With the support of funding from the New Zealand Red Cross 200 members of CHE spent an amazing weekend together at Living Springs, learning, exploring and pushing our boundaries. It was a fabulous weekend and everyone went home happy and tired with wonderful memories of our time together. We all owe a huge thank you to the team that did all the organisation for us. Check out some stories and pictures from some of our happy campers below. Home Ed Camp by Max Harris Last weekend we went to a home school camp and did heaps of cool activities with our friends. We did Adventure Stream, Tree Climb, Low Ropes, Boulder Wall and Rifles and Archery. My favourite was the Adventure Steam. We spent about 2 days at the camp we arrived at midday and spent the next day doing Adventure Stream, Tree Climb and Low Ropes the next day we did the rest and left after lunch. There were also trampolines, a pool and a monorail we went in the pool twice, went on the trampolines heaps, but we never got to go on the monorail. But I still had heaps of fun at the camp. Adventure Stream by Alex Jones My favourite part of camp was the Adventure Stream. I enjoyed jumping through the water and from rock to rock, like parkour! The narrow dark passageway, with water on the bottom was slippery and slimy. I got wet. There was a big rope tied to a post with knots down to the bottom. We put our feet on the wall and slowly lowered ourselves down, knot by knot. We started tumbling through the stream, leaping and jumping from rock to rock, using ropes to swing. And then we came across a rock, very flat it was, the entire stream flowing over it. We used a rope to climb down, water at our ankles. Once we were down we rested on a berm and chewed on some heart shaped leaves which help with toothache and digestion, I can't remember the name. And then we broke berm and headed into the river again, smooth sailing until we reached the deepest part. It was so deep that when an adult of 6ft stepped in it, it was up to his chin! We swung across the deep bit, some of us swam. We were tired and wet on the way home. We trekked through the undergrowth until we reached a road. We travelled down the road until we found the campsite. LUNCH TIME! Marshmallow Roast by Lachlan McKenzie-Jackson On Friday night we had a camp fire. I toasted my marshmallow to the extreme!! It looked like it was burnt by the flame of an asteroid as it hit our atmosphere. The burnt bit tasted like the inside of an ash tray but the inside of the marshmallow tasted like heaven, it was gooey and caramelised and it was like a carnival inside my mouth. Fun At Camp - By Grace Jones
Put on sneakers, Put on a harness, Climb the trees higher than the hills. Stomp through splashes Across a bridge What an adventure at the adventure stream Over bridges, through the bush You will find a cottage With a wall of hooks. Then to a slide You might find a friend Someone to have fun with until the end Swim like a fish in a pool of fun Diving, splashing But never run! And that’s the fabulous Living Springs Thank you everyone, A weekend of fun. The Night Time Sky By Grace Jones It was 8pm and everyone was having a bonfire. There were lots of laughs and chats. We had fun there. The fire had huge flames and was lighting up the night time sky. The sunset was pink with fluffy clouds. The birds were singing and everyone was enjoying themselves and having fun. The marshmallows on sticks were yummy and I made a friend. It was a brilliant night. And then it was bedtime. Goodnight everyone, have a good sleep.
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Check out this awesome article about the Canterbury Home Educators co-ordinators Carol Shearer and Josie Baker www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/99631920/local-legends-home-schooler-carol-shearer-makes-life-a-little-better-for-hundreds Following on from the recent article about CHE Josie Baker was asked to comment on Home Schooling in New Zealand. Read about it here https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/101066521/how-many-new-zealand-children-are-homeschooled
The CHE committee is excited to be able to share more details about the funding generously pledged by New Zealand Red Cross for a Canterbury Home Educators’ Hub. After an exhaustive search the committee has signed a lease on the second storey of a building in Addington.
