike ride or dog walk. But due to a bit of rain today, we stayed close to home.

Pearl has recently asked to learn Japanese. She is using the app, Duolingo to learn and has completed the first level, which teaches sounds and pronounciation of the language. She has been interested in Japanese culture for a while now because her dad is an Animator and has intoduced her to Studio Ghibli films, which she loves. 

Then she began reading a new book; The Little Prince.  This is a lovely story that has sparked her imagination and I am sure some good writing and inspired artworks will come from reading it.

A Poem by Pearl

Bird and Me

I am getting a Cockatiel (say: Coc-a-TEEL). That is a type of bird. They are very cute and very playful. They love cuddles too. They eat birdseed and a little treat (honey stick) every month or week. I will need to change it's food and water two times a day. I will also clean the bottom board a lot. Here are some things that I  will need:

• Cage 
• 2 perches 
• T-stand
• Toys
• Birdseed 
• Old newspapers
• Corn cob bedding 
• Veggies

Ovi's Cool Cretaceous

For the last couple of days, Pearl has been reading Dinosaurs: a Children's Encyclopedia.  We read this to her for her bedtime story for about a month when she was four. It has been so wonderful to hear her read it to us now that she is seven. Its a pretty information heavy book for her age. But she loves it. Naturally,  she gravitates toward the pages about dinosaurs with feathers and early birds, as she is completely obsessed with birds. A while ago she read a book about small bird like dinosaurs called Oviraptosaurs. Illustrations of these dinosaurs are adorable.

We have been doing a bit of geology work and one of her assignments was to write a comic using te reo words that pertain to the rock cycle. She could choose three words from a list of five. She loved this idea and is still working on the comic. She looked up several other words to support her story as well, such as ana (cave), rakau (tree), and hēke (egg). Her stoy is about a little dinosaur named Ovi who gets caught up in a volcanic eruption and runs away with another character who gives her a stone that makes her immortal  and transports her into the future. Here is the first page.

One of her favorite comics at the moment is the Adventures of Ook and Gluck. It is fiction, but at times it weaves some educational facts into it, particularly about Neanderthals.  For example, we were discussing how Archeologists have found thread in Neanderthal caves, which  suggests that they sewed. Pearl added that Neanderthals were intelligent and interbred with modern humans. So Pearl was influenced by this type of writing. Comic strip writing is not a recognized formal type of writing, but it can really get her to write and express what she knows. 

Contuing with her interests, Pearl read for most of the day. This evening she then painted a painting of dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period, most of which were from the Oviraptersour family.  It turned out beautifully. 

A Bit of Geology

Yesterday Pearl and Orion went on a rock hunt. They brought back a bag full of rocks each. Pearl the chose three to make onservations about.

She learned basic geological vocabulary around describing and catagorising rocks through using a template that I designed for her. We discussed what each word meant before starting the activity. Afterward she used the Rockcheck app to identify what type of rock it was, and learn about how it was formed.

She concluded that the rocks were metamorphic rocks comprised mostly of  iron rich clay, limestone and some quartz. She then watched a short animated film about the three types of rocks and how they were formed. 

She has always been interested in rocks and how the earth was formed and ever changing. She used her prior knowledge and recalled how pressure and erosion work together to form different types of rocks, and refernced the Rock Cycle again to discuss how metamorphic rocks were once sedimentary rocks.  She also discussed that the rocks were made of clay and while they were brought in from another place  for our driveway, they are made up of clay, like most of our property. This made her wonder if the rocks were from nearby. I reminded her of the rock quarry that we pass when driving to the next town to go shopping. All of this got her thinking and processing. This activity forcused on the Nature of Science Strand of the NZ Curriculum and worked on expanding her understanding and ability to communicate in this field. Next steps will be to learn more about the other types of rocks through exploration from other geographic areas nearby and do more hands on learning activities to solidify her understanding of the rock formation process.

Beach of fun!

By Pearl Loomis

I went to the beach and I had a blast!
I made a zoo in a rock pool and people tried to spot li'l critters in the pool. Can you?

Orion had fun too! He held a bigish crab...

Fishies, shrimp, starfish, snails, crabs! So many animals! I went to Waipu Cove. Here is another image of the beach. 🏊‍♀️

BEAUTIFUL BEACH!!!

Parts of the Earth

Pearl is interested in Geology. She has asked to learn more about this subject. Lately we have been learning about cave formations as there are so many interesting caves in our area. She is also interested in the more general topic of Geology. So we started with Plate Tectonics.  I read an article from education.com to her and the we watched a short video for kids about it. Naturally she said she already knew all of it. So she suggested we watched the second half of a Magic School Bus Rides Again episode that is about the transformation of  rocks through the Rock Cycle. Afterward she made the connection that the Rock Cycle was directly related to Plate Tectonics.  Pearl has a lot of knowledge on the subject already. The Earth Science area of the Te Papa Museum has a lot of great interactive displays that illustrate what is actually happening, and we have spent many hours there over the years. After the lesson, I recorded what she knew. Then I asked her to make a comic relating to Plate Tectonics.  This is what she created below. I think we may go over vocabulary around the different ways that the plates move tomorrow.

Fractions!

