shburks Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 I'm looking to create a semester elective on New Zealand that would culminate with a two week trip covering the highlights of both islands. We (parents) are beginning the planning stages of this, but I thought this could be a good way to bring in some additional knowledge and research, but I can't really wrap my brain around how to do this! We live in Hawaii, so we do have a little exposure to the native culture. I mean, it's mostly via a touristy luau or the Polynesian Cultural Center but we do have a little bit of working knowledge! I'd like to incorporate some history and geography along with the assisting in planning the trip--money conversion, etc. Has anyone done anything like this before? I feel like I've read where people have, but my searches aren't turning up any results! Also, any NZ homeschoolers on here who might have some good books (history, novels) to recommend? Only child--9th grader who loves history and reads super fast if that helps! Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed.cleaner Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 We did a trip to Europe with the kids when they were 12 and 14 and had them help with the planning. It was pretty informal though. Essentially we went to the library and borrowed a few of the most up to date travel guides and let them loose with post-it notes to mark items of interest and then share them at round table meetings while we were in the planning stage. They were specifically looking for what they might be interested to do, but were also encouraged to read the culture and history sections of the guides to place the chosen sites to visit or activities in the context of the country and its heritage. We found the DK and the Lonely Planet guides most useful. You might also try: 100% Pure NZ (Official Tourism Website) NZ History (gov. website) NZ Dept of Conservation 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Maybe ask @lewelma? She isn't a native, but she lives there and her older boy was a pretty voracious reader, I think. Also, @kiwik lives there. I found a few threads but they were all on the K-8 forum. Here is one asking for books (reading level for a 12 yr old & younger) on colonization of Australia & New Zealand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 The most respected recent history is The History of New Zealand by Michael King. There is an audio version of it available. It starts with one chapter before the Maori came, then about 3 chapters on Maori only before the Europeans came, then up to recent times. I would suggest learning a bit of the Maori language, especially how to pronounce words as you will see a lot of place names in Maori when travelling. It would also be interesting to study how earthquakes have recently affected Christchurch, Kaikuora, and Wellington. Specifically, how the government chose to red zone parts of Christchurch and completely redesign the city before the rebuild. It would be interesting to study how New Zealand has a unique flora and fauna due to when it broke off from Gondwanaland, and how the government here is using its many offshore islands as bird sanctuaries. On the negative side, you could study the impact of the switch from sheep to cows on the environment, especially the polluting of the rivers. Or you could look into the serious housing crisis in Auckland and what has caused it. But you may want to only focus on the good stuff, don't know. Happy to think of more ideas if you want some. Cheers, Ruth in NZ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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