Rules at School

This afternoon my 5-year old daughter and I enjoyed a casual conversation about school. It was interesting to see the amount of 'rules' that she could recall about school. For her this was important. I have tried to capture this with a Voicethread. We may add to this over the coming weeks.

Brown Bear

I recently visited Akomai, a blog created by an awesome colleague. Her gorgeous daughters have put together a Voicethread re-enacting the popular Eric Carle story "Brown Bear, Brown Bear".

Recently I have been looking at the notion of literacy and creativity. This story for me captures both very strongly, the way the girls have used everyday clothes to interpret their animals is very creative and the rich language experience of re-enacting stories is so powerful.

Here are some of the links shared on Janine's blog to extend on the story "Brown Bear, Brown Bear".

A forum for teachers with ideas for each book.

The official Eric Carle website.

Thank you Hannah and Bryony! Tau ke!!

Kiwi Book Reviews

I especially enjoy finding new blogs to subscribe to that have a hint of Kiwi or Pasifika flair. This morning as I rummaged through a series of new blogs, I stumbled across a fantastic blogsite. Oh, the joy of hyper-linking and following a multitude of pathways is sure to reveal a series of little treasures.

The KidsBooksNZ blog is a fabulous blog with reviews of books written by New Zealand authors. The team of reviewers have a vast range of experience and passion when it comes to NZ Literature. Head along to their site and take a look for yourself. They also have a link for those that are keen on writing their own children's books, Kiwi Write4Kidz.

Storylines Festival 2010

It's that time of year again! Storylines Festival: Children's Literature Charitable trust are hosting a series of Free Family Fun Days! The Storylines Festival of New Zealand Children's Writers and Illustrators has been a highlight of many families' calendars since 1993.

The festival is always great for children and adults to meet the real masterminds behind some of our favourite stories. The hands on activities are also fun and entertaining.

To check out where your local Storylines Festival is being held, check out this link.

My family and I are off to the Auckland Free Family Day at the Aotea Centre, with what looks like a great line up of events throughout the whole day.