We have been having so much fun decorating the classroom this week. Our class tree is up and we had a great time decorating it with baubles, beads, lights and ribbons. Lots of the children were keen to place their bauble at the very top of the tree. This was making the tree a little crowded and so top-heavy that it nearly toppled over. Transition were great at working together to place the baubles in different spots to balance it out. After we had decorated our tree, we thought about how we could decorate the rest of the classroom. We now have tinsel, baubles and paper chains all over the classroom which has been making us feel very festive and jolly.

It was very exciting to arrive at school on Monday to see the role-play corner transformed into an elves' workshop! The children have been busy wrapping presents, writing cards and gift tags to help Father Christmas get ready! It was tricky at first to work out how much wrapping paper to use and then to cut across in a straight line, but the children are really getting the hang of it now. At one point, we even had all the presents loaded onto a sleigh with reindeers ready to take off around the world. What helpful little elves!

Transition have also been busy preparing a Christmas dinner for Father Christmas. I was very impressed with their cutting skills... you clearly all have very good sous-chefs at home in the kitchen! We carefully chopped carrots, parsnips, potatoes and brussel sprouts and scooped peas to prepare the dinner. It looked very delicious. I am sure Father Christmas will be nice and full, ready for his busy evening in a few weeks.

We have also started our Christmas cards and making Christmas gifts in school. Although I can’t tell you too much about those as it might ruin some surprises.

Since it’s the perfect time of year for some cosy reading time, we have moved some of the furniture in the classroom to create a book area. The children have been enjoying snuggling up under the blankets (one of which Mrs Nelson has crocheted for us) and sharing stories together. It has been so lovely listening to the children using the pictures to tell stories to each other.

Today we have also started our class advent calendar. Each day, a child gets to find the correct number and pick out the Christmas decoration to add to our tree. Inside each pocket is also a Christmas challenge. The first one was to try to name three foods that you eat for Christmas dinner. Perhaps I will share the challenges in our weekly newsletter and you can see if you can do them too.