Chirpy in New Zealand

Look who's flown all the way from New York to New Zealand (with the help of Qantas Airlines) - Chirpy!

Chirpy was given to me by one of my 4th grade students last June. My problem is that I now can't remember who gave me this cute little bird! Can you help? Please click Comments at the end of this posting and tell me if you know who gave it to me. On the last day of school, the class submitted possible names. "Chirpy" won.

So, what has this little robin from New York been doing while in a foreign country you might ask?

He loves to sit in the garden at his new home and listen to the birds. Many of the birds here are different from the ones back home. He is also happy to know that there are NO snakes in New Zealand, so he feels very safe.

Chirpy loves being out in the countryside. There are so many beautiful places to see in New Zealand! This area is one of his favorite because it's by the ocean, and in the hills where the sheep run free and the birds sing all day.

He also likes being up in the Southern Alps. They are very tall mountains. When we were there the lupine flowers were in bloom covering the mountainsides. The mountains are so high that there's snow on them even in the summertime.

But Chirpy can't just play every day. Sometimes he has to go to school. The Kiwi kids love Chirpy! They think he is very cute.

Here he is being read to by a 7-year-old boy. Chirpy LOVES reading books, ever since he visited Mrs. Acito's room at Cottage Lane and discovered all of her beautiful books. If you haven't seen them ask her about them! Many of the children in this class read to Chirpy and everyone enjoyed the afternoon.

Some of the older kids found a book for Chirpy they KNEW he would love. Can you tell why?! (Hint: Enlarge the picture by clicking on it. Then click the back button.)

They also wanted to show Chirpy a globe so he could see his route from New York to California, and then California to New Zealand's South Island. Click here to go to Google Earth and see if you can find the same route.

When Chirpy isn't reading, or thinking about traveling, his favorite school activity is RECESS! He loves playing with the kids and the kids love playing with him. He especially liked this game with the geometry building set. Not only did the kids build neat things with them, but they could also tell whether they had built a pentagon, hexagon, or octagon.

One of the kids even made Chirpy a special nest during his free time. Wasn't that kind of him?

If you have any questions or comments for Chirpy, just click Comment at the bottom of THIS POSTING (Don't scroll all the way to the bottom of the page). He's flying up to the town of Kaikoura for a few days, but when he returns he'd be happy to answer your questions.