The Hub will be available to complement your families learning, and offer a cost-free space for the community to meet, connect, share, learn and teach. The Hub will give the CHE community the opportunity to book one-off or termly space for group classes, library visits, meetings, pot lucks, info evenings, play groups, coffee groups, itinerant music teacher sessions, and many other things. We have secured the whole second floor (2 of 2) which will include - a space for the library - 2 rooms for classes/group projects/visiting tutors/meetings/play etc - a kitchen/dining space with space for smaller children to play and meet each other, perhaps with a blackboard wall, a table for drawing etc, a play kitchen/dress-ups or similar. This could also be used for shared meals, cooking with a group of kids etc The Hub is located in the heart of Addington, close to parks, a short bus ride from the Central Bus Station. Parking during the day may take a couple of minutes however there will likely be 2-3 parking spaces directly outside for dropping off resources, and for those with babies etc. The committee will be asking for help sourcing resources for the Hub, for example, blackboard paint, toys for the littlies, bookshelves etc. We are also asking for interest from community members to be involved in a sub-committee for the Hub- but we promise this will NOT involve cleaning the toilets etc!! Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be able to share photos and give you more info regarding making a booking. There will be NO cost to members to book the Hub to share learning opportunities. We encourage individuals wishing to offer learning opportunities to others in the community to cover the costs of their transport, time and resources by including a cost to participants. Again, there is no cost for booking and using the space and the committee will take no revenue from bookings. We welcome ALL members of our community to share their passions, experience and interests by offering classes, workshops and meet-ups. We especially encourage our children and teens to consider offering learning opportunities to adults and each other. The Hub will be a great place for us all to learn, and to teach. Being a member of CHE is a pre-requisite of booking the Hub, or attending events at the Hub (with the exception of info evenings). We envision there will be a password protected page on the CHE website for members to check when space is available to book, what is regularly on offer etc. Bookings can be made through a co-ordinator who will reply to your request and do their best to give you your time slot preference. Email Sarina sarina@kotukucreative.co.nz with any questions, offers or suggestions Register before the end of August and go into the early-registration prize draw.
WHAT IS THE CHE ART EXPO? The annual CHE Art Expo is a display of creative work from the current year. It’s the time to show off all the wonderful things we have been working on during the year and to celebrate the achievements of our whole community. It’s a great opportunity to see the work of all the children and to get inspired. Make sure you note the date and let extended family know to come along as well! HOW TO REGISTER: DISPLAY ART Registration closes 19th September. Categories are: Lego, Pottery and ceramics, Handicrafts, Drawing and sketching, Painting, Models, Calligraphy, and Sculpture. There will also be a parents corner. To register, email with your child’s name, age, the categories being entered, and how many pieces in each category. Please note, work to be hung must be mounted onto cardboard with holes punched and fastened with string ready for hanging. Real frames can also be used if wanted. Non-fragile artwork will be able to be dropped off prior to the Expo and will be on display from the time the doors open. Fragile artwork should be brought with you on the day and added to the appropriate display table. More information about drop-off points and what can be dropped of will be posted in early September. PERFORMANCE ART Registration closes 31st August. Categories are: Dance, Drama, Music, Poetry reading, Wearable arts, and Circus skills. Children will be allocated slots of up to 3 minutes for their performance (groups may be allocated more if needed). To register, email by 31st August with your child’s name, age, the category being entered, how long the performance will be, and what they will need for their performance (eg. microphone, stool to sit on, etc). FILM Registration closes 10th September. Maximum length is 3 minutes and films must be in MP4 format. Make sure you keep the original and just send us a copy! All films must be received by 10th September in order to be included. To register, email with your child’s name and age, the film title, and a short description of the film (50-100 words). Submit the film by putting it on USB and handing it to ANY OF THE ART EXPO TEAM or any CHE Committee member. You can also post your USB to Kaileen. Make sure the USB is clearly labelled with the child's last name and the film title, eg. “Smith-TeddyTale”. To get your USB back please see Kaileen in the film area between 1pm-1.30pm during the Expo. There may also be an option for submitting your film via Dropbox. PHOTO COMPETITION Registration closes 10th September. This is the only section of the Expo which will be judged (we do not judge the other artwork in any way). The winning photo of this competition will grace the front cover of the CHE Yearbook. The theme this year is “Adventure”. Entries must be submitted by 10th September. After closing, all entries will be collated to go forward for blind judging. Please remember to bring a printed copy to the Expo for display. The winning photo will be announced at the Expo. Please note: The photo must be the work of the child submitting it; The resolution must be between 1MB and 2MB, and the file type must be JPG, TIF or PNG. Any art from 2017 is eligible to be entered. This is a display of what the children have been doing/working on. The categories are broad but if your child’s art doesn’t fit into any of the categories below then please email us. NOT SURE WHAT CATEGORY TO ENTER? You can still register early with an estimation of what categories you child will enter, and you can confirm closer to the date. Check out our fundraising page to support our term 3 fundraiser. You'll also find some Trade Aid, Fair Trade and Buy NZ Made learning resources, and the order form. This CHE fundraiser closes on Sept 13 2017.
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