Mairtown Kindergarten Art Auction

On the last day of term Abbey's Kindergarten had a Fundraising Art Auction.

Several weeks earlier the teachers sent one blank canvas home with each family. The Adults in the family were to create a piece of art to put in the auction.

Being arty crafty I volunteered to do a few more canvases, and there were a few things I wanted to give a go so two birds with one stone kinda thing!! I also convinced a couple of friends to donate their time and creative flair too! Thanks Becky & Nicola!!

There was some pretty AMAZING Art Work produced by the families! It was awesome!

This is what I made .. All inspired by Pinterest of course!


Originals HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE

Many of the children also made canvas Art at Kindergarten which weren't up for Auction but were for sale on the night. Of Course Abbey made TWO canvases so I had to buy them both! Lucky they were so awesome!!
Here she is posing with them at the Auction ...



It really was a fantastic night! Every single piece of art was sold and the Kindergarten raised $1600!!! WOW!! That is FANTASTIC! The money raised is going on developing some of the outdoor area which you can read about HERE

Check out the Mairtown Blog for their version of the event HERE

Cultural Day

Today at Abbey's Kindergarten they had a 'Cultural' Day. The teachers asked the children to dress up in an outfit that represented their culture as well as to bring in some food that represented their culture too for a shared lunch at Kindergarten. I had a think and asked around and decided that since I thought NZ was going to get quite a bit of representation I would focus on Abbey's American half.

My Mum is the best for sewing up costumes at a moments notice (LOVE my Mum!!) So we found a pattern and some fabric and turned little Miss Abbey into an American Cheerleader!



We watched a few YouTube videos of cheerleading before going to Kindergarten this morning just so Abbey knew what she was supposed to do. We were watching them flip and throw each other up in the air etc and Abbey says, with her eyes as wide as saucers, "I can't do that Mum!"

I made Mini American Hot dogs as our food and we had such a great time at Kindergarten! I totally regret not getting a photo of them because they were a HUGE hit with the kids! I think I will definitely make them again for the next party we have.

Abbey Really enjoyed having me there, showing me all the things she could do around the playground!



The Kindergarten had a raffle for a few Prizes for fundraising and WOW!!! We won the First Prize!! Totally unexpected and awesome surprise!! And what a fantastic prize too!! I can't wait to get the new books into the library at our new place!



I have said it before, and I'll say it again I absolutely LOVE Abbey's Kindergarten!! Thanks so much to all her teachers for hosting another awesome family event!

Matariki Celebrations

Abbey's Kindergarten is so awesome!! They do some really awesome stuff. The last month they have had a focus on Matariki.

For those of you who don't know Matariki is the Maori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades star cluster or The Seven Sisters; and what is referred to as the traditional Maori New Year. The Maori new year is marked by the rise of Matariki and the sighting of the next new moon. The pre-dawn rise of Matariki can be seen in the last few days of May every year and the new year is marked at the sighting of the next new moon which occurs during June.

At the beginning of June the Kindergarten had a shared Breakfast which everyone was invited to to mark the beginning of Matariki and during the month they have had lots of activities planned around the 'Matariki' theme.

Last Wednesday we had a shared dinner and closing celebration of Matariki at Kindergarten.

There was a bonfire in the middle of a ring of stools

Riley and Abbey had fun watching the fire and it sure was nice on the chilly night!

We all sat down to a lovely shared Dinner

Abbey and Riley with Abbey's Kindy Friends, Grace, Jules and Lucy May

After dinner we had a Lantern Parade where we all went for a walk around the street with glass jar candle lanterns the children had made during the week.

Grace, Abbey and Zoe

After the 'Lantern Parade' we all sat around the fire, sang songs and ate toasted marshmallows.

It was an AMAZING Night! I had fun, the kids had fun and Grandma had fun too! I am continually amazed at the effort and passion that Abbey's teachers, Kim, Christine, Zair and Donna, put into the amazing activities they do. I LOVE Mairtown Kindergarten and am so pleased Abbey goes there!

To check out Mairtown Kindergartens version of events see HERE

If you are in Whangarei I HIGHLY recommend Mairtown for your child! They are AWESOME!