The completed roof

Well, the weather remained fine ... so the roof is now complete. Our old roof was white ... for those of you who donʻt recall what it looked like.

The winner of our Christmas Raffle

What a very cool Christmas present! A BIG thanks to Hills for the donation of the Playing Mantis.

The new roof at kindergarten

After much waiting the weather is brilliant and the new roof complete with remote controlled skylights is currently being fitted. I know we are going to appreciate being dry inside on those wet days! Thanks to the AKA for funding this.

A blast from the past

As I opened the emails at kindergarten over the term break I was SO delighted by one that caught my eye. It read ... Hi. my name is Aislinn. I was just fooling around with some friends in class and I thought I would show them where I went to kindergarten. They thought it was a very cool place. My Mum said I should write to you guys and see if you remembered us. YES, we do, and we were impressed that you remembered the teachers names.
Some things just make your day, and this was one of them. Thanks for getting in contact Aislinn.
Aislinn is 16 and lives in Canada.

The tablet

Having just purchased a tablet for the children to draw on and watch on the big screen we decided it was time to experiment. we were totally impressed when the afternoon children (our younger children) were able to use it with ease. What clever children we have.

NanNan comes to visit

Archie, we have come to know your NanNan quite well over the years even though she lives in Australia (we wonʻt hold that against her!). Every time she come to New Zealand to visit you she spends time at kindergarten. She is always so interested in what you are doing ... and has been a great contributor to the friesian cow stories in previous blogs. How proud you were to show NanNan your kindergarten portfolio.

An afternoon of hard labour

What hard work! all afternoon long Molly and Mackenzee worked on producing babies. No sooner had one labour ended and a baby produced than it was time to start again. All complete with the sounds of labour. Role play offers the opportunity to experiment with adult roles. I had to wonder where they learnt about the challenges and joy of labour and delivery. As in real life, the role of midwife is all important giving encouragement and support. What a great team you made.

Stretchy Lycra

One of our most favourite big group activities is Stretchy Lycra. Thanks to a very catchy song from ʻKids Music Companyʻ the children have the opportunity to practice their gross motor skills and co-ordinate their actions with their friends.

Max the builder

Max, we have noticed that you really like to create, build and take things apart. When you spied the Toolo you were transfixed. All the things that you like to do in one. There was just one challenge ... how to use that triangular screwdriver to achieve the results you wanted. It took a few goes, but within a short time you had it under control and you were a Toolo builder. Well done.

With heartfelt thanks

It is always a bonus when siblings have the opportunity to visit kindergarten. And this was one of those exciting occasions. Kevinʻs big brother Matthew has shared his guitar skills with us before, so we were even more delighted when he offered to come back and play for us. We love the role model this provides for our children. It was also a treat when Kevin and Matthewʻs mother played the flute for us. Thank you both so much.

Budding hair dresser

This is one activity that enjoyed by both girls and boys. Nathanʻs Mum told us that he often talks about hairdressing at kindergarten, so we just had to make sure that he had another opportunity to hone those skills.

A test of co-ordination and co-operation

Our elongated trolley is a test in co-ordination and co-operation ... and this occasion was no exception. Straight lines are no problem, but those corners are a real challenge!!

A note to Caelan

Caelan, we loved getting the email from you. We were following your trip to Christchurch and we are glad that you had a good time. We hope that you will continue to keep in touch. Some of the children wanted to give you a message ...
Archie said ... Thank you for the present of chocolates. Merry Christmas.
Caleb said ... Merry Christmas
Madeleine wanted to tell you that she had rung Santa.
Olivia said ... Merry Christmas and bye bye.
Sophie said ... Merry Christmas and goodbye.
Sarah said .. Merry Christmas. I love you.
Kaitlyn said ... Merry Christmas and goodbye.
Stephen said ... Merry Christmas.
Tyla, Jemma and Clive said Merry Christmas too.
Raelene said ... keep up the exciting music. Iʻll look on TV to see you as a rock star when you get older.
Bronwyn said that she has been trying to upload a video of your amazing drumming onto the blog ... but there have been problems. I hope we can sort it and put it on because it is so good ... perhaps an agent will snap you up right away.
Happy New Year and happy school days in Christchurch.
love
Bronwyn

A time for decadence

Thatʻs our excuse anyway! Last year Raeleneʻs sister gave her a chocolate fountain and we just had to see how well it worked. We used the fruit left over from our fruit kebabs at the Christmas party and dipped. Yum!