The Manaiakalani Network Blogging
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Hey bloggers, welcome back to my blog today for my task I had to create a cartoon Megalodon with the tools on Google drawing and it was really fun using different tools as well because I think this will help me in other learning times so I can use them you never know when I need them!!!
My task:
The tools I used:
It was really fun and make sure to drop a comment to help me reach my hundred comment goal!!!!
Hey bloggers welcome back to my blog for today’s step it up I had to add facts for the bugs I found, it was really Interesting to know some of the facts too!!! I hope you enjoy reading my blog mad looking at the task I created!!!! Make sure to also drop a comment!!!!
My task:
Hope you enjoyed reading the facts I added and I stepped my taks up with some bedazzling on the words hope you like it!!! PS: were the facts interesting????
Hey bloggers, welcome back to my blog for ( I’ll be doing previous tasks today so I’ll just say today) today’s last kickstart task I had to do a bug hunt and had to hunt for bugs but since it was raining in my area I couldn’t go out so I decided to draw some of the bugs I have seen earlier in the week! And to step it up I researched some of the interesting facts about them and I really enjoyed researching and writing the info in my own words! Hopefully you enjoy looking at the poster I made below with my own tools!
My work:
The task was really fun and I overcame mistakes with fixing it to different shapes but was a cool and fun task!!!!
Today, I continued yesterday’s activity – the Peripatus Step It Up. For the Step It Up activity, I have to build a catapult and test how far it can shoot. I first made a very simple small catapult with a clothing peg, some popsicle sticks and elastic banks to hold everything together. Then I decided to try to build a bigger version of catapult with some popsicle sticks, masking tape, wooden skewers, a plastic straw and a rubber band. Just for the fun of it and also wanted to see if it will make any different compare to the small one. My hypothesis is the bigger the catapult, it will shoot the further and higher. The smaller the catapult, it will not shoot very far.
This task was originally meant to shoot slime, but it was pouring and thundering outside, and I didn’t want to get the carpet stuck with slime, so I used some of my Go game pieces for the catapult to shoot instead. Go is a type of board game incase if you don’t know what Go is.
Conclusion: The small catapult is easy to make, launches really high, but not very far. The big catapult is really good for launching, high, far and strong. It is a bit harder to made, but it’s a lot more fun to shoot. You can hear the how hard it clashed the wall from my video.
If you have a catapult in the wild, what would you shoot at?
Today, I completed yesterday’s activity with our native part worm part insect shooting superhero – the Peripatus or the Ngāokeoke! They are New Zealand’s giant native earthworms, are full of surprises, some stretch over a metre long, some glow faintly in the dark, and a some even smell like vanilla or violets when disturbed. They glide through deep forest soil like slow, muscular ropes, leaving tiny volcano‑shaped mounds where they push earth to the surface. And when they’re startled, certain species can shoot out a burst of slippery slime, helping them slide deeper into their tunnels before anything can grab them. They’re quiet, ancient ecosystem engineers shaping the forest from below.
For this task, I was inspired by the shooting slime and delicious meal. I needed to make my mushy snacks. I started off with making mashed potatoes, using a folk, butter and some boiled potatoes. Then I prepared some pâté with butter and cream cheese on crackers. Here is some photos of my delicious snacks inspired by Ngāokeoke.
Top – Mashed potato and bacon cracker. Bottom left – Pâté cracker. Bottom right – Apricot cream cheese cracker.
Conclusion after tasting: I found both mashed potatoes with some bacons sprinkled on top and pâté on crackers are the best. Cream cheese on cracker tasted ok, but definitely not my favourite, a little bit too sweet for me. I personally preferred savory snacks better.
What is your favourite mushy snack?
Today I completed Wednesday’s kick start activity with the Pekapeka – our native bats. For this task, I first did a quick match up quiz about pekapeka. That was really quick and easy warm up task. Then I had to make a bat ornament.
I was given some instructions on one way to make the ornament including using some stencils provided, twigs/branches, black paper/card, and some string to hang the pekapeka. It was raining and thundering when I was doing this activity, so I thought of my own alternative. I had an indoor plant by the window and I thought I might just use it as part of my bat ornament.
I found this Chinese paper cutting craft with 5 bats on it, so I printed and cut it out carefully. After I finished, I first place on my sweat shirt and see how it look on me. Then I put it on a pink sheet of paper and slipped it in a clear pocket folder as if it was laminated, because I don’t have a laminator at home. Here are some photo of the ornament placing around because it is portable.
Do you learn better when following instructions or when you think of something new?
Today, I completed the last science experiment with Eleanor. This experiment was to germinate a seed, as demonstrated in a bag by Eleanor. To do this, Eleanor told us to use seeds such as fruits like watermelon and apple, or even plants and vegetables like beans! Eleanor’s bean took 2 days in the bag stuck on the window with sunlight to sprout, and there was a soaked paper towel in the zip lock bag. After demonstrating the experiment, Eleanor allowed us who were on the meeting to ask some questions about it. Some of the questions were addressing root vegetables and whether they would work or not. Eleanor replied with the fact that root vegetables are a different and another thing.
