Happy New Year, Everyone

It is less than a week until the Rotary Vocational Travel Team from Bridgeport, CT leaves on a 15 hour direct plane flight from New York to Johannesburg, South Africa (where we will meet up with our team leader from Stockholm, Sweden. We will be heading to Rustenburg which is about 1.5 hours west of there. That puts us not too far from the border with Botswana. Rustenburg is home to the two largest platinum mines in the world and game reserves in the area are home to "the big five;" elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, and water buffalo. It is summer there and the temperatures have been in the upper 80s and low 90s.

Check out the article about the South Africa trip.

http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/thebridgeportnews/news/localnews/79556-bridgeport-south-africa-forming-educational-partnership-.html

South Africa, here I come

It's Official! I will be traveling to South Africa for 3 weeks in January with a team of early childhood folks from Bridgeport to visit a rural community in the Royal Bafokeng Nation, west of Johannesburg. The Rotary Club is sponsoring our Vocational Travel Team and the team of South Africans who will be visiting Bridgeport in March. I will post images as I am able to.

Come watch and discuss the Babies movie at Housatonic Community College on Nov 29 or at Norwalk Community College on Dec 6 sponsored by the Fairfield County Association for the Education of Young Children. Write me for more details at Laurie@LaurieNoe.com

Babies, the movie

Have you seen Babies yet? What did you think? How will you use it to support students and teachers appreciate diversity?

at the beach

If you want, you can take classes toward your CDA, a degree or your CT Director's Credential while getting a tan, watching the flowers grow, or watching the kids play. All you have to do is sign up for one of HCC's online courses this summer. There is still time. Contact the admissions office if you have never attended HCC before or the registrar's office if you have.

Nearly 30 people were amazed at the lengths that some people will go to to get their children into "the right" preschool when they viewed Nursery University.

We had a great Week of the Young Child. More than 60 people attended the Literacy through Lyrics learning new fun songs and the reasoning behind using them (and others) to support language development.

Nearly 90 people became more Culturally Competent when we learned the dangers of relying on a single story to define or attempt to understand an individual person or an entire culture.

We also flew kites, viewed children's art, and explored children's books for use with adult audiences.

Thank you to everyone who participated by creating, hosting, or attending one of these events.