Making Paper

Our learning is growing!!  We have introduced the concepts of reduce, re-use and recyle to our tamariki and the different ways we can look after the environment.  With our commitment to recylcing at Uxbridge, a perfect opportunity to make something new out of something old presented itself when we read our new book 'find out about recycling'.  How fantastic!  On the very last page was a step by step guide to making our very own paper out of old paper, we couldn't wait to get started!

Step 1

We started off by ripping the paper into small pieces, then tried using some technology to make shredded paper, this was a lot easier and less manual labour and fun!  We had to be careful as the machine has sharp blades.

Once our containers were full, we added the paper and warm water into a large container and let it soak overnight.

We mashed up the paper with the electric whisk and masher to break the paper down

 

Step 4

Then poured a cup of the mixture onto a mesh frame, rolled it out and left it somewhere flat to dry

 

The end

Our recycled paper!! We noticed using the egg beater and whizz, our paper was quite thick.  We might try experimenting again using the blender to see if it makes our paper smoother and thinner.

Well done Tamariki, I wonder what we could re-use and recycle next??

Christmas Wishes

 The excitement of Christmas is building so we shared our Christmas wishes... 

All I want for Christmas is....

"Yellow one's, A big Bunny" - Eden

" A new hot wheels set - we gave our old one away" - Chloe

"A new trampoline" - Cohen

"3 Barbie's" - Aria

"A new dress" - Chloe

"A remote control race car" - Ted

"A horse with no feet, that rocks back. And an Elsa dress
with a long skirt and a long cape" - Gemma

"A robot that can clean my room, and a kitty and some make-up" - Stevie

"A cool real scooter" - Emma

"New goggles" - Scottie

"A unicorn" - Taylor

"A new boogie board because my old one is too small ' - Sidney 

"A green present" - Austin

"A big Lego, I love Lego. And a fish tank" - Toby

" A unicorn" - Leyla

" A new drink bottle" - Ameila

"A really big dinosaur with a person in it's mouth
and when you push the button it goes "ROAR" - Rory

Happy Thanksgiving

We have celebrated Thanksgiving for a few years at Uxbridge, usually having a big Turkey feast with Pumpkin Pie, a special Thanksgiving mat time and sharing what we give thanks for. This year we could only talk about the message of Thanksgiving and add our Thanks to the Thanksgiving Turkey...we have some really nice things put forward that the children are Thankful for....Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

"I am Thankful for...."

"Unicorns" - Leyla

"Playing hide and seek with Dad" - Scottie

"Cake with lots of sprinkles" - Chloe R

"The sun" - Austin 

"Lying beside Sophia" - Toby

"Mum and a ball" - Cohen

"Presents" - Ted

"I love Aria" - Eden

"I'm tankful for Granny because she believe that Spiderman is real" - Coco

"I'm thankful for Rainbow's" - Stevie

"For Castles" - Gemma

"For unicorns and castles and rainbows" - Taylor

"Joshy" - Amelia

"My Mum" - Emma

"Unicorns" - Aria W

"I'm thankful for Christmas" - Rory

"My family" - Sidney

 

Planting seeds

One of our friends suggested that we plant some seeds which was a great idea. We are great kaitiaki of our gardens here at Uxbridge and many children wanted to grow a seedling. We decided to plant lots of Sun flowers seed s as these could grow while we were away on holiday, we also planted some carrots, Sweet peas and Nasturtium's. We can't wait to see them sprout and watch them grow!

Finding a skink

 We found a skink when we were tidying some things in the garden. We carefully put him in a tray to have a closer look. Many of the children had never seen or held a skink before but were so brave and gentle with our little lizard friend. We didn't keep him too long, just long enough to learn about this little reptile species and then we put him back into the garden. What a neat thing to explore!