I thought it was really nice that the farmer gave the Sheppard some land to the farm. I thought it was nice because not much people these days would do that for each other because too many people just think about them selves.

If I found the gold in the story I would choose to share the gold with my family and friends because it is nice to share with others not just keeping it for your self.

I think if the Sheppard did not tell the farmer that he found the gold, the farmer would be upset or disappointed. I think this because if the farmer had of found the gold I believe the farmer would have told the Sheppard.

I agree with the student that said the gold should be used for the poor. The only thing that should change about that is that the majority of it should be given to the poor and the rest can be used for people in need of it.

I thought it was nice that the Sheppard saved the birds. I would have done the same thing. I mean a human wouldn’t like being slung by their feet and a bird doesn’t like it either.

I am not sure how the garden could have been built if the birds were not involved but I think if everyone pitched in the garden could have still been built even with the birds involved.I think the garden could be used for anyone not just the poor people because it is unfair for the other people who want to use the garden.

by Kailah

 

In the story, The Magic Garden, there were two neighbours who were very good friends. One was a farmer, the other was a shepherd. One of them had rocky hard land, and he only farmed sheep. One year, there was a disease which spread around the land. The farmers sheep all became ill and died. The farmer let the shepherd share half of his land so that he could stay. 

The first problem in the story is that the man who looked after sheep had to leave because all his sheep died. The solution to this problem was that both farmers shared the same land together. He was able to stay because he had some land to work on. 

The second problem in the story was that one day, one of the farmers found a pot of gold coins. Because they were such good friends, neither of them could accept the money. The solution to this problem was that they went to the village wise man to ask for some advice. 

The third problem was when the man with the gold coins was supposed to go out and buy some seeds with the gold so that he could make a garden. Before he bought any seeds, he saw some beautiful birds witch were all tied to a camel. He asked the man with the camel what he was going to do with the birds. The man told him that they are going to be eaten by the Khan, and that Khan’s palace will be decorated with their colourful feathers. The person with the gold coins felt sorry for the birds, so he used all the money to buy them all. The birds flew away, and the man no longer had any money for the seeds. The solution to this problem was that all the birds that the man had saved collected seeds from far away places, and they made a beautiful garden with them. 

In this story, I agree with everything that happened. Everything happened for the best. 

I think that when the farmer gave the shepherd half his land was a great idea. If it wasn’t for this, the birds might not have been saved, and the garden wouldn’t have been made. 

If I was the farmer who found the gold, I would have spent it on getting a better farm. 

When the man saved the birds, I would do the same thing. This event is probably the most important one in the story. I completely agree with what he did. It was the right thing to do. 

If the man didn’t save the birds, but saved a different kind of animal, the garden might still have been made, but differently.If the story had no birds, the man would have just bought the seeds and made a beautiful garden, but not quite as beautiful as the one that the birds made. 

The garden was made for the homeless. I think that other people could go and visit it, but to not stay there, like the people with no homes, because it might be taken over.

James K Year 9 LaTrobe Secondary College

The following activity was undertaken with participants during a workshop as a part of the VITTA. Live to Learn, Learn to Blog conference at Ivanhoe Grammar

Gary’s Magic Garden
Used Jackson Pollock Web 2

* That the student who was sent to buy the seeds was distracted by the birds and did not stick to the task he was perusing.

* And yet his garden still came into being showing a form of KARMA

* The generosity of spirit of the friend who was given the land that he did not want to keep the gold for himself.

* The beautiful image at the end of a safe place for poor people to be.

* The fact the wealthy could not enter the garden.

* That the two friends were so cooperative. Almost impossible to get along so well.

* New twists kept occurring

* The whole decision of who owned the gold?

* The visual images that the story teller portrayed. It was like you were in the story.

* No one wanted the gold. Unlike society today.

* Not knowing what was happening next. The story was unpredictable.

* How the children came up with a solution for the gold and how they agreed to what was going to happen with it.

* The flock of birds coming down and working together. It gave me great imagery.

* The flock of birds working together.

* Visual and aural impact of the story.

* Images

* Decision Making

* Timelessness

* Idea of co-operation.

• I was surprised that the two men couldn’t make the decision by themselves.
• I was surprised at how well I was able to picture the story. Though aural, I felt that the story was totally colourful and visual.
• I was surprised that the farmer was so generous to give half his land to his neighbour.
• I was surprised that they didn’t just share/halve the gold.