J the Archer

This week has been quite busy and exhausting for me, and extremely stressful for J, but we're finding good things to be happy about, and doing well overall.

On Saturday, we decided to drive the three hours to Hamilton to go to the archery store there. J has decided that he'd like to try using a compound bow and do some shooting in the afternoons after work, to de-stress. Unfortunately, there aren't any archery stores closer to us, but fortunately, we've been meaning to make a trip to Hamilton for a while, so we decided to make a weekend of it. We went to the archery store, the gardens, the lake, and the zoo, ate at some good restaurants, and relaxed at a comfortable hotel, so it was a great trip. I'll put up pictures of the other parts over the next few weeks.

This is J with his brand-new compound bow, and the nice man who helped him get it fitted/set properly and taught him some technique (although he said he had perfect form already).

I don't know anything about archery, but that looks like good form to me.

J's bow has 50lbs of pressure on it, which is apparently a lot, and they struggled to get the arrows back out of the targets, because they sank in so far.

Unfortunately, just one time he forgot to rotate his elbow, and he hit his arm with the string. I should have been a better blogger and taken a picture right after it happened when it was more exciting colours, but it didn't occur to me. Maybe next time.

There is an archery range in New Plymouth that J will check out soon. I've heard good things, so hopefully he likes it. He is currently working 6:00am to 2:30pm, so he has plenty of time in the afternoons to go and do some shooting and de-stress. He used to really enjoy doing that with his recurve bow, and he thinks it will be even better with a compound. We'll see how it goes!

A Walk in Barrett Domain

My friend and I often take our dogs for walks together. Usually, we go to the beach, but this weekend we went to Barrett Domain, which is a park with a lake in the middle, where dogs can run around off the leach.

Holly and Harry (her dog) took a little while to get used to each other when they first got to know each other, and to stop barking frantically each time they met again, but now they are good buddies, and love to run around together. Holly and Harry have sleepovers when J and I go out of town, and apparently it's quite an exciting time for them.

I think Barrett Domain is quite pretty, so I took some pictures for you to enjoy.

 This is Harry at the edge of a drop-off, trying to decide if it's wise to follow Holly, who leapt off of it into the muddy stream below. He is always watching Holly, but seldom chooses to participate in her shenanigans. Which is probably wise.

Holly is a happy puppy!

So far, after over a year in NZ, my amazement at and appreciation of the overwhelming greenness has not decreased in the slightest.

Harry is chasing after Holly as usual. We can't decide if he wants to catch up and join in but is a little nervous, or if he really does know that joining in would only get him in trouble. Either way, it's funny to watch.

Thank goodness for this clear part of the stream, to return Holly to a much less disgustingly muddy state before I took her home. She still needed a bath, but my car fared pretty well, so it was a success, all things considered.

Enviroschools Conference.

You may have noticed that I was posting very frequently for a few weeks there, but now have slowed down again. I have decided to return to a once a week schedule, just so you know.

This was the second week of the school holidays, but I spent most of it in Professional Development, including the National Enviroschools Conference on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. It was an amazing three days of inspiration, collaboration, and beauty, and I am so glad I went!

My kindergarten is an Enviroschool, and we do all kinds of wonderful things under that umbrella, but I didn't know much about the wider organization until this conference.

Here is a bit about Enviroschools from their website:

The Enviroschools Foundation is a not-for-profit trust that supports children and young people to be active citizens, contributing to ecological regeneration and the creation of healthy, resilient and sustainable communities.
As an independent organisation we ensure continuous support for young people participating in environmental sustainability, regardless of changing political priorities.
We have a network that reaches 240,000 children and young people through 30% of New Zealand’s schools/kura, with a growing participation from the early childhood sector. Overall, we have an estimated reach of 1 million people nationwide. We work through two programme areas:
Enviroschools: an action-based approach to education through which children and young people plan, design and implement sustainable projects and become catalysts for change in their families and the wider community.
Te Aho Tū Roa: working in te reo Māori immersion contexts with tamariki (children) and rangatahi (youth), whānau (familes), hapū (subtribes) and iwi (tribes).

Sounds cool, right? Well, it is. Enviroschools partners with schools/ECE centres and provides them with information, support, resources, and connections to facilitate their ability to incorporate sustainability into their curricula, and to make their practices more environmentally conscious.

