A Team of Rescuers

The team of rescuers that helped to save a baby bird that we believe fell from a nest and was separated from its mother today. Led by Martha, team leader of the rescue mission, we called SPCA for help that dispatched a friendly lady to help with our rescue mission.

The baby bird will be brought to 'The Bird Lady' to be cared for and although won't be returned to it's mother it will live with a new family of birds until it is big enough to fly free.

Thank you to the SPCA for helping us today. For more information about SPCA and the work that they do, please ring (09) 256 7300 or hit the link: http://www.spca.org.nz/default.aspx#2



The rescued bird that would have perished had it not been for a very observant and interested child at Learning Curves.



The Wonderful World of Skype

Mandy's Auntie Kay Skyped us quite by accident one day but what a fabulous opportunity for us to connect with another part of our wider world.


Thank you, Auntie Kay, we look forward to chatting with you again another day.
xxx

Skype is a free download and we would love to chat with others from New Zealand and around the world, especially family, local schools, friends of the children and other early learning centres. Add a comment or send us a message if you are keen.



By Mandy on 24 February 2011

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) - News Time

The thoughtful and meaningful use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in early childhood education services can support children "to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society".

Reference:

Ministry of Education. (2009). Kei Tua o te Pae. Assessment for Learning: Early Childhood Exemplars. Wellington: Learning Media Limited  

9 February 2011

Ann received an email from Alex's mum with photos of his trip to Sheep World and we printed them off for him to share his story at News Time. Alex helped Mandy to laminate them.

Later, during News Time, Mandy recorded Alex's news while Ann asked questions. Alex and friends were exposed to so many different areas of technology throughout this experience. Here is Alex's news time:

Picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

Please add your thoughts in the comments box below and share your ideas of ways by which we can increase your children's experiences using ICT.

Thank you to Alex's mum for this experience.

Our Trip to the Marae

Please hit the link for more information about Unitec's Marae: Marae
Please hit the link for the story, 'How the Kiwi Lost His Wings': Kiwi

Our Trip to Whangaparaoa, A Steam Train Ride and Much, Much More

There was lots to see and do on our Whangaparaoa trip

We could ride on the steam train 

Go on bush walks

Jump on the trampoline  - Woohoo!

And play on the playgrounds

We saw animals and counted owls hiding in the bush. There was a train track on a table and so many of us could play with it all at once and because there was enough trains to go round, we were all happy. There were swings and slides, trucks and trees. Oh yes, it was a fun packed, busy trip and do you know, the rain stayed away.

It was good to see our friends from Kinross Street and we really enjoyed travelling on the double decker bus.

Thank you for such an awesome trip!

Hit the link below for more details:
Whangaparaoa Narrow Gauge Railway

Ann and Mandy's Trip to Christchurch - Part 1

Ann and I went to the U-Learn 2010, teachers conference in Christchurch with Marlise and Wendy from Kinross Street. We were able to see some of the devastation and destruction that was caused as a result of the earthquake and following aftershocks.

Before we left, the children at Learning Curves had already expressed interest in the earthquake and our planning around the phenomenal event began. Although our trip down to Christchurch was for professional development, we took a few moments to have a closer look at the aftermath. The city was able to host a conference to accommodate over 2000 teachers from all over the world with little or no disruption to our timetable. Quite incredible really.

The following slide show should give you some idea of the destruction experienced by the people of Christchurch, and for me, a clear picture of the resilience that they express every day after the event with unpredictable aftershocks that strike at any moment.

This is part 1 of our trip to Christchurch...more to follow. Thank you for your interest.

Our Ben - The Learning Curves Gymnast

During a discussion with a group of children today we established that, Ben, is in fact, the Learning Curves Gymnast and I managed to capture a moment of his skills as he expressed with confidence what he can do. In addition to his cartwheels he did a head-stand but I wasn't quick enough to record him. I can tell you though that his legs went straight up in the air and he stayed in that position for a number of seconds before safely rolling down on his back and back to his feet.
With Ben as the motivator and inspiration for this experience, some of his friends joined in to show off his or her moves. This was a fun and very energetic time for us.

A learning story has been added to Ben's portfolio. Harpar, Jiya, Cameron, Eden and master L were very impressed with Ben's moves and practiced some flips and roly poly and cart wheels. 

Annie and Mandy's Trip to Christchurch

We're back! What a busy week we had in Christchurch, full of learning and experiences that we are both keen to share with you all. Stay tuned for our photos and stories of our very shaky trip:

Lots of Lemons Everywhere

Look what we made with the lemons that Sahara brought in from her garden:

Lemon Slice

Recipe

150g butter

1 cup flour

1/2 cup icing sugar

Topping

2 tablespoons of custard powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup lemon

1 tablespoon lemon zest

3 eggs

Melt the butter. Remove from heat and mix in flour and icing sugar.

Press the base into a square, lined cake tin. Bake in pre-heated oven

at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes.

Mix all the topping ingredients together until combined. Pour over base

and bake for a further 25 minutes until set. Cut into slices and enjoy.

Thank you to Sahara and family for the lemons from your garden.

Watch this space for more lemon recipes that the children have

experienced.
Thank you also to the Edmunds Cook Book for the recipe idea.

Lost Property

Hello to you. Thank you for logging on to this blog. Depending on how successful this post is I may continue to add similar posts to help reduce the lost property that we seem to accumulate.
I have attached a slide show of a number of lost pieces of clothing that want to be re matched with the owner. Please browse through and either add a comment or let one of the teaching team know which item belongs to your child.

Don't forget to check back on our blog regularly to see when more posts are added and if you want to be added to our mail out list, which means that you will be notified by email when a new post has been added to the blog, let me know and I will add you to the list.

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day evening has become a regular event to celebrate the families in our community and the many different ways that they come to us. We appreciate and value the contribution that our families bring and this is one way that we can give back to them. A relaxed, low key, informal evening, an opportunity for the teaching team to connect with the dads/grandad and share stories about their precious children. In true NZ style we shared fish and chips for our evening's kai.

Thank you to Gerald, one of our dads that comes back to help us even though his son is off to school. He is prepared to share his vast knowledge and skills in technology. Without him, our Father's Day evening would have been somewhat more challenging!

For the mums, grandmas and aunties out there, don't feel left out as we have plenty of whanau nights and, just for you, we have a Mother's Day evening too. We will let you know when, just stay tuned.

I hope you enjoy the following slide show as much as I did. Thank you to Jonny for your speech at the end. We appreciated your words and it made our evening all the more special. A big thank you to all the dads that could make it and we look forward to next year.

This free slideshow customized with Smilebox

Rā Whānau ki a Jo!