Dear Wonderful Adorable Kinders,
By the time you read this we will be on our way home to you. We have had such a terrific time, but we've missed you CONSTANTLY! Our hearts have been heavy to be so far away from you, but today are lighter than air as we prepare to get on our first of four airplanes that will bring us back to Tacoma. Then, Crescent Heights and you, you, you!
We will want to hear all your stories and will look forward to sharing our stories and pictures with you. We've missed kindergarten reading and writing and all the Dr. Seuss fun and can't wait to catch up on how much smarter you all must be since we left!
The other day we visited a tiny island called Stewart Island. We took a wee airplane to get there. Only a few people fit into the plane at once, so we had to go in several groups. Miss Maes got to ride up front with the pilot on the way there, and Mrs. Sharp rode up front on the way back. While we were there we went hiking in the middle of the biggest rainstorm you can imagine. In fact, when we got back to the boat that was to take us back around the island, the dock was UNDER WATER from the rain and the rising tide! We had to take off our shoes and socks and roll up our pants to wade through the water. It was almost as deep as Adam is tall!
Today we visited some primary schools, which is what they call a school like Crescent Heights. We got to peek into the "new entry" class, which is just like kindergarten. The children were writing in their writer's notebooks and it made us miss you all even more.
Well our darlings, we must say goodbye this one last time. We
are hurrying home to you just as fast as the plane can fly us. All our love to everyone!
Miss Maes and Mrs. Sharp
Dear Kinders,
Hello again from New Zealand, a lovely place except for how far away it is from all of you!
We have had so many exciting adventures over the last few days. We traveled to another city called Queenstown, which is a small place where many tourists go to have lots of fun. While were there we went on a ride called the Shotover Jet. It is a super fast boat that skims along the top of a lovely river.
We rode a helicopter to the top a mountain and got five turns to luge down to the bottom. Luge is a sport in the Olympics, but it's done on snow. We were in a cement track in this little wheely coaster. It has a steering bar that also makes you go fast or slow. We didn't even crash once!
The next day we went on a steam ship across a beautiful lake to spend a day riding horses, learning about sheep farming and having a gorgeous meal. We visited an old gold mining town after that, and got home very late.
Over the weekend we took a lovely cruise into Milford Sound, an amazing place where sheer mountains go straight into the sea. It was so beautiful!
Today we take a small airplane to Stewart Island where we will learn about the birds that live there. We will also go on another boat ride!
Well darlings, we must be away again. Hope to post you one more time at the end of the week. Soon, we begin traveling home to you. We will see you on Monday!
All our love,
Mrs. Sharp and Miss Maes
Good 'ay, wee kinders!
That means, "how are you little kindergarteners?" We love you and miss you heaps and hope you are all well.
We heard you are learning about the Olympics and we can't wait to know of all your activities.
Since our last note we've stayed all night in a very cool museum, walked up the steepest street in the whole world, kayaked in a river (where Miss Maes jumped off a cliff!) and climbed a rock wall.
Today we went a big boat on Lake Te Anau. It was very rough and windy. When we got to the other side of the lake we went into a huge cave to see glow worms. Glow worms are tiny wee worms whose bums light up when they are hungry! It was very dark and a little scary, but the glow worms were super cool. They looked like stars in the night.
Tomorrow we leave town for another two nights, so look for another note on Monday. We will be having some grand adventures in Queenstown, and will be anxious to share our stories with you.
Love to you all,
Mrs. Sharp and Miss Maes
Dear Lovely, Gorgeous Kinders,
Kia Ora from Invercargill! Mrs. Sharp and Miss Maes are enjoying a busy but fun time here in New Zealand. But... we miss you all like crazy.
We are having so much fun with all the new words. You might have smiled at the beginning of this note, where we call you lovely and gorgeous. Those words are used here to mean cute and wonderful. Kids can be lovely and gorgeous, and so can a delicious meal. Lovely reminds us of Tacky's friend, don't you agree?
Yesterday we went to a Marae, which is a place like a church. While there we heard stories and legends, including one about a Taniwha! Miss Maes took a picture of one on the wall and can't wait to show it to you all.
Today we are off to another city called Dunedin. While we are there we are going to tour a chocolate factory. Should we bring you some chocolates? We promise we will!
Tomorrow night we go to a rugby game, which is kind of like football, but very rough. The players don't wear much protective clothing. Must hurt a lot to be a rugby player!
Dear ones, we must be away for now. We will write again soon. Be good to each other and your guest teachers. Know we are thinking of you always.
Love to you all,
Miss Maes and Mrs. Sharp
Dear 100 Days Smarter Kinders,
Happy 100's Day!
We hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day and we know you'll enjoy many 100's Day activities.
We are having lots of adventures and are getting to know so many wonderful people.
This weekend Mrs. Sharp saw a tuatara, which is a creature still around from dinosaur days. His name is Henry and he is over 100 years old!
She also got a wonderful new book and can't wait to share it with the class.
Miss Maes went floundering, a way of net fishing and helped catch 47 fish all at once! She also met two funny pigs called kune kunes (pronounced koonee koonee) and saw so much beautiful scenery.
We'll write again soon. We'd love to hear from you, so ask your lovely guest teachers to help you email us at our school email boxes.
We love you heaps! (Heaps is New Zealand talk for bunches)
Mrs. Sharp and Miss Maes
Be a
FriendHappy, Happy Valentine's Day!
We stayed in Wellington and went on a sight seeing tour with a man named Alf. We think he was almost 100 years old.
We went to the Te Papa museum and saw the colossal squid.