Mrs Thom - Nicholas and Mia's Grandma

 We had a visit today from Kathleen Thom. She is Nicholas and Mia's Grandma. She was born in Liverpool in England and came to New Zealand when she was young. She talked to us about what her life was like. She also brought along some things that belonged to people in her family. It was really interesting looking at all the things she showed us.

 A leather school bag

 Hmmm ...... a pencil box with a secret compartment.

 Look at this glass washboard that belonged to Kathleen's mother.

 This huge pair of scissors belonged to Kathleen's Dad.

Strength Based Goals

Jorja and Isla love to cook and bake.
  
Jorja's goal was to bring along a recipe and do some cooking at Discovery Time. Today she brought a recipe for Chocolate Crackles and she and Isla made some for everyone in Kindle 1 and 2. Mmmmmm..... Here is the recipe if you would like to make some too!

Chocolate Crackles
Ingredients
250g Kremelta
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
4 cups ricies or cornflakes
1 cup coconut (optional)

Method
Put kremelta in a medium to large saucepan. Cook over a low heat till melted. Sift icing sugar and cocoa together. Add sifted ingredients, ricies or cornflakes (and coconut) to saucepan, stirring well to combine. Spoon mixture evenly into 24 paper patty cases. Chill until firm.

Life in 1943

Today Mr Harris (Mrs Dakers' Dad) came to talk to Kindle 1 and 2 about what his life was like 70 years ago when he was 5. Even Mrs Dakers learned a thing or two. He went to school in a pony and trap. The pony stayed at school in a paddock and ate grass while the children did their school work. The little kids got to sit near the fire where it was nice and warm, while they did reading with their teacher. Each day the children got a bottle of milk to drink. The things he learned at school helped him to get several jobs when he was older. He worked hard at his sums (maths) and when he was older got a job in a bank. He also worked hard at writing even though he didn't like it very much, this helped him get a job as a reporter which is a job he has had for more than 50 years. At home he didn't have any toys to play with. He and his brothers made roads in the gravel and used bricks and blocks of wood for cars and trucks. There was no TV, iPad, computer or even electricity. For homework he practised reading and words that he needed to learn. His Mum cooked on a coal range. He had his first job when he was 5 - rounding up the next door neighbour's cows each night. The next door neighbour owned the only shop in the town and Mr Harris got an icecream as payment. We found out that some things are still the same as they were 70 years ago and some things are very different.

Making Butter

Today at Discovery Time we made butter. We put some cream and a pinch of salt in a jar. Then we shook and shook and shook it. We poured off the buttermilk and shook it some more. Next we spread it onto some bread and tasted it, Yum.

Volume or Capacity

In Maths, we have been studying Volume, also called Capacity. That means - how much can fit into a container. For one of our activities Mrs Dakers brought some plastic containers from home and we put them into order from the container which we thought held the least, to the container which we thought held the most. Then we checked by filling them with beans and tipping from one to the other.

Once we had checked, we had to change the original order. We also found that 2 of the containers held exactly the same amount, even though they looked different.

In another activity, we looked at a cup and estimated (guessed) how many cups of drink this size we could get from a bottle. Then we counted how many bottles we would would need for everyone in Kindle 2 to be able to have a drink. There were some pretty interesting estimates.

Then we made some drink by following the instructions on the packet. We had to count how many spoonfuls of Raro to add to the bottle.

Then the good part, we got to taste the Raro - Yum!

Our visit to Toitu Otago Settlers Museum

What was your favourite part of our visit? said Mrs Dakers

"The bunk on the ship" said Kaylani
"The Tiger Tea bus" said Aidan
"The ship" said Isla
"The ship" said Otto
"The ship" said Nicholas
"The ship" said Ali
"Dressing up" said Issy
"Eating breakfast on the ship" said Joseph
"Being in families" said Linara
"The settlers cottage" said Poppy
"The bunks on the ship" said Jorja
"Going in the bunk on the ship" said Sophie
"The bunks on the ship" said Mia
"Going on the ship" said Sylvia