Chinese New Year

Two weeks of Chinese New Year celebrations start at 6pm Sunday 14 February, with free entry to the Chinese Gardens until 10pm, fireworks and lion dancing.

Go to DCC Chinese New Year page for the other scheduled events and workshops.

Weekend Reading - SHEAF in the news

I missed this article when it went to press, but if you want to see a reasonably positive newspaper article about home education in our very own local rag (complete with interview of our very own Nicola) then follow the link...

A world of learning at home - Otago Daily Times, 27 Nov 2009

Chemistry Course - Feb 10-11

Last minute reminder about the following course: (the email came through the newsletter a couple of weeks back I think, but yours truly failed to pop it onto the blog before now - sorry). This is same course that was advertised late last year...

Hi everyone in Dunedin and surrounding areas,

Next month, on 10 and 11 February, I am running a chemistry course at Otago University for homeschooled children and their parents. The course runs for 6 hours, 3 hours per day. There are still a few places left and it’s suitable for children aged 11-17.

This is a great opportunity for children to be in a fully equipped laboratory with all the chemicals and equipment that you can’t get at home. The course is hands-on and packed with practical experiments, such as food testing, separating mixtures, making and testing gases, chemical reactions, using acids & bases and indicators. No prior knowledge or skills are required.

Some feedback from students who attended the course in Auckland last year:
"I liked all the chemical reactions and actually being able to make gases",
"this was awesome, much easier and funnier than I expected", "it was really fun and I felt that I learned lots of relevant info".

If you are interested, please email me for an information/enrolment form: info@science-for-home-educators.co.nz. Cost of the course is $65 for a one-child family or $110 for a family with 2-3 children.


Best regards,

Nathalie Thomas, MSc, DipT
Science for Home Educators
PO Box 179
Katikati 3166
Bay of Plenty
Ph (07) 5490383
www.science-for-home-educators.co.nz

The Trading Post - 3 Feb 2010

To give away:

Kathrin has some resources to give away, "Teach a Tot"- names and numbers puzzles/cards, a set of home-made sandpaper letters and moveable alphabet, and Dino Dominoes.

Wanted:

Kathrin's children are looking for some pet mice - anyone got any they don't want? They'd prefer 2 the same sex. :-)

Meet the Locals DVDs

Nicola has received some educational DVDs from TVNZ 6 to share, please let her know if you'd like one. We had a look at ours today and they're full of little snippets about DOC's conservation projects - exceptional value at twice the price :)

Here's the blurb that came with them...

Hi there,

Thank you for registering for TVNZ 6’s Meet The Locals Education Resources.

Firstly, we apologise for the delay in sending these out to you. The registrations exceeded our expectations (which we are thrilled about!) and so production and compiling took a little longer than expected. They have been posted out to you in time for the start of Term One.

Enclosed you will find one master teacher DVD version and 10 take home student versions. Please share these with your students and allow them to take them home and share with their families.

We hope that you enjoy using them in the classroom and welcome any feedback to this address.

For more info or to access the downloadable PDF resources go to http://tvnz.co.nz/meet-the-locals.

Kind Regards,
The team at TVNZ 6

Kiwi Kids Learn magazine and website

We received the following email advertising a new magazine and website resource for home educating New Zealanders:

Hi Everyone,
I am a homeschooling mother here in NZ and am developing a website and magazine to provide ongoing support, inspiration and encouragement for parents, particularly homeschooling parents in New Zealand.
The magazine is a resource jam packed with information requested, suggested and sought out by you. The aim is to provide easy access to information, expert knowledge, experiences, opportunities, and resources that will enable you as parents, caregivers and educators to support your children to be all that they can be.
Please check out our website www.kiwikidslearn.yolasite.com for more information and to send feedback. We are keen for suggestions, ideas and interest.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks in anticipation.
Kim Mounsey
kiwikidslearn@xtra.co.nz

Receiving the newsletter for 2010

SHEAF's main form of communication is via our email newsletter. This year Nicola is taking charge of collecting the information and sending this out. If you have an event or outing etc to share or advertise, Nicola is the person to contact.

At the start of each year we ask people to resubscribe to the newsletter so that we don't get bogged down with obsolete and bouncing email addresses. This also ensures that only the people who want the newsletter are receiving it.

So - very important! - if you want to get or keep getting the email newsletter then send an email to Nicola letting her know that.