Responsible Pet Ownership

Last week Melinda came to school with her beautiful dog Kato. She came to talk to us about being a responsible pet owner and all the things pets need to be happy and healthy. We learnt when we should not approach a dog and things that might scare a dog.
Melinda also taught us how to be safe if we meet a dog that is angry and its owner is not around. We must follow four steps:

Stand very still.
Hands down by your side

Be as quiet as a mouse.
Look at the ground.

When the dog goes away, walk slowly backwards and go on your way. 
If we see a dog and its owner, there are special steps we need to follow if we would like to pat the dog.

Walk up slowly and stop.
Ask the owner - "May I pat your dog?"

Hold your fist out to let the dog smell it.
Then gently stroke the dogs back.

Kato was such a lovely dog - she even gave some of the Preps kisses (licks) on their hands. 

It was wonderful to hear the Preps use the discoveries they had made at the RSPCA and all they had learnt from looking after the chicks to make connections with the learning Melinda presented.

Kato was very gentle

We had to be quiet and gentle too!
Thank you Melinda and Kato!

Preps tell your family something you discovered from meeting Melinda and Kato.

Our Chickens!

We got to hold our chickens yesterday. They felt so warm and fluffy. The chicks are growing so quickly we know they will be very happy going back to live on their farm in the country tomorrow. We will miss their cheerful chirping in the classroom.

Congratulations to the Preps for their wonderful work and taking great care of the chickens. We have learnt so much about living things by watching them hatch, grow and change right before our eyes! Having pets is a BIG responsibility.

Here we are holding onto our chicks!

 

Our Chickens from marieck

Preps talk to your families and tell them some of the things you enjoyed the most about having the chickens and something that you learnt that you didn't know before!
You can leave a comment - ask Mum and Dad to help you.

A Special Visitor!

Today we were very lucky to have Joel's Nonna come to school to tell us about her chickens. Nonna has five hens at home and she told us about all the things she needs to do to look after them. She has to clean the coop everyday and make sure it is nice and dry - because hens don't like to be wet. Nonna gives them food and fresh water each day. 
Mrs Kennedy was very proud of the great questions the Preps asked and we learnt a lot about what will happen to our chicks once they grow up.
Here are some of the questions we asked and Nonna's answers:

What is the coop made from?
The coop is made from wood and wire mesh. At night they go into the coop where they are safe from foxes and cats.

Are the chickens friendly?
Yes Joel can go into the coop and take an egg and the hen doesn't peck him.

What do you do with the eggs?
Nonna makes a special omelette for Joel - she makes a circle omelette and puts a smiley face on it with tomato sauce. Lucky Joel! 

What do the chickens eat?
They eat pasta, bread crusts, lettuce and any food scraps.

Do the chickens like their food?
Yes!

When do the hens lay their eggs?
They usually lay their eggs in the morning and sometimes after lunch. They lay eggs everyday - they lay more in the summer when the weather is warmer.

When do they go to bed?
As soon as it starts to get dark they go to their coop and jump up onto their perch and go to sleep. During winter they go at 6.00pm and during summer at 7.00pm.

What do they play with?
They don't have toys but they love to scratch the ground and walk around the garden eating bugs and snails. 

Here is Fluffy in the coop laying and egg

What a great coop - it keep the hens safe and warm!

Thanks Nonna!

Thank you to Joel's Nonna for coming to help us learn all about how to care for chickens!

What do you notice?

Hi Preps,
When I was at school checking the chicks I noticed something. Have a look at the photos below. What do you notice? Ask Mum or Dad to help you write a comment!

What do you notice?

We went to the RSPCA!

On Wednesday we went to the RSPCA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to learn about how they care for animals. Thanks Emily for helping us to learn so much.

The animals don't like too much noise because they might get scared. Campbell
I learnt that the guinea pigs and the rabbits need dried grass for one of their foods. Caitlin
I learnt that guinea pigs can only have a little bit of carrot or they will get a stomach ache. Sophie
I learnt that all pets need shelter so they can keep warm. Olivia
I learnt that animals need exercise so they can be fit. Simon
Animals need toys to play with so they don't get sad and they need a fence to keep them safe. Declan
I learnt that all animals need a Vet so they don't get sick. James
Animals don't like noise because they get a little bit scared. Cormac
All animals need to have food to be alive. Chantelle
All cows need to have a baby before they can make milk. Hamish
I learnt that all living things need water. Eva
I learnt that some cows are meat cows. Niamh
I learnt that cows only have teeth down the bottom of their mouth. Alexa
I learnt that cows have syrup on bouncy balls so they can lick it all off. Ebony
I learnt that cows give you milk. Riley
I learnt that cows can eat dried grass and hay. Gracie
I learnt that rabbits can have red eyes. Frances
I learnt that rabbits are not allowed to have too much carrot because it can hurt their stomachs. Joshua
I learnt that animals when they are scared they hide. Patrick
I learnt that animals need water, food, shelter, friends, Vet care and exercise. Joel
Guinea pigs need hiding places because they might be scared. Stephanie

Thanks Chrissy and Mrs David for coming with us!

We went to the RSPCA! on PhotoPeach

Our VERY Hairy Harrys need a haircut!

We have had so much fun being scientists and watching our Hairy Harrys grow. 

We have also learnt that living things need water, food and light to grow. 

We had one Hairy Harry in the cupboard with no light. We discovered that the Hairy Harry grew yellow hair - so we think that light helps to make grass green.

The Hairy Harry with no soil still grew - we are going to keep watching to see if it continues to grow.

The Hairy Harry with no water did not grow at all. We learnt that all living things need water!

Today we gave our very Hairy Harrys a haircut. Preps are amazing hairdressers!

Hairy Harry Haircuts! - slideshow

Why does light make grass green?
What do you think will happen to the Hairy Harry with no soil? Will it continue to grow?

Our Chickens are here!

Our chickens have arrived and we are very excited! 

Happy Mother's Day!

glitter-graphics.com

On Friday we had a special Mass and morning tea for all our Mums. The whole school made family posters with a special message for their mum.

Wishing all mums a wonderful Mother's Day!

How does your family celebrate Mother's Day?

How do you make your mum feel special?

We are VERY Eggcited!!

Today Mrs Kennedy had some exciting news. We are having some visitors to our classroom. We tried to guess who was coming - and we couldn't so Mrs Kennedy gave us a clue. Everyone got a little plastic egg and we had to think about what was inside. Here are some of our ideas:
a snake, a bird, a chick, a dinosaur, an alligator, a platypus and an octopus!
Then we opened our eggs and this is what we saw ......

The chickens will help us to learn about what living things need to grow and survive.

What do you think we will need to do to help our chickens grow?

Fun Maths!

This week in Maths we have been very busy measuring, comparing and discussing longer (and taller), shorter and the same as. Today we decided to use one of our feet to compare objects in the classroom. 

We knew we couldn't use one of our feet to measure everything - so we decided to measure one foot with unifix and use the unifix tower which was the same length as our foot to compare objects around the room. 

We had to find objects that were longer than our foot, shorter than our foot and the same length as our foot. 

Fun Maths from marieck

Can you find something longer, shorter and the same as your foot?