As the website explains:

"Through exploration and discovery, tamariki (children) and students develop learning and language, care and creativity, relationships and responsibilities suited to their developmental stage. What emerges is a connection with nature and a sense of belonging to the environment and community.
Through these connections with the environment tamariki and students can consider the world we are a part of, and look to how we make decisions to improve the physical and social environment of our places, our community and our world."

I love Enviroschools, and find that it fits my philosophy perfectly. As I mentioned when I wrote about the children cutting my hair for Locks of Love, I believe that children need to learn that they are agents of change, and be empowered to understand that their choices make an impact on the broader world, and therefore to take responsibility for doing whatever is in their power to make it better. Enviroschools is a wonderful way to do this. Take that, and add the fact that the focus is one helping our planet be healthy, and its just about perfect. Also, Enviroschools has a strong emphasis on Māori worldview and bicultural practice, so it all fits together beautifully.

During the conference, I learned approximately a million things about conservation, the Enviroschools program, curriculum tools, etc., and I met a lot of people who are as passionate about this stuff as I am. I want to go to every conference they ever host!

Around the country, schools/centres are engaging in environmental projects like:

• cleaning up waterways
• planting fruit orchards (we have just done this)
• worm farms (we have these)
• X-treme Zero Waste campaigns
• doing energy audits on their buildings
• recycling used paper into paper bricks for burning in wood stoves
• installing rain harvesting systems with water tanks (we're working on this)
• building ultra energy efficient buildings (look for a post on this soon)
• composting systems (we have one)
• growing their own food (we do a bit of this)
• planting native plant gardens/areas (we did this on our trolly track)
• developing programs to facilitate children/students commuting on foot/by bicycle
• starting "Trading Tables" to encourage sharing and reusing resources (we have one)
• re-establishing natural marshlands and other important habitats
• recycling cell phones and other hazardous material

Around the country, schools/centres are incorporating bicultural sustainability into their curricula through:

• involving the children as much as possible in the above projects - from planning to digging to painting to fundraising (depending on their age)
• investigating all the steps/resources that go into making things we use (spoiler alert: A LOT)
• spending time in local reserves or natural places, especially those that are sacred in Māori culture
• using traditional waiata (songs) about the natural world (there are some gorgeous ones)
• teaching the children about the ātua (Gods) of each part of the natural world, and engaging with them to foster respect and admiration for the healthy power and balance of the environment (look for a post on this soon)
• using natural materials for artwork and toys
• learning about how to protect native animals/plants
• facilitation children's appreciation of natural beauty through photography (we have a great digital camera solely for the children's use)
• creating Bug Hotels to foster caring and fascination (instead of fear) towards insects (I built one of these - still should post about it sometime, aye?)
• creating ephemeral (transient) artwork with natural materials (e.g. shells, leaves, driftwood, sand), supporting children in appreciating the gifts of the ātua (Gods) 
• building relationships with Māori elders and working with them to support traditional environmental practices
• Here is an example of something an ECE centre did: http://www.enviroschools.org.nz/Little_Earth_Enviro_page.pdf

I'm not feeling particularly pleased with these lists, because I don't feel that they capture the amazing depth and breadth of what is going on within these schools/centres all over the country. Remember, please, that all of this is done during the school year, and having to compete with all the other things that are supposed to be being drilled into these children's heads. But over 30% of schools/centres in NZ have decided that despite having too much on their plates already, they are going to take on the challenge of creating schools/centres and children/students that are better for the environment. That's amazing and inspiring to me!

For more information about Enviroschools, go to their website at http://www.enviroschools.org.nz/enviroschools-programme

Te Whāriki Bicultural ECE Curriculum

The national curriculum for Early Childhood Education in NZ is called Te Whāriki, which means The Woven Mat. The curriculum is made of interwoven parts, just like the mats. All of the parts intertwine and support each other, and all are needed for the whole to be strong and complete. Makes sense for an ECE curriculum, I think.

Māori have always made woven mats like this one out of harakeke (flax), and they are used for many different things. They are sturdy and relatively waterproof, and can be made with different patterns and styles.

This picture shows the four principals that form the foundation of Te Whāriki, and the five strands that come from them and shape our curriculum, planning, and interactions with children. They are all interwoven, forming the whāriki (mat).

