Autumn Special Week in Levice from 7th November to 11th November 2011

Autumn in Slovakia is not very cold.

The average temperatures are between 8°C to 14°C.
  

Leaves fall in the middle of the autumn.
 

The children measured the temperatures in groups every day. Each class made two bilingual tables and wrote down information about their activities, clothing and the temperatures. All pupils had their own tables in their exercise books.

    

The temperatures on the first two days were the same in the morning. However, Tuesday afternoon was warmer. The warmest day was Wednesday. The weather conditions changed dramaticly on Thursday: foggy, lower temperatures, cloudy. Friday's weather was almost the same.

Meeting in Slovakia in October 2011 part 2/2

Meeting with the mayor of our town.

 

In the first photo our Finnish partners are singing their national song for the Mayor.  In the second photo Cypriot partners are giving a nice present to our Mayor.  In the third photo German partners are introducing themselves.

Meeting in Slovakia in October 2011 part 1/2

The first project meeting in Levice, Slovakia from 19 – 23 of October 2011.

The day finally came and we welcomed to our school the Comenius partners from Germany, Finland and Cyprus. We were all very pleased and excited about this special visit. The teachers and children prepared a nice  programme for our dear guests.

Christmas Traditions in Finland

"Before Christmas we celebrate Lucia Day on the 13th of December. On that day we have a little ceremony in the hall in our school. The Lucia girl has a hat with candles. She sings and has a little talk.

On Christmas time many families light up candles, sing Christmas carols and send Christmas cards. In Finland we have a Christmas tree inside. It is nice to decorate it. Many celebrate Christmas with family and friends either at home or a summer cottage.

On Christmas Eve we get the presents. Santa Claus brings them with a sledge. He has red jacket and red pants. On Christmas Eve people eat nice Christmas meal: ham or turkey and different kinds of casseroles. And of course we eat some sweets and ginger bread. Some people go to church and read the Holy Bible.

On Christmas Day, which is the day after Christmas Eve, children love to play with snow outside or play inside with the presents. Many people watch TV. And of course we eat again a lot of Christmas food.

On Boxing Day the 26th Dec we usually visit in friends and family."

Written by pupils on class 4C, Töölö Primary School.



4th, 5th and 6th grade girls on the Lucia Day.

 The pictures above are taken in our school's Lucia Day Feast. Saint Lucy, or Santa Lucia, is a Christian martyr celebrated widely in Finland and the rest of Scandinavia on the 13th of December. The feast has its origins in Sweden and it spread to Helsinki at the end of the 1920s. Finland's Swedish-speaking minority has selected a nation-wide Lucia maiden since 1950. Today, festivities are held all around the country and also in many schools. According to legend, Lucy was a maiden who converted to Christianity against the will of her large family. She defied her father's wishes by refusing to marry a nobleman selected for her, and she even gave her dowry to the poor. She suffered a martyr's death in Syracuse, Sicily, on December 13th, 304 AD. Her eyes were pierced but she retained her sight, which is why she is also known as the 'bearer of light' and the saint of the blind. The red ribbon and candles in Lucia's outfit symbolise the blood she shed and the light she brings.

Unlike many other European countries, we have Christmas dinner and hand out presents on Christmas Eve, the 24st. On the 25th we usually rest and, as there's usually lots of food left, have another Christmas dinner (and a third one on Boxing Day, and a fourth one...). Some people also go to church and bring candles to their loved ones' graves. Our traditional Christmas dinner includes ham or turkey, casseroles (carrot, potato, swede), potatoes, steamed peas, and a red salad called 'rosolli' made of chopped beetroots, carrots and apples or potatoes. Some people also serve raw spiced salmon and mushroom salad, for example, depending on the family. We also eat sweets, chocolate and ginger bread, and drink glögi, hot and spicy mulled wine or non-alcoholic juice with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and orange zest.

Here is a traditional ginger bread recipe for you to try out!

1 dl tummaa siirappia

1 dl sokeria                                               
2 tl kanelia
1 tl inkivääriä
1 tl neilikkaa
125 g voita tai margariinia
1 muna
4,5–5 dl vehnäjauhoja
1 tl soodaa

Kiehauta siirappi, sokeri ja mausteet. Lisää rasva ja hämmennä, kunnes se on sulanut. Anna jäähtyä haaleaksi. Sekoita odotellessa sooda vehnäjauhoihin huolellisesti. Lisää siirappiliemeen muna ja sitten jauhoseos. Sekoita hyvin. Peitä taikina kelmulla ja anna kovettua jääkaapissa mielellään yön yli.

Kauli taikina jauhotetulla leivinpöydällä 3–4 mm levyksi. Ota taikinasta muotilla pipareita ja nosta ne leivinpaperoidulle tai jauhoripotellulle pellille. Paista 200-asteisessa uunissa 7–12 minuuttia piparien paksuudesta ja koosta riippuen. Anna jäähtyä ja koristele luomuksesi  tomusokereilla.

