Our Science Meeting

Our International Group is a great opportunity for our children to learn and experience other cultures. Each month we talk about a different country. We try to cover history, geography, music, sport, traditions, costumes etc. And the best of all, we always finish with a yummie lunch with tradition food from that country.

Every now and then though we like to do a bit of Science and start conversations like "where do we come from?"; "how did it all start?"; "how did planet Earth was formed?". So this was exactly what we did in our last meeting. We had a meeting to discuss how our beautiful planet was formed and how life started on Earth. To make things more interesting we invited Sarah, the Scientist to show us some experiments so the children could understand the science behind it.

We were lucky to have had a beautiful sunny day, so all experiments were carried outdoors and the children had a great time. Check all pictures below.

We started the meeting talking about the Big Bang 13.8 billions of years ago, clouds of dust and gases spinning around the Sun and the planets of the Solar System. Then we moved to how the surface of planet Earth cooled down to form its crust about 4.6 billions years ago. We talked about how the surface was covered in rocks and erupting volcanoes which caused to rain for millions of years creating our ocean and seas. Somehow, this created a "chemical soup" which was the perfect condition for the first life cell to appear! A single cell lifeform, a form of bacteria that could survive in this highly toxic environment. Then the first multicelled organism appeared in the ocean. It would use sunlight and water to feed itself (photosynthesis) which released oxygen into the atmosphere. Once oxygen appeared in the atmosphere life forms multiplied and became more complex and diversified. 

After our little introduction we went outside to start the experiments. 

Our first experiment was making a water cycle to see how water has been recycled here on Earth since the planet was first formed.  

Next, we made a bracelet with beads that  change before your eyes using energy from outer space! Pretty cool!

Then finally we made a plant bomb which will use sunlight and the water cycle to grow flowers.

The day was filled with fun and learning for our children.  And of course we had a great lunch afterwards for the parents to catch up. 

Thank you to everyone who came and a special thank you to Sarah, the Scientist for making our day so wonderful!

Our Meeting - Africa

In May we met to talk about Africa as a Continent. We took the opportunity to go to Wellington to attend the Africa Day provided by the African community living in the capital. We had an awesome time and learnt a lot about this amazing continent and some of its countries.

Here are some highlights of our day:

We met first in Kapiti to watch a presentation about a few aspects of the African culture. 

We then went to Wellington to the Africa Day
We tried some yummie food from different countries like Ethiopian curries, Moroccan wraps and some spicy rice and meat combination.

The children had loads of fun with all the games provided on the day reflecting the African culture

Some of the stalls representing on the Africa Day

Our Meeting at the Fusion Event in Kapiti

What a great opportunity to be invited to be part of the Fusion Cultural Event organised by the Kapiti Community Centre. We met at the venue and we were immediately amazed by all the diversity of culture in one place - food, activities for the kids, music, dance, presentations and just a great vibe to be in and expose the children to!

The stage was filled with cultural presentations all the time and we were drawn to it from the very first moment we arrived there.

We found a corner though to start our presentation about Brazil, and although still quite loud from the music coming from the stage in the other room, the children were able to interact with the Brazilian History and cultural facts shared with the group.

We talked about Brazil geography, history including the indigenas and slavery, the Amazon, capoeira, music including the samba and our biggest national party - the Carnival. Ah! And of course our national sport - Soccer!!

After the presentation our group was able to go around all the stalls at the event and learn a little about other countries' culture. And the awesome variety of food!! It was a lot of fun to watch the presentations on the stage too, truly amazing to see so many international families living in Kapiti. Awesome!

Check the pictures below:

Nice welcome to the venue - Scottish Bagpipes!

Our Brazilian Presentation

The children enjoying other activities

Our group enjoying the shows on stage

All the awesome different culture at the event

Welcome back!!

Our first meeting of the year was a great opportunity to welcome back our families, specially Sandy, Timka, Zoya and Alex. They'd been travelling around the world for 6 months and it was great to hear their stories and adventures in different countries. 

We also welcomed a new Russian family - Natalia, Vlad and Xenia. Great to have you joining us!!

Our meeting started with our usual welcome in different languages. An opportunity for the children to practice their mother tongue and for all of us to introduce ourselves while learning a little of other beautiful languages too.  

We've been talking in previous meetings about national symbols and national anthems. So at the beginning of our session this week, we played a few anthems from New Zealand, Brazil, Russia and France. 

We then started to play our games themed around Europe. The children were really good when listing the countries belonging to the European continent followed by their capitals and the language they speak. Awesome effort! 

After the games, Sandy started the presentation about the countries they had travelled to with the help of Timka and Zoya who shared their experience visiting Russia, Poland and also their days when they attended a school in France. Alex also joined the presentation to teach us some Russian words and the alphabet. We all loved to see pictures from Aki and family that Sandy shared with us of when they met them in Japan. We miss you guys!

Our meeting finished with our communal lunch. An opportunity for all the families to relax over a cuppa, talk to each other and try all the yummie traditional food. We loved the Russian Pierogi! Thanks Sandy!! If you would like to try it at home, here is a recipe I found in the internet. Enjoy!!

Don't forget to check the photos of the day below. :)

Pierogi – small filled pies

The stuffed buns pirozhki (Russian: пирожки) are probably one of the most famous dishes of Russian cuisine. They are made of yeast dough and stuffed with meat, vegetable or fruit filling. Usually pirozhki are baked, but it is also possible to fry them. This is a recipe for basic yeast dough and three vegetable fillings (Carrot with onion and egg, Cabbage with onion,Green onions with egg). In Russia, pirozhki are served with sour cream or melted butter.

Ingredients for the dough

750 g (= 6 cups)	flour
350 ml (=1.5 cups)	water
30 g	yeast (room temperature)
170 ml (=5.5 oz)	sunflower oil
3 tsp	salt
1 1/2 tsp	sugar
1	egg
1 tbsp	butter

This dough is best for pierogi with vegetable fillings, for example, with mashed potatoes, carrots, cabbage or green onion.

Good to know: In Russia a pierog (russ.: пирог) is a big pie with one filling. Small pierogi are called pierozhkí (russ.: пирожки).

Pierogi – step by step

Gradually add oil, water, salt and flour mixing well until soft and smooth dough is formed. The dough shouldn’t get too dry as this makes pierogi also dry. Cover dough with a dishtowel and let it rest in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Knead the dough, cut it in small pieces. Place dough pieces on slightly floured surface and roll each piece into a thin circle.

Put 1 tbsp of the filling in the middle of each circle. Form the circles to pockets, pressing the edges to seal tightly.

Arrange pierogi on a greased backing sheet leaving enough space between the pierogi so they can rise. Cover with a dishtowel and let pierogi rest for about 20 minutes. Mix an egg yolk with butter and brush pierogi with this mixture.

      YUM!!

What countries in Europe?

  

                

 

                                          Sandy's Presentation                       

 Alex showing us the Russian Alphabet

 Timka and Zoya sharing their experience with the group

Yummie Lunch!!! 

Children enjoying the World Puzzle!! 

Preheat the oven to 200-220°C (390-430 F). As soon as pierogi turn light brown, reduce the heat to 150°C (300 F). Bake for about 20 minutes.

Combine yeast, sugar, 2 tsp of flour and 50 ml (= 3 tbsp) of water in a bowl and stir until well blended. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and let it rest for about 15 minutes.