For the experiment, I filled a jar with green mung beans and water. I left it there, soaked, under the cupboard overnight. The reason why I didn’t put it under the sun was because it was night time already by the time I was starting this experiment, also mung beans don’t need sun to sprout or germinate because beansprout doesn’t need photosynthesis. When the mung bean sprouts are long enough, it is very delicious to scramble with eggs and spring onions which usually take a week to be long enough and ready to eat.
Before Eleanor announced this experiment, we also had some kumara and ginger sitting in the kitchen that was sprouting on its own. Here are some photos of our sprouting foods.
Left to right – day 0, overnight, day 2, day 3, day 4.
Upper – sprouted kumara. Lower – sprouted ginger.
At what stage do you like eating your foods? Sprouts, baby leaves, massive leaves, fruits or roots?
For today’s Summer Learning Journey Challenge, I completed a bug hunt. I had so much fun exploring my home to see all the insects I could find and adding pictures of them to a Google Drawing. It was really interesting to notice all the little bugs around me and carefully place each one in my drawing. I enjoyed being creative with how I arranged them and making sure every insect I saw was included.
I felt really happy sharing this experience on my blog because it gave me a chance to show others what I discovered and how I organized my bug hunt. Even though I couldn’t include actual photos of the insects, I was excited to describe my work in words so everyone could imagine it. This challenge was really enjoyable and gave me a sense of pride in what I accomplished.
Take a look below to see my Bug Hunt!
Today I began another one of the Summer Learning Journey Challenges, and this time I did a bug hunt. I really enjoyed taking part in this challenge because it gave me the opportunity to explore and notice all the insects around me. I had so much fun putting pictures of the insects I found in my home onto a Google Drawing. It was exciting to see all the different bugs I could find and to organize them in a way that made sense. This activity made me feel proud of my work, and I was very happy with how my bug hunt turned out.
I was especially excited to share this challenge on my blog so others could see the insects I discovered and how I organized them in my Google Drawing. Even though I couldn’t include real photos of the bugs, I was still very happy to share my work in this way so everyone could enjoy it. Overall, this was a really fun and interesting challenge, and I am glad I was able to take part and share my learning with others.
Below is my Bug Hunt!
Today I began another one of the Summer Learning Journey Challenges. For this Challenge, we had the chance to make a snack in the blender. This by far is now my favourite task out of everything. Not only because it is food related but because I would finally be able to destroy something in the blender and watch is sadly blenderise. I was also very happy because I would share this on my blog where everyone can see it. I took some photos of me blending together some oranges. In my culture when we blend oranges we are making something called Otai. This is a Tongan fruity drink that is made just by blending fruit. My favourite type of Otai is the Mango and Orange ones because they taste so amazing and sweet. Below are some photos I took of me making Otai. In the comments share if you have tasted Otai and what flavour is your Favourite!
Kick Start activity 1
I learnt about Unicorns, Pegasus’s, and Alicorns. These are all mythical creatures that are made up, but people in the olden days had thought they had actually seen them.! Unicorns are like horses with horns, a Pegasus is like a horse with wings and Alicorns are like horses with wings and horns! Here is a chart with the differences between these magical horses and a fact:
Starting Another Summer Learning Journey Challenge!
Today I began another one of my Summer Learning Journey Challenges, and I had so much fun! For this challenge, I got to create a Bat Roost, which was such an exciting and creative activity. I really enjoyed thinking about how to make a safe and comfortable space for the bats.
While working on this challenge, I learned some really cool facts about bats:
Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly.
Some bats can eat up to half their body weight in insects in just one night.
Bats use echolocation, which is like a natural sonar, to navigate and find food in the dark.
I’m so happy to share this challenge on my blog because it’s amazing to show everyone what I’ve created and what I’ve learned. Creating the Bat Roost was not only fun but also taught me a lot about these fascinating creatures!
Hi guys tody I made was saposed to find four bugs in my garden but there I couldent find eany.I had to search up the imeges on google and I chose a Bettel a ladybug a dragon fly and a spider.Hope you like it bye!
On this activity I had to take photos of bugs around your house.
I found some bugs but they were to quick for me to take a photo of so I made some bugs from paper.
It took me quite a while but I did it eventually.
Here is what I made.
Hello bloggers and welcome to my blog. Today is the 23rd of January 2026 Friday.
For today’s activity we are learning about bugs, also I am sorry I missed so much activities…..I went for a sleepover, that’s why, anyway back to the activity.
This SLJ took a lot of my patience because me and my sister had to hunt for bugs in our garden and we could not find a single one! So I decided to draw some bugs that I might catch in the future like moths, snails, centipedes etc.
This was really fun I would rate this a 9/10 because I love drawing bugs. One thing I learned today about bugs is that this bug called leaf veined slug, that had a leaf pattern on its body fascinating right?
