Green Grubs Garden Club

Fresh air, bare feet ad grubby hands = active learning! Fun, down-to-earth nature based ideas & educational resources for Grubby kids!

Gumboot-Up New Zealand!

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It’s totally heart warming the way kiwis have thrown themselves behind @gumbootfriday & @iamhope_nz to raise funds to provide free counselling for any kids who need it!👌🤗 You don’t need to give me an excuse to wear my gumboots – these are the boots we wore on our wedding day over a decade ago!! 💕 (Our ceremony location required a short stroll down through the bush, so we asked our wedding guests to design, make and wear gumboots that reflected some of our passions – the ultimate ice breaker and so much fun!! 🙌😎)

#gumbootfriday #5april2019 #mikekingyourock #getyourbootson #gumbootup

Make sure you snaffle up our *FREE* G=Gumboot activity pack (normally a paid resource that’s part of our Kiwiana Alphabet activity bundle, but now *FREE* in support of this amazing cause)

Click here to grab your FREE set of Gumboot-Up printables!

It’s a great activity for the last week of term and the perfect way to reflect on all the goings-ons of Gumboot Friday. Complete and fold a teeny-tiny gumboot booklet, then add a photo/illustration and writing to the ‘Gumboot-Up NZ’ publishing pages!

Looking for our other Kiwiana Alphabet activities? You can check out the full A-Z range here on Tpt!

Kia kaha Christchurch

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Holding you gently in our thoughts Christchurch. 💔 Kia kaha to those of you who will be back in the classroom Monday morning compassionately helping your little learners to negotiate the aftermath of this event. #kiakaha #loveyouchch #christchurch #otautahi

At times like this, there’s always strength in unity. If you’re looking for a quiet way to reflect on the events of the past week, you might find this colouring sheet helpful..

Click here to download a FREE copy of the colouring sheet above.

Back to School Resources for the Kiwi classroom!

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Ease into term one’s routines with these handy (and FREE!) ‘first week of school homework sheets’ – perfect for getting to know your new class and their families a little better. It includes a one page print out for the children in your class to complete, plus a double sided sheet for their parents/caregivers.

‘First week of school’ homework sheet for your new students!

I have never failed to be amazed at the amount of new information I learn from these sheets – it’s always interesting to compare the child’s sheet, with their parents and also their previous teacher’s reports. I recommend printing and keeping a few extra copies on hand for any new students that arrive during the year. This simple FREE printable is our most popular download – 60,000+ downloads to date!

You can find this instant download here – I hope you find it useful!

Print the parent/caregiver version double sided to save paper!

The student version of the homework sheet now also includes a space for the children to record their Maunga & Awa (Mountain and River) as a quick and easy way for children of all ethnicities to share where their family’s roots lie. *If you’re looking for a more in depth way for your class to share their full mihi/pepeha, you might want to check out our FREE mihimihi booklet (link in image caption below)

Find our FREE Mihi/Pepeha here!

Another great ‘getting to know you’ activity for the start of the year (which forms an interactive wall display) is using the standard A2 classroom wall maps, labels and string to link children’s names to places they went on holiday (or maybe countries/towns where they have relatives or were born) I always found it useful to have an NZ map, plus a world map on hand as you’re never quite sure where this activity might lead you! *link to our Map Labels resource in the caption below!

You can find our Map labels resource in our store here!

Setting up your classroom this month? You might want to have a peek at some of the other kiwi themed ‘back to school’ resources in our website store (tab at the top) to help you bring a splash colour and fun learning to your classroom. Have a smooth and productive start to the new school year guys!

You can find our full ‘back to school range’ here!

If teachers are a pie, here’s who gets a slice…..

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As we roll into another week of strike action, I’m struck by the fact that so much of the media and general public still seem to be missing the point on what’s actually going on in our classrooms.  This is my attempt to present a complex issue in a more visual way.  So basically, here’s the struggle:

I’m aware that not all classroom are exactly like this, but the overall trend remains the same – too many needs, too many kids, and not enough hours in the day (or night) to meet them.

Do kids seem to be arriving at school with more issues recently?  Yes, but I think it’s only become a massive stress factor recently due to the creeping expectations around EVERYTHING ELSE we’re also supposed to be doing.  We don’t seem to have that buffer anymore of a little extra time or flexibility to be able to absorb the additional challenges, or deviate from our plans to meet needs in a holistic way.  We’re at maximum capacity in so many areas.  

Add to that stress that anyone who’s ever attended school thinks that they’re an expert (and has an opinion), but many people have failed to account for the MASSIVE changes in teacher accountability, expectations, and hours now required to do the job. 

I’m sure everyone appreciates the offer of 600 extra “learning support”staff made by the government in the latest offer – but there is very little information about how this might actually work and the kids need support now, not in 2020 (plus, there are over 2500 schools in New Zealand!)

Kua tae te wā – it’s time and something really needs to change…. (well, actually many things)  Below are a few small examples of how just about everything but the pay has changed over time…

 Click here to grab your FREE printable versions of these images!