I love Te Whāriki. I need to continue to learn more about it, and will probably need to do so for the rest of my time teaching in NZ, however long that may be. But it already feels very natural to me, because it is an official curriculum that finally acknowledges what teachers have known for a long time: Child are whole beings, not cut-and-paste entities to be picked apart and analyzed in separate boxes. Teachers know this, but it's hard to measure, hard to demonstrate, and hard to put into an overall curriculum with enough structure to support teachers in making effective decisions. I am not saying that Te Whāriki is perfect, and I'm not even saying that there aren't thing about other curriculum frameworks I miss, but I am saying that I love it and feel privileged to have it as a tool to guide my teaching. 

I'll give you the short description of teach principal and strand, from the Te Whāriki text. Perhaps this is too much information for the 99% of you reading who are not ECE teachers, but I am going to post it anyway, because all of us should care about children. Plus, it's interesting.

If you'd like the highlights version, I would suggest reading the last bullet point of each section, labeled 'Sub-goal example.' They are the most specific, so not as helpful for an overall view, but they are wonderful peeks into the philosophy. There are lots of sub-goals for each goal, which would be too much, otherwise I would have included them all. I have bolded and underlined them, because they show most clearly what I love about Te Whāriki.

As you read, notice that none of the principals, strands, or goals (the bullet points) indicated that children should know their ABCs, be able to draw a complete circle, be able to balance on one foot for 10 seconds, have a 200-word vocabulary, etc. The teachers here are very proud that NZ has moved away from this kind of "checklist" system, as they call it, and into more holistic practice. Te Whāriki looks at the child's health, adjustment, and happiness as the important things. This is not to say that we, as teachers, don't voice our concerns when we see a child who is struggling with fine motor development, pre-reading skills, etc., but the holistic focus allows us to see that and provide support in a whole-child context.

The four Principals are:

Empowerment - The early childhood curriculum empowers the child to learn and grow.

Holistic Development - The early childhood curriculum reflects the holistic way children learn and grow.

Family and Community - The wider world of family and community is an integral part of the early childhood curriculum.

Relationships - Children learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places, and things.

The five Strands are:

Well-Being - The health and well-being of the child are protected and nurtured.

Children experience and environment where:

• their health is promoted;
• their emotional well-being is nurtured;
• they are kept safe from harm.
• Sub-goal example: Child develop a sense of personal worth, and knowledge that person worth does not depend on today's behaviour or ability. (Note from me: I love this because it is describing the importance of unconditional positive regard, which is a fundamental part of attachment).

Belonging - Children and their families feel a sense of belonging.

Children and their families experience an environment where:

• connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended;
• they know that they have a place;
• they feel comfortable with the routines, customs, and regular events;
• they know the limits and boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
• Sub-goal example: Children develop knowledge about the features of the area of physical and/or spiritual significance to the local community, such as the local river or mountain. (Note from me: This is extremely important to Māori philosophy - people and the land are connected, and the physical place where you come from is part of who you are).

Contribution - Opportunities for learning are equitable, and each child's contribution is valued.

Children experience an environment where:

• there are equitable opportunities for learning, irrespective of gender, ability, age, ethnicity, or background;
• they are affirmed as individuals;
• they are encourage to learn with and alongside others.
• Sub-goal example: Children develop the ability to recognize discriminatory practices and behaviour and to respond appropriately. (Note from me: Yes, they're 2, 3, 4 years old, and yet, they can and do stand up for what is right, when we give them the space and respect to do so).

Communication - The languages and symbols of their own and other cultures are promoted and protected.

Children experience an environment where:

• they develop non-verbal communication skills for a range of purposes;
• they develop verbal communication skills for a range of purposes;
• they experience the stories and symbols of their own and other cultures;
• they discover and develop different ways to be creative and expressive.
• Sub-goal example: Children develop an expectation that words and books can amuse, delight, comfort, illuminate, inform, and excite. (Note from me: Reading is the best!)

Exploration - The child learns through active exploration of the environment.
Children experience an environment where:

• their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognized;
• they gain confidence in and control of their bodies;
• the learn strategies for active exploration, thinking, and reasoning;
• they develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical, and material worlds.
• Sub-goal example: Children develop a perception of themselves as "explorers" - competent, confident learnings who ask questions and make discoveries. (Note from me: Children are so ready to believe this, and so good at living it, when we support them).

There is much more to Te Whāriki than the principals, strands, and goals, but they are the parts that I have worked with the most, so that's what I've focused on. 

If you're interested in reading further, you can download the entire document (in PDF form) here: http://education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Early-Childhood/te-whariki.pdf

Did You Know That There's a Sport Called Netball?

