Happy holidays to everyone
Today was our lucky last day of the term and also a little sad for us as we said “googbye” to our friend Finn. He is going to Kindergarten from January and we wish him success and much happiness at his new school. 
We will all miss him very much and we made a book for him with pictures and messages on the pages. When Darren presented the book to him he looked at it and said “Wow”! We had a farewell party for him and his mom made a treat for snack time with M&M’s. Kana was really sensible and she gave us each five of them so that we wouldn’t have too much sugar in our bodies for the rest of the day! At the end of the party everyone had a chance to give Finn a hug which was really special.
During the party we sang and did some of Finn’s favourite songs. The first one was
making a huge circle and then slowly, slowly we walked in and huddle together to make a tiny circle. We did this two times. The other things that we did were singing and actions to the “Body Rap” song and Finn’s dad came for the party so he joined in as well. We sang our “Hello” song and all of us knew how to sing the words and say our names. It took a long time to get through everyone as there were 10 children and five adults. Just before we went to the table to eat our snack and spend a little more time together, Finn called up each and every one of his friends to join him at the table. We were all really excited as the snack that his mom had prepared for us was something quite new for some of us. Shelley said that she had these treats 
when she was a little girl in South Africa. They were made from ‘Rice Bubbles” or “Rice Krispies” and melted marshmallows. Yummmmmmm!
During the morning we read books in the library and downstairs we read books too. We also did a matching game and this time we placed the cards on the table. Yesterday Tokutaro played the game by himself and today he played it with Shoko. She could match the pictures really quickly and she named many of them. Sophie helped pack them away while some of her friends did lacing. Noah did his “mitten card” by tracing his hand on a piece of red paper. Outside we all had some fun together playing “What’s the time Mr. Wolf?” and running around with our friends and teachers. Our story 
today was “The Christmas Story” and once again we heard that Christmas is not only about presents but more about love; it is about being with our loving family and friends; it is about giving love to others and appreciating them for who they are to us and also showing love and appreciation for the gifts that we receive on Christmas Day.
We would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and Holiday season. May it be filled with magic and sparkling lights and lots of joy. We are looking forward to seeing everyone when we return in January and will be welcoming Emily Buttrey downstairs and Marie is going to become an official member of the Ohana family. Safe travels and happy holidays to all.
Love Darren, Shelley, Goh and Kanako