Thank you all for coming to our Wonderful Christmas party, we had such a magical day!  Face painting, bubbles, snow, bouncy castle, lots of yummy food and a special visit from the big man himself "Santa Claus " who brought everyone a special gift all the way from the North Pole.  What a lot of fun!!

Thank you to everyone who contributed with donations for our Christmas raffle hampers.  We had five awesome raffles with lots of goodies.  Congratulations to our winners:

The Hayward family

The Spitzer family

The Bush family

The Mathews family 

Jojo

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!

Thank you for another wonderful year

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, keep safe and see you all in 2024.

 

 

 

 

Xmas Wishes.......

 

Let it snow, let it snow ,let it snow

Another letter, another activity! This time, we were ready for North Pole snow!

Mixing equal parts conditioner and baking soda we created an interesting texture...almost like moon sand! With a dash of peppermint essence, it was cooling to the touch. 

A great sensory experience. Why not give it a go at home in the holidays if you have a chance!?

 

The Uxbridge Elf Strikes again

 Well, we were all a little bit surprised and very excited when we spotted our special Uxbridge Elf back in action for the Christmas Antics 2023.

He has been hiding in different spots each day and the tamariki just love to spot him! 

We were in for such a treat , our elf had been out to get us some ingredients to make Rudolph biscuits.

We each took turns to spread on our icing and place our toppings on.

Look at our delicious creations and smiles in anticipation for a tasty treat.

There was only one thing left to do... Munch munch, crunch ,crunch. 

Sewing Machine Fun

At Uxbridge we were very excited to have our student teacher, set up a provocation to extend on the childrens interest in construction.  We really thought outside the square as the student teacher arrived with her sewing machine.  The children were mesmerised and observed as it was set up and watched as the pedal was pressed down the sewing foot zoomed along.  There was alot of laughter!. 

The children are experiencing a rich environment at Uxbridge where the children's confidence is strengthened through trying new things.  The ability to be creative and expressive through a variety of activities is evident, and the children being able to explore different machines and how they work.    

Our teachers encourage children to develop their own interests and curiosity  by embarking on longer -term projects that require perseverance and commitment exploring  areas such as measuring, collaboration and contribution. 

From one pillow we have made over 40 mini pillows which the children decorated and added some perfume essence, which we then delivered to Gulf Views Resthome for Christmas which the residents loved.  

A trip to Gulf View Rest home

 Last Friday some of our tamariki set off for a walk to the local rest home to see some of our friends. This time, we came laden with beautiful sniffing pillows. Our student Kate helped us to sew them and we drew on them  and coloured them all in so they looked delightful. What a special Christmas gift.

On arrival, we walked down a long hall and into the lounge. Our friends were waiting for us all lined around the room in their chairs. It was morning tea time. We went around in a circle, taking turns to hand out our presents. We felt like little elves helping Santa. We even spotted a Christmas tree in the rest home too! Our  tamariki practised their conversational skills, asking questions, talking about their sewing creations and what they had been up to. 

Once all the gifts were handed out, we went to the dining room and on the tables were beautiful colouring in pictures, pens and pencils. The children sat down and some of the residents from the rest home joined them as they practised their manners asking for colours and saying thank you as they went. 

We also learnt that we had to speak slower, and clearly to our elderly as some find it difficult to hear. The relationship we are building between Uxbridge and Gold Views Rest home is a special one that we will continue to nurture. 

We are building wider networks within our community, this can help to develop social and emotional skills, build a stronger sense of belonging and connects children as contributors to their world. Communication and Belonging Strand - Te Whaariki 

Elfie has returned for Christmas 2023!

Everybody was very excited to find a very large present wrapped up downstairs.  Where did it come from?

How did it get here?  - Who is it for? and Who is it from?  It seemed to have magically appeared. 

It was quite a large box, so we all had some guesses as to what was inside.

Ralph suggested an instrument, Charlotte an elephant, Sky a lion, Chloe P thought it might be a unicorn.

Isla said a leopard, Lucas a dog, Hudson a yo-yo (a big one), Jack a dinosaur, Hazel a bag, and Hunter thought it might just be a tree.

Ivy considered the size of the box and said that it could be a big flamingo, Daisy then thought it might be a strawberry (I wish) and Blake F smiled and suggested a bunch of Lizards.  Keelan though it might simply be a new toy.

Then we noticed something else - there was an Elf upstairs.  Samantha saw Elfie first and noticed that he had brought us a letter.  Welcome back Elfie!  

We were most surprised to find Elfie hiding upstairs this morning.  To be honest, we probably should have expected it, as it is the first day of December.  Deanne called us all to come inside and we sat around the present as she read Elfie's letter to us all.

The letter told us that Elfie had brought the present for us and he gave us a clue.

"It stands tall, and spikey and we would love you to help decorate it"

Marley said she thought it might be a Christmas tree, Frank concurred.  Mason then said he thought it would be a tree and Lily agreed.

The children helped to open the present - and IT WAS A CHRISTMAS TREE!  

They also helped to put the tree together AND they then decorated it with their photos and creative a skills.

We really enjoy all this festive fun at Uxbridge.  Christmas songs and festive cheer-  Kotahitanga- oneness - A time to remember those special people in our lives, past and present, brings families together,  enjoy sharing kai/food, and festive fun.  

We hope you are all ready and as excited as we all are, to welcome in this wonderful season.