I saw @jofrei’s post “12 Days of Christmas gifts from Sprite’s Site”  and it made me think it might be fun to do a West Australian version of “The twelve days of Christmas”. So here goes! If you want a challenge then checkout the flora and fauna included. or leave a comment and ask me. PS sorry about the inconsistent capitalisation 🙂 – its a sign of an indecisive nature 🙁

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree..

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five honky nuts,
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six sand gropers,
Five honky nuts,
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven snappers swimming,
Six sand gropers,
Five honky nuts,
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight Blue-tongues gaping,
Seven snapper swimming,
Six sand gropers,
Five honky nuts,
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine marron crawling,
Eight Blue-tongues gaping,
Seven snappers swimming,
Six sand gropers,
Five honky nuts,
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten ‘roos a-leaping,
Nine marron crawling,
Eight Blue-tongues gaping,
Seven snappers swimming,
Six sand gropers,
Five honky nuts,
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven marris growing,
Ten ‘roos a-leaping,
Nine marron crawling,
Eight Blue-tongues gaping,
Seven snappers swimming,
Six sand gropers,
Five honky nuts,
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve jarrahs flowering,
Eleven marris growing,
Ten ‘roos a-leaping,
Nine marron crawling,
Eight Blue-tongues gaping,
Seven snappers swimming,
Six sand gropers,
Five honky nuts,
Four Fairy wrens,
Three Twenty eights,
Two wattle birds,
And a bronzewing in a gum tree.

All of the flora and fauna are found in Western Australia and are bound up the the culture and ecology of the state. So although I did this for fun it could be used in many educational contexts in Australia and globally. For example in my own current teaching context with literacy students I would use it as a challenge for them to find an image and write a little about one or more of the animals/plants – preferably choosing one where they had a personal experience to relate. In a previous teaching role in environmental science I could have used it to highlight adaptation of the flora and fauna to the West Australian environment.

Increasingly as I continue as an educator it seems to me that almost anything I design or develop for whatever purpose can be used or adapted and used as a resource in myriad educational contexts. Thus my personal and professional “selves” are  merging and perhaps giving an increased “richness”and depth to my work.