The Gnuffs

The Gnuff Family

Grandpa, Grandma, Pa, Ma, Rimu, Rata, Baby Fern.

There has been magical happenings at Nature Discovery, Mrs Shaw wondered if it might be the Gnuffs. She had seen and heard of the Gnuffs before but this was a long time ago. This week when we arrived at the shed there was a note from the Gnuffs. The note welcomed us and then led us on a wonderful treasure hunt, the Gnuffs had left us many clues and taonga to find. During the morning we had a special visitor Mrs Shaw number 2, she remembered the Gnuffs also, and came to tell the story that she had heard from the birds of Fiordland about how they had seen the Gnuffs working their magic within Te Anau again.

The Woody Hollows

At Nature Discovery today we discovered a new area to play in. We have called it the Woody Hollows. Tallulah, her Mum and Caleb made a stone sculpture, Gabbie found a Moth that she looked after for a while then let go. The Woody Hollow had lots of trees, leaves and sticks for us to build and make things with. One of our parents from DOC taught the children how to look for shelter and make arrows to show adults where they are if the get lost. We have started playing a Search and Rescue game practicing these skills and of course our Nature Discovery call. We all enjoyed lighting the fire for the thermette and having our Milo right in the middle of the Woody Hollows, it was like camping.

Charcoal Drawings

October 13th

Today we used the old charcoal from our fire which we put in an ash can at the end of the day.  It was now cold and we wanted to see if we could draw pictures with it.  The pieces were various shapes and sizes.  Some pieces we could draw thin lines like using a pencil and other pieces we rubbed over the paper to create wider and lighter lines or areas.

Shelby used the thin small pieces to draw a helicopter.  We all had fun making patterns on our paper with the charcoal.

It was great to discover that we didn't need to bring pencils and crayons to Nature Discovery to be able to draw - we can just use charcoal instead.

Big Splashes at Nature Discovery

Today at Nature Discovery we made bird feeders.

Caleb said "We spread peanut butter on to a pine cone then we rolled it in bird food and then we hung it up on the tree. I liked making the bird feeders. Shelby's Dad and my Dad helped me, they lifted me up to put it in the tree."

On the way back to the car park we found a big puddle it was too tempting we just had to jump in it. Everybody got really wet and even got water in their Gumboots.

Jacob said "I loved splashing and making other people absolutely wet."

Liam said "I liked splashing and going on my knees in the puddle."

One of the big rocks became a diving board with children jumping off to create bigger splashes. I can't wait for the next Nature Discovery day.

A cold and frosty day at Nature Discovery July 28

Today it was very cold and frosty, we tired to slide down the hill on our bottoms but we couldn't slide down by ourselves so Mrs Shaw pulled us down by our feet. Sophie and Chloe's Dad had a better idea - he got us to hold on to each other and he slid us all together going down backward.

I was so cold we went on a big walk to find some sun, and then walked back to the shed where Hunter was waiting with the fire going. We sat around the fire warmed up and toasted marshmallows.

"I liked toasting the marshmallows on the camp fire" said Chloe

"I liked it when Mrs Shaw pushed me down the mountain it was fun" said Zayla

"Dad was pulling us down the slippery grass, it was tickling my back, it was fun" said Sophie

"I like toasting sausages on the fire, the fire is nice and warm' said Rosebud

Outdoor learning

What fun we had today.  Writing our first initial with stones, weaving and building in a gravel pit and flying on the trees.  The best part for some of us was lighting the fire for the thermette so we could have a nice hot Milo.

The Singing Log

Wednesday 19th May

"We found a pathway that led to a big long log.  We pretended that it was a sleigh and all the children fitted on it.  I sang Jingle Bells and  the other children joined in the song and Mum was the reindeer with big antlers and her name was Rudolph.  My name was Santa. We balanced on the log, it was long , very,very long." as told by Rosebud

Jumping in Fiordland

5th May 2010  

It was a beautiful Fiordland Autumn day  and we walked up to the top of the hill where we stopped to play.

"Liam's Dad, he played the Limbo Stick and jumping with us.  He put a long stick into the fence so we could go under it. We needed to get our tummy out and our head back to get under.  Then we went over  the stick by jumping and getting your legs over.   We went to Bunny Hole Hill for lunch cos it was a nice sunny place." as told by Lisa

Autumn in Fiordland

Autumn in the park.  21st April 2010

Today was our first Nature Discovery  day after the holidays and we discovered that many of the trees had changed colour.  The leaves were yellow, brown, orange and red.  

"We found lots of toadstools, they were red with white spots.   They were really round and  looked nice and pretty.  We didn't touch them because they are poisonous and can make us sick." said Sid.

We jumped and rolled in the leaves.  It was fun.  The leaves were colourful, they were yellow, red and colourful." said Liam 

Wednesday 24th March

Today was our first real test of Nature Discovery in cooler temperatures and steady rain.  Unfortunately after we took our one and only picture the camera batteries went flat.  The children had lots of fun sliding down mudslides and splashing in puddles and ended up covered in mud from head to toe.  They looked like they were in camo for duck shooting time.  During lunch all children said it was their favourite activity today.

3rd February - More fun at Nature Discovery

Today, we found some big rocks to climb and pretended that we were Dinosaurs.  We were really scary and made lots of noise.

We also added more branches to our hut in the trees next to the climbing trees that we love to climb.  It was nice and shady in our hut and a great place to have some quiet time if we wanted to.  Another fun filled day!!!

Bear Hunt at Nature Discovery

We're going on a bear hunt. Uh oh long grass! We can't go over it, we can't go under it, we'll have to go through it.  We even found a rabbit hole.  Watch your step.

Castles and Rivers at Nature Discovery

December 16 2009

What a fun morning we had.  Working together and guided by Summer we made two castles that were connected by a river.  The river had bushes on the edge and we used flowers for fish.  Summer worked very hard designing the bedrooms inside the castle.  She used flowers and grass for the beds and floor.  I think the castles and the river are amazing!  

It rained on Fiordland Kindergarten Nature Discovery

December 09 2009

Today was a test of our new TOI wet weather gear

It was the first day we have had rain - it well and truly kept us dry.

We tried to catch the rain drops in our hands - but didn't have much luck.  We made shelters with bark and sticks and used our tarpaulins too.

We were still able to all the things we love to do even though it was raining.

Here we are on the climbing rocks - a little bit slippery in the rain but still lots of fun - we just had to be more careful!

December 2 2009

Today on Fiordland Kindergarten Nature Discovery we pretended that we were a train going through a tunnel of trees.   It was dark like a tunnel.

We all found 10 sticks each and built things with them.  Some of us built buildings by twisting the sticks into the ground. Others made train tracks and rivers across the grass.   They all looked awesome and each one was different.  Some of us joined together so that we would have more sticks to work with and make our creations bigger.  Great teamwork.

Wednesday 25th November 2009

Today at Nature Discovery we added more sticks and bush branches to our shelter.  It was fun walking on the track.  Nico found some buttercups and went round holding it under his friends chins to see if they liked butter.

November 17th 2009

We had fun rolling down "Bunny Hole Hill".     We could see rocks under the water.

Today we began Fiordland Kindergarten Nature Discovery

November 11 2009

Today was the first day of our new adventure that we call "Nature Discovery"  Every Wednesday morning for the whole morning our teachers and parents take the eldest 10 of us out into nature.   

Here you can see us discovering the climbing rocks and trees.