I didn't know that there was a sport called netball until I had been in NZ for a few weeks, and one night at the hotel I was channel surfing (funny how non-TV watchers still find themselves channel surfing in the hotel) and came across a game. I was very confused, because it looked, to my American eyes, like a basketball game during which all of the players had simultaneously forgotten how to dribble. I watched for a few minutes, but quickly gave up, as I didn't understand what was going on.

Fortunately, the universe proclaimed that I would teach kindergarten with a lovely lady whose daughters play netball, and who would generously invite me to tag along to a game. Moreover, the universe thoughtfully made the day I went an exceptionally beautiful one for a winter sport, so I had a lovely time during my netball induction.

This was one of the games I watched.

Now, I feel that starting my description of netball with, "It's just like basketball, except..." is wrong for two reasons. Number one, there are a lot of "excepts," and number two, it seems rather unjust to netball, which really is its own unique sport. However, I am not interested in reinventing the wheel, and a knowledge of the rules of basketball will give you an excellent jumping off point, so here goes.

Netball is just like basketball, except...

... there is no dribbling. Once you have the ball, you have one planted pivot foot to move around. If you lift it up, you can balance on the other one, but can't put the first one down again.

... you have to get rid of the ball within 3 seconds (instead of 5 seconds).

... the zones of the court are binding - you must stay within your area or you will get a penalty.

The positions are:

GK - Goal Keep

GS - Goal Shooter

WA - Wing Attack

WD - Wing Defense

C - Centre

Each position can be in the area it's written in, as well as the one or two next to it, depending on the position.

Netball is just like basketball, except...

... the ball is smaller and lighter.

... the hoop is smaller.

... there is no backboard.

Notice how small and unhelpful these hoops are? I was shocked at how often they made it!

Netball is just like basketball, except...

... each basket is worth one point.

... if a penalty is called while you are shooting, you get to shoot again if you miss, but if you make it, you just get the point.

... blockers have to stand a full arms length away from the shooter, and have to hold their hands straight up, which looks quite a lot like not blocking to me. Therefore, speed does not seem to be as much of a factor in shooting - they take their time to make sure to get the shot off well. Once the ball has left the shooter's hands, the blockers can jump up and try to block. In my vague recollection of watching many basketball games years ago, I think that that is kind of the idea there as well, but this is much more strict. Penalties were called all the time for improper blocking, despite lots of distance between shooters and blockers and very little physical contact.

... it is a girls' sport. They play some volleyball here as well, but netball is the major sport for girls, and guys don't really play it.

... it is more successful (as far as I've seen) at actually being the non-contact sport that it is meant to be.

Also, the Silver Ferns are NZ's national netball team, who have done quite well for themselves, as far as I know. 

Looks like a cool bunch of women.

For more detailed explanations of the game, please go to  http://www.netball.org/images/documents/rules/ifnaofficialnetballrules2011_for_website.pdf  for the official netball rule book.

Sunshine and Stories

This week and next, I am on holiday, for the break between Term 3 and Term 4 of the school year. I had a rather stressful few weeks at work prior to this break, so I am very much enjoying a stress-free interval.

This particular stress-free holiday is entirely devoted to reading. Outside, when possible, inside when necessary, sometimes with a cup of tea, sometimes with pear juice, but always reading. I got an entire series of 10 books from the library, and have steadily progressed through them since Friday afternoon when I finished work. I am averaging slightly over one 400 page book per day, which means that I will soon be concerned about what I will do with my life once I finish the series that has taken it over. But for the moment I am just enjoying it. I love to submerge myself in a book - to tune everything else out and live for the discovery of what will happen next. It is both exhilarating and relaxing, and when the book is a work of art, as these ones are, and the sun is shining, as it has been, it is nothing short of perfection.

The following pictures are not exciting ones of the stunning NZ landscape, nor do they tell a particularly riveting story, but I hope that they communicate the glorious peace and contentment of beautiful days reading in the sun. The kind of days that make you wonder how you ever managed to do anything else.

This is my new outdoor chair. (I tried to ask for a lawn chair, and was treated to a particularly confused look, which it turns out I deserved, since I did actually know that they don't use the word "lawn" here. They say garden. However, it is also not a garden chair, but rather an "outdoor chair," which I didn't know then, but know now). 

The days started out fairly cool, which is perfect because I like to be able to soak up the sun through enough clothing that I don't have to worry about skin cancer. As you'll see later, the cool didn't last, but that's okay.

This is the view from my outdoor chair.