I hope you like this post and make sure to leave a thoughtful,helpful and positive comment byee. 
j
Kia Ora bloggers! Welcome back to Somya’s blog! Today I have been doing the SLJ task! (The last SLJ task ever to be published in the times 2025-2026!) And today we had to carry on our work from the Kick Start Activtity task as the same thing as published twice. As I said in my kick start activity post I am not very keen on bugs and insects etc, that’s why I have done another drawing! But rather then just drawing some insects like I did in the kick start activity, I have attempted to draw the picture of SLJ 2025 – 2026 which looks ratherly pretty good! I spotted most of the insects etc but some of them I have missed, but if you can spot and more please let me know as then I can add them into my drawing! By the way guys I have blogged this by taking a photo, and then screenshoting it! I have also added the I have enjoyed doing this task and would rate it a 10/10! So this brings me to the end of my description I hope you enjoy if you did please don’t forget to comment something helpful, positive and thoughtful! And I would also like to say “Bye Bye Summer learning Journey! See You next Year!”
Here is the last every badge that I have ever earned from this years Summer Learning Journey!
Kia Ora bloggers! Welcome back to the second to last blog post of 2025 SLJ! The last topic for 2025 SLJ was (What we’ve been learning about today) is Bugs! And today regarding our learning about bugs we had to do a few things. For the last kick start Activity ever to be published in 2025-2026 summer learning journey is that we had 2 options. Either to go outside and take photo’s of bugs etc and then blog it. Or If we can’t find any bugs etc outside we can draw or take photo’s off Google and then submit those. Out of all those options, I didn’t;t like the first one as I am not to happy with insects around me, that;s why I did not go outside to take some photo’s of bugs living with me, but drew some creatures! I have drawn 5 insects that might b living outside with me. I am quite happy but not as happy with this task as the topic is bugs, so that’s why I would rate it a 9/10. The reason why I would rate it a 9/10 is because I don’t really like insects,, but otherwise the tasks fantastic it’s just that I don;t like bugs that much. By the way guys I have blogged this by taking a photo of my drawing in my drawing book and then screenshoting it and then adding the screenshot into my blog! Guys I have just uploaded my work onto my blog and It is pretty small so please adjust. I have also added the badge that I have earned from this task! So this brings me to the end of my task description I hope you enjoy, If you did please don’t forget to comment something helpful positive and thoguthful!
Here is the badge that I have earned from this task!
For this weeks Summer Learning Journey , We were given the amazing oppertunity to create a Tuatara Taonga using Play dough , Painting , Drawing , Digitaly , Leaf Collage , And I chose Digital because I would also gather informations and facts about Tuatara Taonga which really shocked me because I have seen these animals most of the time in websites , The Internet ( Etc ) . But , matters much is the reason why we are learning about this , is so that we are able to see what animals there are and to see what these animals life are looking for them right now and to discover if it was an animal that was from many years ago or when they were extinct , Where they often live and Where they are often found perhaps they live mostly in Australia or they mostly live on the North Island . We don’t know that is why were are studing facts about these animals to help us be prepared for these question. Before I started leaarning all about these facts we were provided a video showing steps and instructions on what we will be doing and what we will be creating. After that we were provided two videos , one that is Tuatara song and another showing us a video of , Meet The Locals : Tuatara . These two videos have already shown me so much informations and facts from just two videos . Two facts that I have learned is that they have cold heart and that so live off shore island in New Zealand . These two facts that I have just learnt was from the tuatara video which really help me understand in such a unique and fun way.
I have really enjoyed this activity because It really helped me learn more about Tuatara’s and that I am able to know where they are often located or found at . And I really appreciate having the time to create this wonderful work .
Kia Ora bloggers! Welcome back to Somya’s blog! Today I have been doing my SLJ task! Today for my SLJ task we had to make a “Peripatus Slingshot”! They said to youse slime but beacause I don’t have that at home that’s why I have used a rubber band and some paper! I have done this by getting a paper, folding it into a very small size until it’s like the size of a ant and then folding it like I guess I can call it “onto the rubber band?” And then fold the rubber band and the slingshot it! I have done this with a very fun way, as I have used a bit of time also learning on how to do the slingshot, I did this a few times, unfortunately for some reason my blog wasn’t letting me out all the video’s of every time I did something new but I could only put one, but anyways let me tell you! The first time I folded a plane and flew it. It flew quite far, but not as far.
Second time I slingshot the paper rubber band thing. It flew so far! Like because it flew so far, like my house didn’t have enough space otherwise I think it could’ve flew to mars! The third time I sling shotted a thing it was a paper scrunched up into a ball, it didn’t fly that far. The fourth time last but not least i flew a rock it flew pretty far, well Atleast it flew more then the scrunched up ball? So overall if I were to put these into rankings I would say on 4th place we have a scrunched up ball! On third place we have a rock! On 2nd place we have a plane! And on 1st place drum roll please we have the ultimate superstar the “Catapult!” I have joyed doing this task as I have learnt a new life strategies if I ever in the worst scenario have to catapult something, so that’s why I would rate this a 10/10! I would highly recommend this task to you! Actually guys, sorry I’ve just noticed after doing so much of a description that it is not letting me blog my stuff properly since I am blogging from my iPad. I was able to blog a photo but for some odd reason it’s not letting me blog the video, I am very sorry and if you have any idea or way that you know on how to fix this please leaf me know by commenting. So this brings me to the end of my task I hope you enjoy if you did please don’t forget to comment something helpful, positive and thoughtful!
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