Pearl has been working on fractions. To start, she learned what the numerator and denominator rspresentsd. She had prior knowledge of this and did have basic knowledge about common fractions such as ½, ¼, and ⅓. Her first excercise was to write the fractions, using a worksheet with circles and bars. The next excercise was to shade the fractions. The next excercise was looking at fractions in seperate pieces. She did an excercise with Jelly beans where she had to write the fraction of each colour of jelly bean in a group. This was good as Orion, her little brother could also practice his counting.

Next, Pearl worked on expanding and reducing fractions. She recognized patterns in the denominators and numerators. She also became pretty excited when she realized  that 5,000/10,000 was the same as ½. Today, Pearl worked on adding fractions. She only added fractions with the same denominators. Her next step will be to add fractions with different denominators. She will have to recall how to expand and reduce fractions. Pearl has only been working on her fractions over the last week. She will need a lot more practice to solidify her understanding. She will build on her understanding. Then she will work on several different fraction excercises and have more opportunities to apply her knowledge to everyday life through baking, word problems, and whatever else I can think of!

Waka Huia

Today Pearl asked to make something from the book, Māori Art For Kids, by Julie Noanoa and Norm Heke.

She chose to make a Waka Hui. Together we read the description of what a Huia Box was and why it is important in Māori culture. Traditionally it was reserved for rangatira (chiefs) to keep their toanga (treasure).  But the purpose of the box has evolved over time where more common people can also hold their treasures. We also talked about the Huia bird and I got a sense of what she knew about them. She knew they were extinct and that rats and stotes were a culprit.

She then read the instructions and followed them to make her own little treasure box. She traced the template and cut out the box.

She then painted the box and cut out sponge shapes to decorate it.

After assembling the box, Pearl and Orion used the 12 Huia Birds App (https://www.yoozoo.nz/12huiabirds) which is an interactive picture book App about the demise of the Huia Bird. I reccomend  it for children and adults to get a general understanding of this subject. What worked out perfectly was that there was a section about the Waka Huia. Pearl spotted it and recalled what she had learnt prior about it.

After using the app, Pearl and her brother Orion, recalled all of the factors that resulted in the Huia's extinction. This is the list that they came up with:

• Rats
• Cats
• Dogs
• Stotes and weasels
• Hunters
• Putting them in cages
• Fashion
• Māori saw the feathers as prized

Afterward, I read the story, Taniwha by Robyn Kahukiwa. This was a beautiful story about a little boy who befriended a taniwha in the river. In the end the taniwha gave the boy gifts which were a stone, feather, and soil. They represented Māori god's Tangaroa and Papatuanuku, as well as Ranginui. The final illustration was of the boy holding his treasures in a special box. Here we discussed how the boy's box could be considered a waka huia, as recalled that the contemporary use has changed.

We then listened to RNZ's recording of a man's Huia bird call. He was one of the last people to hear the Huia bird before it's extinction.

When the lesson  was finished, Pearl found a Magpie feather and placed it in her waka huia. This is signifigant as the feather was black and white like that of a Huia Bird.

This lesson's learning areas were in English and the Arts of the NZ Curriculum. It upheld the Principle of Te Titirit o Waitangi by giving Pearl the opportunity to learn some  basic te reo vocab and Tikanga Māori. Pearl used Languag Symbols and Texts to explore these ideas, including digital technology. Next steps may be to get her to write about the Waka Huia or the extinction of the Huia Bird, or do another art activity from the Māori Art for Kids book. We may follow Pearl's interests about birds and learn more about local conservation for endangered birds in our local area as well.

In the Mushroom Kingdom Basics

Pearl was asked to make a fairy garden and use it for inspiration to write a story. I collected moss, plants and mushrooms on a walk. I staged the mushrooms as Pearl directed for her photos. Afterwards they were disgarded, as I am away they are poisonous if eaten. Her story is a work in progress and will be completed in a future post. Her objectives are to include introducing the characters, setting, and plot.
By Pearl Loomis
This is the Mushroom Kingdom. My name is Marigold. I live with Birdie and Pricila. I am a unicorn. Birdie is a pegasus and Pricila is a magical pony.

I live a happy life.  My best friend Sammie visits me all the time. Samie is a walking fish from the river Kingdom.

Who ever believes in magic can come across the Mushroom Kingdom and see it.

The Kingdom's flag is a brown feather.

But the reason it's called the Mushroom Kingdom is because of the giant luck  Mushroom. If your love is true, it will grant you a wish and you will have luck.

I love the Mushroom  Kingdom, but I have a family far away.

My mummy and little sister are waiting.

This is my room.

TO BE CCONTINUED 

Living On a One Acre Farm Volume 1

Today Pearl Loomis made Cobb bird houses. Cobb is a type of clay that you make. Cobb is used for making houses and bricks.
The ingredients are:

• Clay rocks 
• Water 
• Hay
• A big bucket
• Sand 

How to make Cobb:
1. Put the clay rocks in the bucket.

2. Add water.

3. Squish the clay a little and then add sand.

4. Add the hay.

5. Mix the ingredients a little.

My bird house was just as planned.

Simple Cave Weta Facts

Cave Weta live in New Zealand.  They are native and nocturnal animals. In the day time Cave Weta hide in caves, tunnels, hollow trees, and under rocks. At night they will come out to eat plants (not leaves) mushrooms and dead bugs. Cave weta can jump up to 3 meters. Cave Weta cannot hear but have long antenni. They also have foot pads and can sense ground vibrations.
This information was found at https://www.visitzealandia.com/About/The-Wildlife/Reptiles-Frogs-Invertebrates/Cave-Weta