Grade 5/6 are getting excited for all the magic of Christmas (and the school holidays). Our challenge during numeracy lessons of late has been to stick to a given Christmas budget and meet certain criteria to pull off the best Christmas gathering ever. This has been an insightful activity into how expensive this time of year can be as they have had to purchase gifts for 5 people and prepare a meal for 10 that includes three main dishes with sides, two desserts and drinks. If there is any left over budget they are allowed to have bonus buys, which can be decorations or extra trimmings on their food dishes. One of our up-and-coming accountants has her spendings within 28 cents of her budget! That’s amazing! Another activity we have done is to create a Christmas wish list with wishes for something they need, something they want, something they’ll wear and something they’ll read. Their last wish was for someone else this Christmas. Take a look at some of their wishes and have a Merry Christmas everyone.

I wish my dear little sister gets really good at playing the violin and loves it.

I wish my mum could go on a trip all by herself so it’s peaceful.

I wish for my friends health to get better and my other friend to be happy.

I wish that my cousins in South Africa will have an amazing Christmas this year.

I wish all the homeless may be warm, all the sick to be healed, all the lonely to be accompanied, all the forgotten to be remembered and all the endangered to be rescued.

I wish mum and dad had more money for food and drink, rent and other things.

I wish my friends dad would be cured.

I wish for my mum and dad to enjoy their Christmas lunch.

I wish for my mum to find a better job.

I wish that all countries could be as safe and peaceful as ours.

I wish that everyone has time to relax and think about the true meaning of Christmas this year.

I wish everyone can have a smile and a laugh on Christmas day.