1 dl molasses

1 dl sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground clove

125 g butter

1 egg

4-5 dl flour

1 tsp baking soda

Place molasses, sugar, butter and spices in a saucepan and bring to boil. Set aside to cool. Add the egg. Mix baking soda with flour and add to the mixture. Wrap dough in a plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight.

Roll out the dough, on a well-floured surface, into as thin a sheet as possible (approximately 3mm thick). Cut the dough into the desired shapes by using special gingerbread biscuit cutters. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 5 – 8 minutes, until the biscuits begin to brown slightly around the edges.

Comenius Week in Finland 7.-11.11.2011

The first Comenius special week was held on the second week of November. During this week the Finnish pupils observed the weather and measured the temperature every day, took photos of each other in Finnish autumn landscape, wrote traditional Finnish recipes for our partner schools' pupils to try, drew pictures of Finnish autumn harvest, among many other things. The pupils really enjoyed the Comenius week and are excited about this project! Here is a glimpse of what we did.

Finnish Weather

The lower grades observed the weather every day. We had very typical Finnish November weather: some days were cloudy, some were sunny, and in just two days the temperature dropped from +10C down to -1C. Below is a weather chart compiled by class 3A. This must look very cold to pupils in Cyprus! (click to enlarge)

Finnish Autumn Landscape

To show you what the nature looks like and what Finnish pupils wear outdoors in the beginning of November, the pupils of class 5C brought their cameras to school on Tuesday 8.11. and took photos of each other and of their school siblings on class 1C in Hesperia park very close to our school. The pupils loved taking and posing for the photos. Afterwards they chose the best shots to be added here. We hope you enjoy them! (click to enlarge)

On our way to the park

Some trees have already dropped their leaves

Greetings to pupils in Cyprus, Germany and Slovakia!

Leafy ground

Bald trees near our school

We love playing with fallen leaves!

We had lots of fun in the park

The view across Töölönlahti bay

Finnish Recipes and Harvest

The fourth grade drew pictures of Finnish vegetable harvest and wrote you some traditional Finnish soup recipes to try out. (click to enlarge)

Potato & leek soup (Purjo-perunasosekeitto)

1 big leek

6 potatoes

2 dl of cream

2 tbsp of butter

white pepper

salt

water

Bring the water to boil. Peel, chop, and boil the potatoes. Wash and chop the leek. Melt the butter in a pan, add the chopped leek, fry and then add it in the boiling water. Add the spices in the soup. Bring to boil and let the soup simmer for a while. If you don't want the potatoes to be chunky, use a masher to break them down. Add cream just before serving. Enjoy your meal :)

Trumpet-shaped chanterelle soup (Suppilovahverokeitto)

1l trumpet-shaped chanterelles

1-2 onions

6dl water

2,5dl cream

a pinch of thyme

black pepper

chopped parsley on top

Clothing

The pupils do a lot of handicrafts during the school year. Here are pictures of cheerful gloves and colourful woollen socks the 2nd and 6th grade pupils have done this autumn. We truly need warm clothes in Finnish autumn and winter!

Cute gloves

Colourful socks

This is how the first special week looked like in Finland. We are looking forward to the next special week in February!

Greetings from Finland - Comenius Day 7.11.2011

The Comenius project has now officially started in Töölö Primary School, Helsinki, Finland. Monday 7th November 2011 was a special Comenius Day in our school, during which the pupils familiarized themselves with the partner schools and countries. Younger pupils drew flags and older pupils made posters about each country. Here you can see us working (please click on the picture for a larger view):

That special Monday started our Comenius week (7.-11.11.2011), held in all of the participating countries at the same time. During this week the Finnish pupils observed the weather and measured the temperature every day, took photos of each other in Finnish autumn landscape, wrote traditional Finnish recipes for our partner schools' pupils to try, drew pictures of Finnish autumn harvest, among many other things. A glimpse of what we did will be posted here as soon as we get everyone's work in digital format. 'Til then!

Let's get started!

Welcome, new reader! This blog will present the outcomes of the Comenius project between four partnerschools in four European countries: Töölö Primary School in Helsinki, Finland, Kapedes Primary School in Kapedes, Cyprus, Zakladna Skola in Levice, Slovakia, and Grundschule Dresselndorf in Burbach, Germany. Like the title suggests, our project focuses on climate and its effects on our daily life as well as on the ways of pursuing sustainable development. Besides the climate theme, during this project we will also have a chance to find out about the daily life and different traditions in the participating schools. We will keep you posted!

Our Comenius team met in Levice, Slovakia in October 2011.