Spring flowers. So glad that the owners of this house are flower people!

I particularly like the lavender.

Beautifully blossoming trees along our driveway. J thinks that they're cherry trees, and I hope he's right! I love cherries!

These are blueberries grown on Mount Ruapehu, where J and I went snowboarding. They are so delicious!

I moved my outdoor chair all around to get the best sun, and eventually gave up on sun protection from long clothing and resorted to many layers of sunscreen. I love to be warmed by the sun more than almost anything!

This is the view from my outdoor chair in the above position.

I love these beautiful blossoms!

I managed, from time to time, to look up from my book long enough to soak in not only the sun, but the beauty of what was all around me. I'm not sure why, but the shadows expanding across the yard were particularly tranquil, and made me very happy.

In looking at these pictures, and reflecting on my joy in reading in the sun, I was reminded of something that I haven't thought of in ages. When I lived in France (almost seven years ago, already), I started writing a story in French. It began as an excuse to practice my French and have my teacher correct it, but I actually had a good time writing it, and quite liked the result. It was about a middle-aged man, and I remember that my teacher asked me if the man was me. I was surprised by the question and said no, which I believed to be the truth. Then, this week, I remembered that I wrote a section about reading in the sun, and I was entertained to find it rather consistent with how I've felt this week. I know that writers always put themselves into their work, but perhaps I was considerably less subtle than I thought.

The following is a short excerpt from what I wrote. It is a silly little story, and irrelevant to NZ, so feel free to skip it. It has also, in my opinion, lost much of the personality I thought it had when I wrote it in French, because I can't seem to get the ambience the same when I translated it into English. Perhaps that reflects my love of the French language more than any actual value in the words, but it's still a pity. Anyway, with no further disclaimers, and in case you find it interesting, here it is:

It was sunny when he left the school. It was the 91^st hour, and therefore the 4^th day, of cloudless blue sky, during the day. He didn’t know if there had been clouds at night, because he disliked being outside when it was dark, or even to look out at the night. As soon as the sun disappeared, immediately after the lovely colours of the sunset, which he watched every night without fail, he closed all the curtains. He only taught after 9:00am, such that he never had to wake before the sun. The sun was, to him, the ultimate image of perfection. A being that gave warmth to everyone, without exception, and who asked nothing from anyone. If he had been religious, he would have followed the path of the Mayans, with their deities of the natural world, but above all the Sun God, who reigned over everything. No one could dispute his power.
When he arrived at home, he barely paused to throw his bag on the living room floor before grabbing the book off the table and a pillow from the couch and heading for the balcony. He had placed his lawn chair right in the middle, in the sun, and he subsided into it, almost lying down, with the plump pillow behind his head. He closed his eyes and let loose a tranquil sigh. He was waiting for a call from a colleague, and he felt slightly impatient, but he believed that one should never wait, because there was always something to be doing. Hence, so as to avoid waiting, he began reading at once, even though he was not in a reading mood. The book was a crime novel, a genre that didn’t interest him at all, but he had found it on the ground in front of his house, and the title was captivating: It would be marvelous if you could accompany me. It wasn’t an ordinary title, and he noticed right away that it was not an ordinary book, either. After 5 pages, he had forgotten the awaited call, after 10 the world had ceased to have meaning, and after 15 the book had become the world.
In this world, he was nothing and everything. He cried with the little girl when the villain stole her mother, laughed with the villain when he had outwitted the police, despaired with the police when they lost the trail, and sighed with the mother when she escaped. He was in each of their heads, and all around them as well, and he knew everything. He was God, the only one who knew what was happening, why, and what must be done. But this ability, this knowledge came from another world, and it was only his as long as he remained in that other world, and therefore only when he remained apart from this one; up above like God. All powerful, but incapable of acting. Everything and nothing. So the little girl kept crying, and he cried with her, for her mother, and cried even harder because he couldn’t tell her that her mother was safe and she didn’t need to worry.
But finally, even without his help, everything came right, and he could breathe again. He looked down at his world, and he saw the little girl in her mother’s arms, the proud police (who had, in reality, done nothing), and the villain in prison where he belonged, and he was happy. He stretched his arms, realizing that it was exhausting to be God.

So... maybe he's me and maybe he's not, but I wouldn't argue with his feelings on reading a good book in the sun, that's for sure. The funny thing is, I would have asserted (before remembering that I wrote this), that my passion for reading in the sun had only developed in the last few years. Apparently, I would have been wrong.