Hi Reader,

I hope you're doing well and had a smooth and successful week in your classroom. As we head into the next week, I want to pause and check in, share a little craft idea from my students, and also highlight some upcoming global celebrations you might weave into your lessons or classroom community.

My students pretended to travel to the North Island of New Zealand last week. They learned some fun facts about the kiwi bird. Here is what I shared with them:

• Kiwis are flightless birds found only in New Zealand.
• Kiwis have nostrils at the tips of their beaks.
• Their feathers are more hair-like in texture.
• The name "kiwi" comes from the Māori language. The kiwi fruit got its name because of its outward resemblance to the kiwi bird. 🥝

Here is a simple craft your students can do to make their own kiwis:

Each one turned out so unique and honestly only took 15 minutes to make. We put them up on a bulletin board for display, along with a sheep that one of my students made at home specifically for our trip. 😀

Here are the simple steps:

1. Draw a small almost complete circle on brown construction paper.
2. Draw a short neck and then a larger circle for the body.
3. Cut it out.
4. Use a brown or black crayon to draw little lines on it, representing the hair-like feathers.
5. Use small pieces of yellow construction paper to draw the narrow beaks and feet.
6. Cut those pieces out and glue them on.
7. Add extra details like a googly eye and nostrils on the beak.

This craft works well because it reinforces: geometry (circles/lines), fine motor skills (cutting/gluing), art (texture via diagonal lines), and the science/geography fact-sharing about the bird and New Zealand. We got the idea to make the kiwis from this website. It has lots of other great ideas to help students learn more about New Zealand.

Upcoming International Holidays/Celebrations

Here are a few global holidays that might tie in with classroom discussion or cultural awareness activities:

• Diwali (Festival of Lights) - this year around October 20 in many places (India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, etc.)
• Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) - typically October 31 – November 2, celebrated in Mexico and many Latin American communities.

It would be interesting to discover if any of your students celebrate these holidays.

Thank you for the energy and care you bring to your students every day. I hope this little craft adds a bit of fun to the week and gives your students a memorable moment learning about New Zealand and the amazing kiwi bird.

Have a wonderful week!

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