Week 2: Water, water, everywhere. Day 1: Swimming with fish

Welcome to the second week of the Summer Learning Journey. We hope that you enjoyed learning about the amazing land habitats that we have here in New Zealand and overseas. This week we are going to  focus on water; the lakes, rivers and oceans that make up our beautiful country. Are you ready to jump in and get wet? Let’s hope you brought your togs!

Activity 1: Surfs Up!

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.

One of my favourite activities is reading. I like reading in quite places but it is quite hard to find quiet places to read in my house! Very chaotic with 3 noisy brothers! The day before my birthday I purchased some books for me to read. It is a series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Here is me with my books the first night I had it.

What was included?

First book: Percy Jackson and the lightning thief

Second book: Percy Jackson and the sea of monsters

Third book: Percy Jackson and the titans curse

Fourth book: Percy Jackson and the battle of the labyrinth.

Fifth book: Percy Jackson and the last Olympian

Extra book: Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods.

Activity 2: The Great Taupo Cycle Challenge

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.

My support team:

Astin. She is organised and reliable she will make sure we go down the right tracks and make sure that we don't get lost.

Imogen. She would be walking (well, riding) med kit and the encourager. In case one of us get hurt she will be the one we call to. She will also make sure we don't give up. No matter how hard it looks.

Putri. She would be the entertainer. She will make sure we always have a smile on our faces at all times. She is the helper of all team members. She will help Imogen when someone is injured, she will also help Astin navigate.

I would help all my team so we can successfully make it to the finish line.

Activity 3: Something Smells Fishy…

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.

True or False?

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